Episode 9 - Claire Aguilar - “A Meeting in the Ladies Room”

Film OrganizationsAsian-American FilmmakerFilipina-American Filmmakerwomen filmmakers

Sep 25

September 25, 2020

In this episode, I speak with award-winning film curator, film festival director and television commissioning editor and broadcaster, Claire Aguilar about her career in documentary and her recent work with the American Film Showcase Pakistan. Because we first began working together, we always seem to run into each other to and fro from the restroom, this week’s song is Klymaxx’s R&B classic, “Meeting in the Ladies Room.”

[Image Description: Claire Aguilar is pictured from the shoulders up She stands in front of a screened window and a multicolored abstract painting. She smiles.]

Photo Credit: Nestor Vences

[Image Description: Claire Aguilar is pictured from the waist up. She speaks into a microphone. Behind her is a pink and white American Film Showcase step and repeat.]

Claire’s Bio

Claire Aguilar is an award-winning film curator, film festival director and television commissioning editor and
broadcaster, bringing compelling creative documentaries and innovative content to audiences around the world. She is the former Director of Programming & Policy at the International Documentary Association (IDA). At IDA she oversaw professional development, education, mentorship and training initiatives and set and directed strategy around IDA’s policy and advocacy work supporting filmmakers around a range of issues. She served as the primary programmer for IDA’s biennial “Getting Real” conference. Claire served as Director of Programming and Industry Engagement at Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the leading festivals for documentary and digital media. Claire curated and directed the film programme for Doc/Fest 2015 and 2016, programming over 350 films and working with over 200 filmmakers and media creators. Doc/Fest 2016 generated the highest attendance in Doc/Fest history from delegates and public alike. The festival highlights included films by Michael Moore, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, Tilda Swinton, Ken Loach, and a retrospective of films by Chantal Akerman.

At the Independent Television Service (ITVS), she served as Executive Content Advisor and Vice President of Programming, working on program content and strategy for the organization, including commissioning programming from international and U.S. independent producers. She co-curated the Emmy and Peabody awarded series Independent Lens, a prominent showcase of independently produced programs on PBS. She has shepherded award-winning films to public television, including The Interrupters, The Invisible War, At Berkeley, The House I Live In, Goodbye Solo, Detropia, Waltz with Bashir and Last Train Home. She served on the editorial board of the international public television series Why Democracy? At public television station KCET/Los
Angeles, she programmed the station’s schedule and managed programming acquisitions. Prior to KCET she was a film programmer at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, one of the leading exhibition venues for international, documentary and classic Hollywood films. She has curated film and media exhibitions for the American Film Institute, the Los Angeles Asian American Film and Video Festival, and the Wexner Center for the Arts. She has served as a programming consultant and panelist for the Ford Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pew Fellowships in the Arts and many other media and funding organizations. A second-generation Filipina American, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies and a Master of Arts in Film and Television Studies from UCLA. She is Vice President of the Board of Women Make Movies, and serves on the Executive boards of Firelight Media and the Why Foundation.

WUWD_Episode 9_CAguilar_MeetingLadiesRoom_Transcript_09252020

About American Film Showcase

The American Film Showcase brings award-winning contemporary American documentaries, independent fiction films, and documentary know-how to audiences around the world, offering a view of American society and culture as seen by independent filmmakers. Funded by a grant from the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and produced by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA), the Showcase highlights the value of film in fostering understanding and cooperation, dialogue and debate.

The American Film Showcase consists of two main components: A person-to-person cultural diplomacy program and a film collection with which U.S. embassies and consulates may organize screenings, Q&As, and discussions. Working with 35-40 selected US embassies and consulates per year, AFS sends American filmmakers and film experts on 7-10 day international cultural diplomacy trips made up of screenings, master classes, workshops and press engagements.