Mick Caouette, is a documentary film writer, director and producer who has been producing non-fiction history films since 1996, when he collaborated on two films as part of a television series called, The Greatest Trials of All Time. As part of the series, The Scottsboro Boys was broadcast nationally on the cable channel Court TV, in July of 1998. The film premiered shortly before broadcast at Columbia University, with a distinguished panel that included Historian Dan T. Carter and attorney Johnny Cochran. It won a Bronze Medal at the 1999 New York Festivals.

Caouette’s film Eugene J. McCarthy: Muses and Mementos, premiered in May 2006 at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. The post production of Hubert H. Humphrey: The Art of the Possible, is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2009. It will be the first extensive film biography of this important American.

In addition to full length documentaries, Caouette has produced museum installations for the University of Minnesota and The Minnesota Historical Society, as well as, short pieces for presentations by Vice President Walter Mondale and President Bill Clinton.

Prior to entering the documentary community, Caouette managed a black and white darkroom for a professional photographer, and enjoyed a long career in the graphic arts industry. From 1996 to 2001, he collected, transferred and cataloged archival films for the Audio-Visual Curator of the Minnesota Historical Society. Mick holds a Master’s Degree in History and Film, from Hamline University.

Real to Reel: The Elements of the Nonfiction Film            
MALS & MFA Elective, Interdisciplinary. Wednesdays. 

While large budget feature films continue to dominate the world of American entertainment, the small scale documentary film endures.  Once the terrain of a few trained professionals, new technologies have made the documentary landscape more and more egalitarian, with an ever-increasing diversity of filmmakers, subjects and styles. 

This course will explore the American documentary film from its birth at the turn of the 20th century to the present. From the historical to the contemporary and from Robert Flaherty to Michael Moore, we will consider the methods and context in which these films were produced, and the effects that technology and invention have had on them. We will discuss the interview process, interpretation, and objectivity as well as the use of the camera, research editing, audio and lighting.  A minimum of four films will be screened with short reviews and a critical paper on the student’s film of choice.

... courses & registration information