Building Trust On and Off Camera: Ethical Practices with Film Participants with Jason Rhee
Thursday, April 21, 6:30–8:30 pm
Free or $10 suggested donation; open to ages 16+.
Limited seats available; register below.
Trust is the foundation of ethical and effective documentary, participatory, and community-based filmmaking. This workshop by visiting filmmaker Jason Rhee equips filmmakers, media artists, and researchers with practical strategies to build, negotiate, and sustain trust with participants—especially those from marginalized or vulnerable communities. Drawing on the themes of informed consent, accessibility, privacy, and reciprocity, participants will explore how transparent communication and mutual accountability can transform the filmmaker-participant relationship.
The filmmaker will introduce topics and facilitate discussion on power dynamics, long-term relationships, and anonymized case studies where trust broke down, and also provide participants with toolkits such as sample consent forms and checklists for informed consent. Optionally, participants are also welcome to introduce specific trust challenges in their own projects and workshop them with their peers.
Attendees: Notebooks and pens for the workshop will be provided, though participants are welcome to bring their own. We’ll be ordering a pizza to share. Please note that you cannot enter Tri-Main center after 7:30 pm.
Funding for this session of Squeaky Wheel’s Workspace Residency is provided by the Teiger Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Thank you to our friends at Rust Belt Books, Buffalo’s largest used bookstore, for sponsoring this session of the residency. Special thank you to the panelists of this session of the residency, Alicia Hawkins, Donte McFadden, and Joan Nobile. Learn more about the program here.
Biography of the artist
Jason Rhee (Director/Producer/Cinematographer) is a Korean American filmmaker with a passion for telling stories centered around his childhood and the AAPI community. Jason spent a decade in comedy prior to working on his feature film at institutions like The Onion and Conan. With a background in screenwriting and comedy, he helped produce three one- woman shows with comedian Kellye Howard, including directing a sold-out run at the Steppenwolf Theater as part of its 2022 LookOut series. Jason recently served as a cinematographer for PBS WTTW’s Firsthand webseries on migrants, unhoused Chicagoans, and peacekeepers.
