This month’s Lobo Living Room will feature The University of New Mexico’s chair and associate chair of Film and Digital Arts to discuss, The Transformative Power of Digital Media Education. The UNM Alumni Association’s event will be held at Mesa del Sol Film & Digital Arts, Thursday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Chair James Stone and Associate Chair Deborah Fort will discuss how the department is educating the next generation of digital media professionals, the ways in which alumni are enjoying success in a variety of fields and how film education can have a transformative effect on the New Mexico economy.
Stone has spearheaded the transformation of the department’s curriculum to adapt to film, animation and gaming industry opportunities. He says this change has resulted in an increase in enrollment, a pipeline of skilled graduates finding well-paid jobs at Netflix and other major companies and national attention for a department that is now a destination for out-of-state students.
In 2020, he collaborated with colleagues throughout the university on the Sustainable Water Resources Grand Challenge to create animations, podcasts and short movies explaining key water concepts.
Fort is an educator independent filmmaker. She is a professor in the Film and Digital Arts Department at UNM, teaching classes in video production and post production. Her own creative work, primarily in documentary and experimental media addresses issues of identity, perception and creative process, and has been exhibited internationally. Her feature documentary, “Everything Moves” features improv performer Ruth Zaporah.
A tour of the facility will take place after the presentation.
Guests are required to show proof of vaccination with an ID or a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours. In person capacity is limited to 110 people.