JACC NorCal 2019

Nearly seven years ago and freshly out of college, Alexander Shebanow undertook directing his first feature-length documentary. What was originally planned to be a two-year project on the student loan debt crisis, Fail State took on a life of its own when Alex and his team uncovered a massive predatory for-profit college industry in American higher education. In his keynote address, Alex discusses his journey making Fail State, what it was like crafting a political exposé in his mid-20s, what he learned about documentary filmmaking, and his drive to make a film that would do justice by the victims of predatory for-profit colleges.

NOTE: The keynote will be the contest material for the News Writing, Editorial Cartoon and Opinion Writing Contests (see schedule).