Zoë Davidson

Zoë's love for filmmaking and storytelling knows no bounds. As a graduate student at Howard University, Zoë worked on over 2 dozen projects, her last of which, "Canada's Unchecked Racism", has travelled to film festivals worldwide, earning her accolades such as the Paul Robeson Award for Excellence in MFA Filmmaking from her alma mater, and the award for Best Documentary Short at the Montréal Black Film Festival. One of the projects that she worked on while she was still a student, "Aggie", is a documentary featuring Ava DuVernay that was selected for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

By virtue of her own experiences, Zoë embraces the need to equip students with the tools that they need to get the jobs of tomorrow, rather than waiting until they are graduates. As an academic leader, Zoë Davidson challenges her students to exceed their own expectations by imbuing them with the skills and the knowledge with which to do so.

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE

University of the District of Columbia | Assistant Professor of Digital Media

Aug 2019 - Present

Teaching introductory and advanced-level courses on filmmaking, scriptwriting, and television production
Organizing digital media assignments including in-studio productions and providing direction to students in academic classes
Guiding students to industry opportunities after graduating, aligning them with potential employers, and building a pipeline for students to access prestigious summer internships
Connecting students with local filmmakers, on-set experiences, exclusive film screenings, Q&As, etc.

Howard University | Teaching Assistant/Camera Rental Technician Aug 2018 - May 2019

Acted as a teaching assistant for graduate level course, “Cinematography III”
Co-taught “Introduction to Media Production” for a class of 20 undergraduate students
Studied and worked as a rental technician in the on-campus camera rental house, providing workshops, training, and demonstrations for students and renters

Oberlin College | Teaching Assistant Sept 2015 – May 2017

Lead classes, graded exams, held study sessions, planned monthly out of state trips
Prepared material for class, edited film clips, assisted students, worked with the professor to prepare the following week’s lessons

RECENT FESTIVALS + PANELS + AWARDS

Best Short Documentary, Canada’s Unchecked Racism, Montréal Black Film Festival, 2020

Award of Excellence, Canada’s Unchecked Racism, Canada Shorts 2020

Featured + Panelist, Canada’s Unchecked Racism, trinidad + tobago film festival, 2020

Special Guest + Panelist, Canada’s Unchecked Racism + To The Brown Girl in the Room, Silicon Valley African Film Festival, 2020

Featured + Panelist, Canada’s Unchecked Racism, CaribbeanTales International Film Festival, 2020

EDUCATION

Howard University, Master of Fine Arts, Film

Oberlin College, Bachelor of Arts, Africana Studies with High Honors, Theater with High Honors

LINKS