WatchedPress Kit

An intimate and moving exploration of the experience of coming of age — under the gaze of state surveillance.

“Watched” explores the toll of surveillance through the very personal lens of two women coming of age in New York. As their college years begin, these young women embrace the new found freedoms of college life. They make new friends and join campus clubs, including the Muslim Student Association. When a new young woman joins their friendship circle they welcome her with open arms and she quickly becomes part of their lives both on and off campus. But as whispers of informants on campus turn into reported news of surveillance, the students are forced to question those around them, who can they trust and who do they really know?

Synopsis

Director/ProducerKatie Mitchell

Katie Mitchell is a documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, she produced the feature documentary “Solitary”, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016 and premiered on HBO in early 2017. She was a co-producer on the short documentary “Just A Dog”, which premiered at Hot Docs in 2016. She has directed a number of short documentaries, including “This is How You’ll Make Your Bed in Prison” (distributed by Ronin Films). Katie graduated from Monash University, (Melbourne, Australia) with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honors. She later completed post-graduate studies in documentary filmmaking at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia.

ProducerDanielle Varga

Danielle Varga is a producer and documentary filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. She most recently co-produced Kirsten Johnson’s feature “Cameraperson” (2016), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is being distributed by Janus Films/Criterion. She was an associate producer of Johanna Hamilton’s film “1971” (2014), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won an IDA award for archival footage. She was archival producer of Matt Wolf’s “Teenage” (2013), which also premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She has worked on a number of independent feature documentaries including “E-Team“ and “Particle Fever”, as well as films for PBS’s American Experience and Frontline series. She is a 2016/2017 Sundance Creative Producing Fellow.

CreditsDirected and Produced by KATIE MITCHELLProduced by DANIELLE VARGAExecutive Produced by DAVID MENSCHELEdited by HANNAH BUCK and BEN GOLDCinematography by NADIA HALLGREN and SAM SHMITHOriginal Music by ASKAAnimation by ACE & SON MOVING PICTURE CO., LLCAnimation Producer RICHARD O’CONNORAnimator TAISIYA ZARETSKAYAProduction Artists WENDY CONG ZHAO and MILAN CHAMBARDConsulting Producer ANDREA B. SCOTTOriginal Reporting AVIVA STAHL and JEANNE THEOHARISLegal Counsel VICTOR A. KOVNER, DAVIS DWIGHT TREMAINE LLPAdditional Camera ANDREA B. SCOTT DaVinci Color Correction by EVAN ANTHONYAudio Post Production Provided by HOBO AUDIOMusic Engineer JOEL SHEARER © The Shorts Collective LLC, 2017

ContactFor all inquiries please contact Producer Danielle Varga at daniellevarga@gmail.com