Filmmaker, producer, photographer, documentarian, and director Daphne McWilliams joined the DeWitt Wallace Center for a lunch discussion led by students Katie Nelson ’19 and Ben Saalfeld ’19 on the intersections between documentary filmmaking and journalism.
McWilliams grew up on film sets, made professional music videos, produced “Four Little Girls” with Spike Lee, and recently made her directorial debut with her documentary “In A Perfect World.”
Students asked questions about her style, motivations, and personal impact. When asked about interviewing sources, McWilliams shared, “Pay attention to what they are going to say, not what you want to hear. Stay open.”
McWilliams emphasized the importance of all aspects of filmmaking, from having a great sound person (a passion learned from her father) to the skills of listening and respect on set (following Spike Lee’s example).
Daphne McWilliams is the Susan Tifft Fellow in residence hosted by The Center for Documentary Studies this week at Duke.
