Sara Jordeno

Assistant Professor
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MFA, University Of California Los Angeles

Sara Jordenö is a filmmaker, visual artist and researcher whose work resides in the intersection of art, activism, visual ethnography and cinema. Born in Sweden, Jordenö is active in Europe and the US, working with film, video and installation, as well as text and drawing/animation. Their projects often engage with groups and communities facing different types of marginalization and portray strategies for survival and agency.

Jordenö directed the documentary feature film KIKI about a youth-led social movement for LGBTQ+ youth of color in NYC. It was the product of a close collaboration with community leader Twiggy Pucci Garcon and other members of the NYC Kiki scene. KIKI premiered in the US documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and went on to screen at more than 80 film festivals around the world, earning the Teddy Award for Best Documentary Film at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights at the Full Frame Documentary Festival and a nomination for the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction award. KIKI had theatrical releases in Sweden, the USand the UK, as well as on streaming platforms.

Jordenö is the recipient of an Art Matter Award (2012). Their films and video installations have been shown internationally at venues such as Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Bildmuseet, Umeå, Malmö Konstmuseum, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and the Kitchen and MoMA PS1 in NYC. Their work has been commissioned by, among others, the Gothenburg International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Printed Matter and the Fifth Berlin Biennale. DIAMOND PEOPLE, a recent commission for the Public Art Agency in Sweden, is a public artwork in the form of a documentary film and in-situ screening/discussion with the former employees of a now-closed diamond factory in a small town in northern Sweden. It documents the symbiosis between the community and the factory, the appointed shame of being employed by De Beers, the South African company that operated the factory for 50 years, and the crisis during the final closure.

Jordenö has been an educator for 15 years and finds immense inspiration and enjoyment from being in close dialogue with students and faculty from a multiplicity of backgrounds and areas of interests. They joined the RISD faculty in 2018.

Academic areas of interest

Subcultures, group dynamics, activism, advocacy
Documentary and fiction film theory and practice
Fieldwork theory and practice
Social, public and participatory art theory and practice

Courses

Fall 2024 Courses

FAV 5101-02 - INTERMEDIATE STUDIO: LIVE ACTION
Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FAV 5101-02

INTERMEDIATE STUDIO: LIVE ACTION

Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Sara Jordeno Location(s): Auditorium, Room 330 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Intermediate Film is a year-long course emphasizing technical production in sync sound film making. Theoretical concerns and cinematic techniques are stressed. We explore concepts of (and the relationships between) narrative, documentary and experimental filmmaking. The first half of the Fall semester, students work in assigned teams, completing a series of short exercises. In the second half of the term, class members individually create their own longer films for final projects. Students screen their work in class at various stages of completion: rushes, rough cuts, and fine cuts. In addition, there are weekly screenings of works by relevant filmmakers. Participation in class discussions is required.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $500.00 Deposit $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.


Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video | Live Action

FAV 5103-02 - VIDEO PRACTICES
Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FAV 5103-02

VIDEO PRACTICES

Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: M | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Sara Jordeno Location(s): Auditorium, Room 125; Market House, Room 204 Enrolled / Capacity: 12 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In Video Practices, students will work with digital video cameras, sound recorders and microphones, and editing and color correction software. Through projects, screenings, in-class assignments, and readings, students will explore key concepts in digital moving-image making to build, expand, and deepen their time-based practice.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $60.00

Deposit: $150.00

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.


Major Requirement | BFA Film/Animation/Video

FAV 5119-01 - DIRECTING PERFORMANCE
Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

FAV 5119-01

DIRECTING PERFORMANCE

Level Undergraduate
Unit Film/Animation/Video
Subject Film/Animation/Video
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Sara Jordeno Location(s): Auditorium, Room 125 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

In the Directing class, the ongoing focus throughout the semester is an exploration of the methods of communication between directors and actors. Students are encouraged to go beyond the first instinct or idea, and to develop a project to its fullest potential, particularly with respect to meaning and to potential modes of execution. Students work on a variety of scenes throughout the semester, complete several short assignments during and outside of class, and read handouts and excerpts from texts. Students direct: (1) each other, (2) young actors from the Carriage House School, (3) professional actors from the community (brought in for two classes), and (4) actors of their choosing for final projects. As they direct rehearsals, students utilize a variety of specific tools that enable them to maximize the creativity and fertility of their relationships with actors, and to make adjustments in performances quickly and effectively. The latter third of the semester also focuses on techniques for script analysis. These are used to discover the range of creative possibilities in a given text, and to thoroughly prepare and organize directors for rehearsals and shoots. An ongoing, general goal of the course is also for each student to reflect upon and identify their personal themes as a director.

Please contact fav@risd.edu for permission to register.

Elective

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MFA, University Of California Los Angeles