KTQ is very pleased to welcome Sydney Bauer to the team in her role as Program Coordinator. Sydney was gracious enough to take time away from her new role to answer some questions about her path to KTQ.
Kartemquin: This is not your first go-around at Kartemquin. What was your first experience and what drew you back now?
Sydney: I started at KTQ as an intern in 2016 and was an Impact Coordinator in 2018! I have had the privilege to see how impactful Kartemquin’s programs and presence in the industry has been for the past 8 years. I personally would not be the artist I am today without my experiences at KTQ. There is such a beautiful marriage between social justice and the art of cinema here and the possibility of supporting other artists and filmmakers to create change through their art is really what drew me back.
K: Your role supports filmmakers as they develop their films and their craft. Where did the inspiration and motivation come from to do this work?
S: Through my internship with KTQ and other media organizations, I realized that being “on set” wasn’t my strong suit. When I was at Kartemquin, I found the art of impact producing and it really felt like I found home. I LOVE being able to take an idea or goal from a filmmaker and helping them bring it to life. This work is hard and producing and directing takes up so much time and mental space for filmmakers – I like being able to step in and help them focus on their impact and the wider, community-focused goals that so easily fall to the way-side when you’re in production and post! This industry can also be really lonely… the community that KTQ’s programs build is a huge motivation for me in this work.
K: We hear you’re an avid reader and podcast listener. Any favorites?
S: Oh of course! For fiction books, The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai continues to live in my heart long after reading it. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi is one of the best debut novels I’ve ever read. And if you can handle horror, Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin is seared into my memory. For non-fiction, I’d recommend anything Ijeoma Oluo has ever written. If I may plug here too, I am a StoryGraph user and recommend it to EVERY reader I know!
For podcasts, please let me introduce my current favorite: Vibe Check. It features former NPR correspondent and personal fav, Sam Sanders, who also hosted the incredible but now canceled show Into It, along with journalist, Zach Stafford and poet, Saeed Jones. Both shows discuss the intersections of culture and society and art (essentially, everything I talk about ever) and do so in a way that feels like you are just talking to friends.
K: This is sort of a set up, but what’s your favorite documentary?
S: Just one?! I shall have to give you a few because one would be too hard. First, the documentary that fundamentally changed me as a person is Miss Representation – it showed me the power of documentary film. In terms of documentaries that simply blew my mind, I have a two-way tie for Citizenfour and the more recent, Navalny. Lastly, if you haven’t seen The Mole Agent, please check it out! It is incredibly unique and heartwarming.
K: We know you care a lot about mental health and making workplaces better for women. What’s one thing you hope to add to the culture at Kartemquin?
S: I love this question!! The number one thing I’d love to contribute to is psychological safety in the workplace. I want to be the type of presence that allows people to feel comfortable being their authentic selves. So much of this work is personal and I want to be a part of what makes working with KTQ feel safe and supportive. As a woman, and most especially as a white woman, using my experience and privilege to increase representation and elevate voices that are historically silenced is extremely important to me. I hope to add to the culture of reparations at Kartemquin.
K: What question are you really glad we didn’t ask you?
S: I’m really glad you didn’t ask about what music I like because I could write an entire newsletter series on that and my answers would be impossible to whittle down!