CHICAGO -- A new HBO “Vice”
documentary, “Trans Youth,” which follows the story of transgender children,
their families and doctors as they ponder the medical transition process before
puberty begins, will make its Chicago premiere at DePaul University as part of
the Visiting Artists Series hosted by the School of Cinematic Arts and the
Master of Fine Arts in Documentary.
The event, which is free and open
to the public, is set for 5:30 p.m. March 3 at DePaul’s College of Computing
and Digital Media theater, 247 S. State St. Lower Level.
Entering
its fifth season on HBO in 2017, “Vice” is an Emmy-winning documentary series
produced by Vice founder Shane Smith. It covers the world and hits on
areas of interest such as culture, science, technology and politics.
The 30-minute documentary “Trans Youth” is hosted by Emmy-nominated
correspondent Gianna Toboni. Following the screening, there will be a panel
discussion with five-time Emmy winner and supervising producer of “Vice” Beverly
Chase and JP Olsen, an HBO production executive, moderated by Susanne
Suffredin, a producer, director and editor who teaches at the School of
Cinematic Arts.
Bringing HBO and “Vice” to the
DePaul campus is the brainchild of Brian Zahm, a producer, director and screenwriter
who teaches at the university. He pitched DePaul’s Vincentian mission to HBO
and “Vice” when inviting them to Chicago.
“One of the powers of
documentaries is that they give a voice to people who might not necessarily
have one,” said Zahm. “’Vice’ does a great job of bringing different social
causes and concerns to light. ‘Trans Youth’ is a timely and politically
sensitive issue as well. ‘Vice’ doing something on transgender youth and the
realities of what these children have to go through, the decisions they have to
make, is important.”
Olsen
is a production executive for HBO. He oversees the “Vice” documentary series
and “Vice News Tonight.” Prior to HBO, he worked as a writer and director with
The New York Times and PBS. He is also the co-author of the book, “The Narcotic
Farm.” Olsen is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and Columbia
University, where he’s an adjunct professor.
“I
believe it’s one of the best documentaries that HBO’s ‘Vice’ has ever done and
that’s part of the reason I’m excited to show it at DePaul,” said Olsen. “It’s
an outstanding example of really good filmmaking about a difficult and
controversial subject. ‘Vice’ gives a voice to people and subjects that
typically are marginalized. At the same time, I believe it does it in a way
that is open-minded and tries to look at the subject from different points of
view.”
Chase
is the supervising producer for “Vice.” Before coming to “Vice” in 2015, she
worked for NBC News where her work received the 2014 DuPont Award, five
national Emmys, three Murrow awards and a Peabody Award. Chase is a graduate of
Boston University.
DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts
Visiting Artists Series was
founded in 2008 as an educational and community outreach program with the goal
of bringing innovative practitioners and industry leaders to campus. More
information is at http://depaulne.ws/Visiting_Artists_Series.
The DePaul Master of Fine Arts in
Documentary was created in 2015 to provide aspiring documentary filmmakers with
a program that integrates knowledge of documentary history, styles and
traditions, research and development, and varied approaches to storytelling and
production with the technological aspects that develop strong production
values, effective post-production, and the ability to take creative work to its
audiences. More information is at http://depaulne.ws/Master_Fine_Arts.
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Source:
Brian Zahm
bzahm@cdm.depaul.edu
312-362-7912
Media Contact:
Russell Dorn
rdorn@depaul.edu
312-362-7128