Moderator

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  MPT Events Team

Participants

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  Bill Jersey – Producer, Director & Cinematographer

  Panelist

  Bill Jersey has produced film and broadcast documentaries for more than 40 years. In the early 60's he established his reputation as one of the pioneers of the Cinéma vérité movement. He was cinematographer, producer and director of A Time for Burning, which was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary in 1967. He produced documentaries for all of the major networks and in association with PBS, WNET New York, KCET Los Angeles, WGBH Boston, and others. Jersey's body of work includes two Academy Award nominees: A Time for Burning and Superchief, on the life and legacy Chief Justice Earl Warren. Other award-winning productions include The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow series (Peabody Award), Children of Violence (Emmy), Renaissance (Emmy nomination), Faces of the Enemy (Emmy nomination), Loyalty and Betrayal (Emmy), Hunting the Hidden Dimension (Pierre Gilles deGennes Award), The Making of Amadeus and EAMES: The Architect and the Painter (Peabody Award).

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  Dr. Kathryn Lofton – Dean of Humanities, Yale

  Panelist

  Dr. Kathryn Lofton is Lex Hixon Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies and Professor of History and Divinity at Yale University, where she also serves as FAS Dean of Humanities. A scholar of religion in the United States, she is the author of two books, Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon and Consuming Religion, and many articles, including a 2021 essay, “Observational Secular: Religion and Documentary Film in the United States,” that examined A Time for Burning.

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  Justin Ervin – Writer, Cinematographer & Director

  Panelist

  Justin is an award-winning writer, director and cinematographer of both scripted and non-scripted work. His work has appeared on Netflix, PBS, HBO and Hulu, most recently serving as Cinematographer on the 2022 Netflix Original Documentary IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?!? as well as the 2022 narrative feature film RITTENHOUSE SQUARE. Justin earned his MFA in social documentary filmmaking from SVA in NYC and has completed master courses at the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers. As a Writer and Director, he has won multiple awards including Best Documentary at Garden State Film Festival and The Audience Award at New Filmmakers LA. Justin is currently developing a narrative adaptation of A Time for Burning.