The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will honor Duke University President Richard Brodhead with the 2017 Advocate Award at its 20th anniversary edition taking place April 6 to 9 in Durham, North Carolina.
The prestigious Advocate Award is given annually in recognition of individuals who exemplify the heart, soul, and spirit of Full Frame through their leadership and support of the festival and the documentary community. As Duke’s president, Brodhead has personally invested his time and energy as a catalyst for Full Frame, a program of the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University.
“Full Frame has become an integral part not only of Duke and Durham but of the international community of artists and professionals working in documentary cinema,” said Brodhead. “I am honored by this recognition, as it has been my privilege to watch the festival grow and thrive, and it has been a continual enjoyment for the university to celebrate this important and inspiring art form every year.”
“President Brodhead’s support for the arts ensures his legacy of creating more well-rounded students and citizens,” said Full Frame director Deirdre Haj. “He understands that the arts broaden the educational experience from learning how to make a living, to appreciating and valuing what makes a life worth living. I can’t imagine a worthier recipient for the Full Frame Advocate Award on our 20th anniversary.”
Haj added that Brodhead’s involvement was particularly valuable in returning Full Frame to the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke, aligning the festival more closely with the university and making it central to Duke’s contributions to the Triangle region. He is also credited with helping to generate more than $3 billion in financial gifts for the university’s Duke Forward campaign—contributing to the funding of numerous arts-focused programs, including the acclaimed Nasher Museum of Art, the Center for Documentary Studies, and Full Frame—and establishing Duke’s only Master of Fine Arts degree in Experimental and Documentary Arts.
Past recipients of the Advocate Award include Durham icons Jim Goodmon and Michael Goodmon, president and vice president of Capitol Broadcasting Company; the eminent Molly Thompson, president of A&E IndieFilms; and Josh Braun, co-president of Submarine Entertainment, the renowned distribution and production company.
Haj will present this year’s award to President Brodhead at the Full Frame Opening Night champagne reception on Thursday, April 6.