Students

PaceDocs Wins FilmArte Festival Award for Faculty-Student Produced Documentary

By
Antonia Gentile
Posted
January 22, 2025
Image
The Cooper documentary film poster. Shows a man working on a kiln with fire in the background

Pace University’s documentary film team, PaceDocs, was announced as a winner in the 2024 edition of the FilmArte Festival for its production, The Cooper: Crafting the Soul of the Cask (El Tonelero: Creando El Alma Del Barril). The film, which is an exploration of the art of cask making, also known as cooperage, premiered in English on May 2, 2024, at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, and, for the first time for PaceDocs, also in Spanish in Montilla and Cordoba, Spain.

It was co-produced by Dyson College Professors Maria Luskay, EdD, and Lou Guarneri, MA, of the Media, Communications, and Visual Arts (MCVA) department, and Pace University’s historically awarding-winning documentary film team. In the making of The Cooper, the PaceDocs team also collaborated with José Buendía Picó, a well-known Spanish musician and composer, to provide the music to an audiovisual story.

The documentary is the focus of the popular class, Producing the Documentary, a key example of experiential learning at Pace, which is part of Dyson College’s highly regarded film program that requires students complete a full-length documentary within 14 weeks. Students learn teamwork, problem-solving, research, and organization, along with technical skills such as lighting, sound, camera work, interviewing, and other real-life lessons necessary to complete a film.

View the documentary on the MCVA YouTube channel.

More From Pace

Students

As we prepare for the 2026–2027 academic year, Pace University’s Financial Aid Office is sharing several important reminders for families of continuing students, including FAFSA filing information, financial aid requirements, academic progress policies, and upcoming federal aid changes.

In the Media

Dyson Professor Seong Jae Min pens an op-ed in The Korea Times examining the growing threat of AI-generated deepfakes and misinformation during election cycles. Comparing South Korea’s aggressive regulatory response with the more fragmented approaches in the United States and Europe, Professor Min argues that deepfakes are becoming a serious challenge for democratic systems while raising difficult questions about balancing regulation with free expression.

In the Media

Dyson Public Administration Professor Stephen Rolandi speaks with Mid-Hudson News about Orange County’s long-running sales tax distribution error, calling for a comprehensive internal review into how the oversight continued for more than a decade. Rolandi also notes the issue could carry broader political and financial consequences, including scrutiny from the State Comptroller’s Office and potential impacts on the county’s bond rating.