Directing Actors: An Introduction

This workshop offers emerging filmmakers a practical foundation for approaching narrative projects with greater confidence, giving them the tools to communicate with actors and understand how performance becomes one of the central storytelling tools of any fiction film project.

Designed especially for documentary and nonfiction filmmakers looking to explore and expand their fiction filmmaking skills, the workshop combines film analysis, lecture, and a focused live directing laboratory.

After the second night of the workshop, there will be a casual mixer to celebrate the end of the workshop. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Workshop attendees will have the chance to meet eachother, network, and ask the instructor, Paul Kmiec, some more questions.

We’ll explore memorable performances from international cinema, watching and dissecting scenes to understand how actors communicate character through behavior, movement, silence, rhythm, listening, and physicality—and how the camera transforms those choices. The session introduces practical tools for preparing to work with actors, including objectives, subtext, rehearsal, blocking, and giving effective adjustments.

Actors Jimmie Fails and Laura Piccoli join the instructor for a live scene workshop. Students will observe the rehearsal and directing process in real time as scenes are developed, performed, and adjusted. Performances will be projected live, allowing students to see how subtle changes in direction can transform a performance. The evening concludes with student volunteers taking the director’s chair and working directly with the actors..

Members get $50 off the workshop price! Email [email protected] for questions or sign up for a membership here on our website.

Paul is an award-winning filmmaker and educator in San Francisco. Paul also taught acting, cinematography, and directing for the 48 Hills, 24 Frames Film Camp in San Francisco. Paul's films have screened and won awards at festivals nationwide and abroad. His latest project which he produced and co-conceived, Read Em’ & Weep, took home the Best New England Film Award at the 2023 Provincetown Film Festival. Paul also served as the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Film Festival, spearheading the organization’s successful revival from 2024 through 2026. Paul is currently producing the upcoming feature film The Cutting Room Floor by writer/director Victoria DeMartin starring Laura Piccoli, Alec Baldwin, and Karen Allen.

(Actor) Jimmie Fails is an American actor and writer whose work spans independent and studio film. He gained widespread recognition for his acclaimed performance in the A24 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, which he also co-created. His subsequent film work includes Pieces of a Woman (2020), Nickel Boys (2024), Wish You Were Here (2025), and Borderline (2025), starring alongside Samara Weaving. Most recently, Jimmie co-starred in the upcoming psychological thriller Newborn alongside David Oyelowo and Olivia Washington. A writer and creative collaborator as well as an actor, Fails has also worked in arts education, serving as an acting instructor alongside Paul Kmiec with 48 Hills, 24 Frames Film Camp in San Francisco, where he mentored local students in the craft of performance.

(Actor) Laura Piccoli is an American actress who trained at prestigious institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and the Stella Adler Studio in New York. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch with a BFA in Drama, Laura has since studied with Alec Baldwin, Reed Birney, Devin Shacket and Caymichael Patten. She made a guest star appearance in LAW AND ORDER: SVU. Laura stars in the upcoming feature film The Cutting Room Floor, alongside Alec Baldwin and Karen Allen. Laura’s extensive theater work includes The Rude Grooms theater company’s productions of TWELFTH NIGHT, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, and ROMEO AND JULIET. She also played lead roles in Pigeonholed Theater's production of THE GLASS MENAGERIE and the world premier of UNHEALTHY by Battalion Theatre, for which she won critical acclaim.

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BAVC Media (Bay Area Video Coalition) has empowered local activists, artists, and media makers since 1976. We are a community media non-profit offering training, workshops, youth programs, video preservation, production services, youth programs, and the home of San Francisco's public access station, SF COMMONS.

You can learn more about what we offer at www.bavc.org

As a member of BAVC Media, you’ll enjoy year-round benefits, including discounts on BAVC Media classes and workshops, networking opportunities, access to facilities, equipment, and more. You can find out more about our benefits and becoming a Member here.

BAVC Media's VERSED is a series of hybrid workshops, hands-on labs, virtual and in-person trainings for creators of all ages and skill levels to spark and sustain careers in the media arts on a free or below-market basis. See our upcoming workshops at bavc.org/versed

If you have any access or support requirements in order to participate fully, please email us at [email protected]. The venue is accessible for people using wheelchairs and other mobility aids. There are two accessible gender neutral restrooms. All the films screened will have closed captioning.

With recent spikes in COVID-19 in the Bay Area, we advise all attendees to be considerate of others and stay home if they are feeling ill. If a participant or staff member has begun showing symptoms of COVID-19 (either through the screening or as observed by staff), they will be asked to not participate in in-person programming until they either test negative for COVID-19 or if they are symptom free for 10 days. While masks will not be mandatory we recommend wearing one inside the screening room and will have masks available at the event.

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