The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development (MPTD) is pleased to announce documentary filmmaker Saaret Yoseph as the January Filmmaker of the Month.
Saaret directed and produced her first film SEE / LINE, which premiered this past November at the Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market. The short documentary is a visual journey along the storied Red line metro route, between Union Station and Silver Spring. Using interviews with graffiti writers and metro riders, the two-part documentary creates an unconventional conversation about graffiti and gentrification in Northeast D.C.
As a District native, Sarret’s interest in the project was sparked by her own daily rides on the Red line. While a graduate student at Georgetown University, Saaret transformed her master’s thesis, The Red Line D.C. Project, into a community-driven documentary about public access and aesthetics in the capital city. The multimedia thesis provided her with the material for SEE / LINE. As director and producer, Saaret managed every aspect of production, from researching and interviewing subjects to filming and editing footage. She and the project have been featured in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper and on the Kojo Nnamdi Show, among other local media outlets.
Before her pursuits in filmmaking, Saaret wrote extensively for TheRoot.com, an online magazine under the Washington Post Company. As The Root’s assistant editor, she covered issues concerning the African Diaspora, from intra-racial identity to generational divides.
Since beginning her documentary work, Saaret has collaborated on a series of media projects with the Humanities Council, Meridian Hill Pictures, and most recently, the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum in Southeast DC. Under the commission of these local organizations, Saaret designs and implements lesson plans that teach the techniques of storytelling and allow students of various ages to create their own digital narratives using accessible technologies.
Saaret currently resides in Ward 5 of the District of Columbia. A first-generation Ethiopian-American, she is compelled to tell stories with cultural relevance and personal stakes. As Saaret continues her media education work, she is actively seeking funding for the next big project, a documentary on transnational identity and the Ethiopian Diaspora in DC.
MPTD launched the Filmmaker of the Month initiative to feature a District-based filmmaker who exemplifies the vast amount of talent and creativity based here in the nation’s capital. The Filmmaker of the Month initiative is part of MPTD’s mission to elevate the national and international profile of the city’s most talented filmmakers. Previous filmmakers honored include Award-winning producer Donna Brant, May 3rd Films founder Kirk Fraser, Award-winning editor and director Todd Clark, and Jezebel Filmworks founder Ada Babino.
You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Saaret and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.