Meet the Director
Ines Sommer
Director of the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab
Ines Sommer is a documentary filmmaker, film programmer, and Associate Professor of Instruction in Northwestern University’s Department of Radio/Television/Film. Although Ines’ films are thematically diverse, they all employ an empathetic and lyrical lens to tell stories about everyday people, their experiences and sense of agency – be it stories about humans and nature in The Hills and Seasons of Change on Henry’s Farm, the power of grassroots democracy in Count Me In or human rights violations and psychological trauma in Beneath the Blindfold. Outside of her filmmaking practice, community is central to Ines’ work – she has spent many years organizing film series and festivals with an emphasis on community engagement and is deeply involved in community building efforts within the documentary field. Ines has high hopes for the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab to provide a space for public dialogue about mental health and the media arts and to support students in creating thoughtful, nuanced, and empathetic fiction and non-fiction works that can serve as powerful tools in moving us towards a more informed and compassionate view of mental illness. For full bio visit here.
Advisory Board
Affiliate Members
- Thomas Bradshaw, chair, Department of RTVF
- Rick Zinbarg, chair, Department of Psychology
- AJ Christian founder of OTV | Open Television and associate professor in the Departments of Communication Studies and RTVF
- Bruce Carruthers, professor in the Department of Sociology
- Ariel Schwartz, associate director of research at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs
- John Csernansky, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- John Franklin, associate dean for Diversity, Inclusion and Student Support Chief of Addictions in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Jacob Smith, professor and director of the MA in Sound Arts & Industries in the Department of RTVF and Screen Cultures doctoral program
- E. Patrick Johnson, Dean of the School of Communication and professor in the Departments of Gender Studies and African American Studies
- Michelle Molina, faculty in Gender Studies/Religious Studies
- Nick Davis, associate professor of Gender Studies/English/RTVF
- Fabiola Montiel, director of Clinical Services at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
- Zayd Dohrn, professor in the Department of RTVF and codirector in MFA in Writing for Screen+Stage
- Peter Locke, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Anthropology
- Rebecca Seligman, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology
- Suzanne Rosenfeld psychoanalyst, member of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute
- Debra Tolchinsky, associate professor in the Department of RTVF
- Erin Courtney, assistant professor in the Department of RTVF
- Eliza Bent, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of RTVF
- Clayton Brown, professor of instruction in the Department of RTVF
- Danielle Beverly, assistant professor in the Department of RTVF
- Brett Neveu, senior professor of instruction in the Department of RTVF
- Kyle Henry, associate professor in the Department of RTVF and interim head of production
- Ozge Samanci, associate professor in the Department of RTVF
- Stephan Moore, associate professor of instruction in the Department of RTVF