Introduction to Documentary
Session: July 2026
About this Live Online Course
Every powerful real-world story deserves a clear, compelling cinematic vision.
In this four-week live online course, you will learn the essential tools for developing a documentary from initial conception through pre-production, production, editing, and release into the world. Led by an accomplished documentary filmmaker, the course will teach you how to distinguish between a topical issue and a compelling, character-driven nonfiction film. Participants will analyze successful documentary features, explore the details of the production process, and learn how to treat their participants with care and respect. By the end of the course, you will develop a strong understanding of documentary storytelling, narrative structure, ethics, and production.
What you bring to the course:
- an interest in the granular details of nonfiction storytelling.
- a desire to learn about the various modes and styles of documentary filmmaking.
- please note: You do not need to have an active project to participate in the class.
What you’ll get from the course:
- an overview of diverse formal approaches to nonfiction storytelling (vérité, archival, personal, essayistic, and investigative).
- the ability to pitch the difference between your project's topic and its dramatic story.
- foundational training in documentary ethics, participant safety, and building trust in the field.
- interview techniques and methods for casting real-life characters.
- an understanding of production basics, including choosing gear, assembling a crew, and budgeting.
This course will:
- analyze masterworks: Break down scenes and clips from award-winning documentaries to study visual language and narrative architecture.
- offer expert mentorship: Provide suggested homework assignments to move your project forward weekly.
- build your network: Connect you with a global cohort of independent filmmakers looking to meet and learn from one another.
Live Online CourseAccessibility
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.
Scholarships
Sundance Collab offers a limited number of need-based, partial and full scholarships. Scholarship applications can be submitted until one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course.
Outline
Topics covered include:
- A brief history of the medium
- The building blocks of nonfiction cinema
- An overview of documentary storytelling approaches
- Examples of notable films that foster inspiration
- Research and ideation strategies to distill a powerful documentary project
- Loglines, pitching, and finding your story in development
Topics covered include:
- Working with protagonists and participants
- Ensuring the safety of your participants and crew
- Navigating how to creatively shape the nonfiction world ethically
- Examining your positionality, privilege, and power in connection to a story
Topics covered include:
- The roles and responsibilities of key production roles
- Hiring and working with your collaborators
- Interview techniques
- Schedules, budgets, and fundraising
- Best practices for preparing a solid edit
Topics covered include:
- Identifying and working with editor(s)
- Finding the story in post-production
- Collaborating with your post-production team
- Creating a festival and distribution strategy
- Next steps
Team
Cecilia Aldarondo
Instructor
Cecilia Aldarondo is a director-producer from the Puerto Rican diaspora whose award-winning films have been featured on HBO, PBS, Tribeca, SXSW, and many others. Her feature documentaries Memories Of A Penitent Heart (2016) and Landfall (2020) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and were co-produced by the PBS series POV. Her third feature You Were My First Boyfriend had its World Premiere at SXSW 2023 and was co-produced by HBO.
Among Aldarondo's fellowships and honors are the 2024 Borderlands Visionary Fellowship, the Guggenheim, a three-time MacDowell Colony Fellowship, the IDA Emerging Filmmaker Award, the New America Fellowship, and Women at Sundance. Her newest co-directed film Dear Ms: A Revolution In Print premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and is currently streaming on HBO Max. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Cecilia teaches at Williams College.
FAQ
In Sundance Collab’s Live Online courses, participants attend live, virtual class sessions on the same day and time for a specified period. These sessions are led by an instructor and in some cases, supported by a team of advisors. In some courses, you are given assignments with submission deadlines to help you take the next step with your work.
- Each week you will be able to attend live lectures via Zoom video and ask questions of your instructor.
- In some courses, you will receive individualized feedback from your course advisor on elements of your work.
- In some courses, you will have the opportunity to have a 1-on-1 session with your advisor. Depending on the course, this session may be included or may be purchased separately for an additional cost. Check the course description for specifics.
All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab courses. Please review the course description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Note that space is limited. If the registration window is open, you will see a “Register” button on the course page. If there is an application, applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the course is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first.
We do not allow creative partners to do our live online courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.
Part of Sundance Collab's unique educational approach is to create a teaching team for every course. Each class is led by an instructor who may be accompanied by additional course advisors. This allows us to keep an intimate ratio of participants to advisors and to provide a diversity of voices and approaches to the course content.
We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship,complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, if available.
Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.
Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Live Online courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org.
Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online course even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each class session are available online by the following day so you can keep up with the course lectures. For courses that include a 1-on-1 session with an advisor or instructor, the meeting is scheduled according to your (and their) availability.
All sessions are recorded and usually made available within one business day. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the class session, viewable in the video playbar.
Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last class session.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.
You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Sundance Collab account under “Courses.”
You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our live, online courses are conducted via Zoom.
Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page
- Join a Live Training from Zoom
If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.