Documentary Film Workshop

This workshop will take place in the Theatrikos Black Box. Access is through an exterior entrance on the outside of the building.

Join filmmakers Ryan Begay and Nita Blum for an immersive workshop exploring the creative and transformative potential of documentary film. Through a mix of shared work, discussion, and audience collaboration, we’ll explore how real-life stories can connect, inform, and inspire. This is a space for learning, exchange, and developing your voice as a nonfiction storyteller.

Have a doc idea? Come ready to pitch it during our Q&A and get live feedback. Open to filmmakers, artists, and storytellers of all levels.

Ryan Begay (Diné) is a seasoned filmmaker with years of cinematic experience. Hailing from the Navajo Nation, Ryan works both in front of and behind the camera. His experience ranges from Short films to Feature Films, Documentaries and Commercials. After his service in the US Air Force, he got his start at the Colorado Film School, and then moved to New Mexico to finish his Bachelors of Fine Arts in New Media Arts-Moving Images from the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe. One of Ryan’s passion and intent for film is to create more content in the area of Native Cinema. Another is his love for acting! He has appeared in TV shows such as Breaking Bad, Yellowstone, Get Shorty, Dark Winds, Ransom Canyon and numerous films like Sicario: Day of the Solado, Fancy Dance, Rezball, Horizon: An American Saga.

Professor Nita Blum has built a dynamic two-decade career in the TV and film industry as an editor, producer, and director. Her work spans music videos, documentaries, independent films, and commercial content. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2009, she worked on projects for Sundance, National Geographic and AOL Media before founding her own digital marketing and production company, BBH, in 2013. Nita creates empowering documentaries while also serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Arizona State University and a board member of the Arizona Production Association. She holds a B.A. in Film and Media Arts from Temple University and an M.A. in Documentary Studies from Northern Arizona University.