Oct. 25-Nov. 1, 2025

SCAD Savannah Film Festival Announces Films Selected for The Hollywood Reporter’s Docs to Watch

SCAD Savannah Film Festival logo

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA (Oct. 2, 2024) — The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) announced the 10 films selected for the 11th edition of The Hollywood Reporter’s Docs to Watch panel. Moderated by Scott Feinberg, the series and its director panel have become the premier showcase for documentary programming. This year’s roundtable event will take place Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts. The panel will highlight the following films, screening these titles with filmmaker Q&As:

  • Black Box Diaries (MTV Documentary Films), represented on the panel by director Shiori Ito
  • Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid (CNN Films), represented on the panel by director Matt Tyrnauer
  • Daughters (Netflix), represented on the panel by co-director Angela Patton (co-director Natalie Rae will also be at the fest).
  • Hollywoodgate (self-distributed), represented on the panel by director Ibrahim Nash'at
  • Piece by Piece (Focus Features), represented on the panel by director Morgan Neville
  • Porcelain War (Picturehouse), represented on the panel by co-director Brendan Bellomo (co-director Slava Leontyev will also be at the fest)
  • Sugarcane (National Geographic Documentary Films), represented on the panel by co-director Julian Brave NoiseCat (co-director Emily Kassie will also be at the fest)
  • Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Warner Bros.), represented on the panel by director Peter Ettedgui
  • Union (Level Ground), represented on the panel by co-director Stephen Maing
  • Will & Harper (Netflix), represented on the panel by director Josh Greenbaum

Last year’s series included the Academy Award winner 20 Days in Mariupol. Over the past ten years, 47 films have received Best Documentary Feature Oscar nominations, and eight of those ultimately won the Oscar.

"I'm thrilled about this year's Docs to Watch lineup, which offers a powerful and urgent panorama of the world we live in," said SCAD Savannah Film Festival executive director Christina Routhier. "These films tackle pressing issues with depth and artistry, reflecting the diverse voices shaping today's documentary landscape and represent a unique opportunity for the SCAD community to engage with a dynamic group of filmmakers and stories."

Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is filled with cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Each year, more than 63,000 people attend the eight-day festival. A distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, the annual festival kicks off with a gala opening night screening, while the rest of the week features scheduled competition films, premiere screenings, workshops, lectures, and panels. Other programming highlights at the festival include Amazon MGM Studios’ LGBTQIA+ Shorts Competition and the Behind Her Lens series, which includes panels with influential female directors, producers, and artisans, who will discuss the importance of staying true to their vision and empowering the industry forward with profound stories. These events take place at SCAD’s historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces throughout the historic city of Savannah.

Festival passes for 2024 are available now. Individual event tickets will go on sale Friday, Oct. 4, online at filmfest.scad.edu, by phone at 912.525.5050, or in person at the SCAD Box Office (scadboxoffice.com) at 216 E. Broughton St. in Savannah. The full festival line-up will be announced Friday, Oct. 4. For additional information and tickets, visit filmfest.scad.edu

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers

SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 110 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university’s renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more.

Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. A 2024 study found that 99% of recent SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 12 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more. Visit scad.edu.

About the SCAD School of Film and Acting

With resources that rival Hollywood studios, award-winning professors, stunning locations, two professionally run casting offices, and stellar film and television festivals, the SCAD School of Film and Acting is the ideal place for students to launch into the multibillion film and television industry. The SCAD acting, cinematography, editing, film and television, production design, and sound design programs prepare students to command roles on stage, screen, and behind the scenes through instruction that includes real-world experience on productions for short films, live performances, TV sitcoms, dramatic series, music videos, commercials, and more.

Additionally, SCAD is making a significant investment in the futures of the university's School of Film and Acting and School of Animation and Motion students with the completion of a Hollywood-style film backlot at Savannah Film Studios. The landmark 11-acre, three-phase expansion includes the backlot, a next-generation LED volume stage for virtual productions — one of two owned and operated by the university, along with a second at SCAD Atlanta's Digital Media Center — and new soundstages, among other features. The expanded Savannah Film Studios is the largest and most comprehensive university film studio complex in the nation.

During the 2024 festival, SCAD will unveil a magnificent new 17,500 sq. ft. production and costume design building next to the Savannah Film Studios backlot. This state-of-the-art facility will include space for costume design sewing labs, a fabulous industrial garment conveyor, and massive production design scene shops for building, welding, painting, and much more. This facility further highlights the university’s commitment to collaborations across filmmaking disciplines.

# # #

Media Contact:
Scenario Communications
[email protected]