Award-winning filmmaker Nadia Hallgren, fresh off the Netflix release of Becoming, the documentary she directed about former First Lady Michelle Obama, returns to ICP for a special virtual conversation illuminating her journey as a visual storyteller. From growing up in the Bronx as a teen going through the photography program at ICP at THE POINT, to transitioning into cinematography and eventually directing, Hallgren will discuss her experience in filmmaking and commitment to telling stories that can make a difference. Hallgren will be joined by ICP’s Curator-at-Large Isolde Brielmaier for a conversation after her lecture. Audience Q&A to follow.

Stream Becoming prior to the program with the whole family and join our teen-focused program on Wednesday, July 8.

All lectures are scheduled to take place from 1 to 2 PM EST.

Tickets are $12 for general audience and $7 for ICP members.

Members, login to receive your discount. If you have issues processing your payment, please email membership@icp.org. Not a member? Join today!

About the Program Format

This program will take place on Zoom. Those who register to attend will receive a confirmation email with a link located at the bottom of the email under ‘Important Information’ to join the lecture through a computer or mobile device. 

We recommend participants download the Zoom app on their device prior to the program. Learn how to download the latest version of Zoom to your computer or mobile device.

If you do not receive the link by 11 AM on the day of the lecture or if you have questions about the virtual lecture, please contact: programs@icp.org.

About the Series

ICP Talks: Lessons and Insights in Photography is the ICP’s new online education program series. Each session invites leading photographers and educators to present work and ideas that excite and instruct on navigating all facets of the photographic community. Through lectures, conversations, and workshops ICP Talks allows the ICP's worldwide following to learn together, stay connected and get inspired.

Speaker Bios

Nadia Hallgren is an award-winning filmmaker and director of photography from the Bronx, New York.

Most recently Nadia directed Becoming, a documentary about former First Lady Michelle Obama that was released on Netflix in 2020. Prior to that she directed After Maria, a short documentary that tells the story of three mothers displaced by Hurricane Maria, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2019.

Hallgren won the special jury prize at SXSW 2018 for an independent episodic series about women running for office in response to Trump’s election and a Webby for Public Service and Activism (2018) for her film Gavin Grimm vs. about a transgender teen from Virginia headed to the Supreme Court.

With a focus on the craft of vérité storytelling, Nadia has also become one of the leading cinematographers in documentary filmmaking. Her credits include the Sundance award-winner Motherland (2017), Academy Award–nominated and Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner Trouble the Water (2008), and Sundance award-winner Trapped (2016).

Hallgren is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and an alum of International Center of Photography.

Isolde Brielmaier is ICP’s new Curator-at-Large after building upon her previous collaborations with ICP, which include being a nominator and juror for ICP’s annual Infinity Awards, moderating an ICP panel at Photoville in 2019, leading a conversation with Carrie Mae Weems at ICP’s Spotlights event in 2015, and writing an essay for ICP’s Multiply, Identify, Her exhibition in 2018.

Brielmaier is currently professor of critical studies in NYU Tisch’s Department of Photography, Imaging & Emerging Media. She is formerly executive director and curator of arts, culture, and community at Westfield World Trade Center, and now serves as national advisor for Unbail-Rodamco-Westfield, a role in which she advises on artist projects and installations, cultural events, and strategic and community partnerships across the organization. She continues to work on a range of large-scale public artist commission projects. In fall 2019, she wrapped a three-year Mellon Foundation–funded curator-at-large post at the Tang Museum at Skidmore College.

She serves as editor-at-large at Air Mail, Graydon Carter’s new media venture, and is a consulting editor of several scholarly journals. Brielmaier speaks regularly on topics related to art, culture, and social impact. She previously worked for the Guggenheim Museum, the Bronx Museum of Art, and as chief curator for the SCAD Museum of Art. In 2016, she was named to the board of trustees of the New Museum. She holds a PhD from Columbia University.

 

Image: Nadia Hallgren films Michelle Obama in Hallgren’s documentary about the former First Lady. Courtesy of Nadia Hallgren