About Me
Consultant - Lecturer - Workshop Leader
Adele Schmidt has been a consultant in filmmaking for the last 20 years. She has mentored documentary filmmakers at all stages of the production and postproduction cycle. Films that have been coached by Adele have been broadcast on television, participated successfully in film festivals, won awards and have secured distribution.
Adele has been a professorial lecturer for Film and Video production at American University in Washington DC for the past 10 years. She has taught film and video production courses at the film school of the National Centre for the Arts in Mexico City and script writing classes at CIGCITE, also in Mexico City.
Adele is co-founder of Docs In Progress in Silver Spring, MD, an organization that creates community through documentary. At Docs In Progress she has served as director of programs, has given workshops in video production, documentary filmmaking from A-Z and on documentary structure and storytelling.
She is the co-owner of Zeitgeist Media LLC a production company that is working on an ongoing series about progressive rock: Romantic Warriors a Progressive Music Saga.
Producer, Director & Editor
Romantic Warriors – A Progressive Music Saga is a documentary series on progressive rock. Four feature length films in the series have been released so far.
Romantic Warriors IV – Krautrock (2019)
Romantic Warriors III – Canterbury Tales (2015)
Romantic Warriors II – About Rock In Opposition (2012)
Romantic Warriors I – A Progressive Music Saga (2010)
The first film, Romantic Warriors I, was broadcast on National Public Television in the summer of 2011, and won the 2011 TIVA DC Peer Bronze Award for best documentary over 30 Min.
Other productions include:
Producer of “Through the Eye of The Needle – The Art Of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz” (2011)
A Holocaust survivor’s remembrances in uniquely beautiful stitched images and vivid accounts bring an uplifting life story to the screen.
Awards & Film Festivals:
– Audience Favorite Documentary Award 2011 Washington Jewish Film Festival
– Audience Choice Best Short 2012 San Diego Film Festival
– Audience Award Best Short Film 2012 Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival
– Official Selection 2012 Toronto Film festival
Producer of “Washington National Cathedral- A New Century, A New Calling” (2008)
A profile of the Washington DC National Cathedral.
Awards:
-Emmy Award – Best Documentary – Cultural
Producer of “The Power of Forgiveness” (2007) – PBS Broadcast.
A moving and multileveled examination of the religious, spiritual, and scientific values of forgiveness.
Awards & Film Festivals:
– Best Spiritual Documentary, Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival 2008
-Silver Screen Award, US International
– Film and Video Festival 2008 Christopher Award 2009
– TIVA-DC Peer Silver Award 2009
Producer of “Albert Schweitzer – Called to Africa” (2006) – PBS Broadcast
This inspiring docu-drama brings to life the story of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, one of the great humanitarians of the 20th century and recipient of the Nobel Prize for his work in healing the sick and injured in Africa.
Awards:
-Best Entertainment over 30 Min., TIVA- DC Peer Award 2007
-Gabriel Award 2008
-Telly Award 2009
Associate Producer of “Bonhoeffer” (2003) – PBS Broadcast
Dramatic documentary about the young German pacifist and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who resisted the Nazi regime and was hanged two weeks before World War II was over.
Director and Producer of “Land of Mennonites” (2000)
LAND OF MENNONITES gives a deeper look into the Mennonite community in the Northern Mexico state of Chihuahua. The documentary reveals how this community, known for its strict policy of isolation, is challenged to open itself up due to pressures from the outside world.
Awards & Film Festivals:
-Jose Rovirosa Award, Best Documentary of 2000, National University (UNAM,
Mexico City), 2000
– Freiburger Film Forum, Germany 2001
– It’s All True Filmfestival 2001, Sao Paulo
Director and Producer “Juana’s Journey” (1999)
A moving film about Juana, a young mother who struggles to manage her live between street gang and caring for her daughter.
Awards & Film Festivals:
-Award of Excellence, Society for Visual Anthropology, Chicago 1999
-IDFA International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam, Holland
-3rd Annual Short Film Festival, Mexico City
-VIII International Documentary Encounter, Lisbon, Portugal
-19th International New Latin American Film Festival, Barcelona, Spain
-13th International Documentary Film Festival, Guadalajara, Mexico
-VII ‘Message to Man’ International Film Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia
Other Awards
Among the film professional awards she has won as a filmmaker and editor are the Emmy Award, the U.S. International Film and Video Festival Award, the Telly Awards, the Gabriel Award, the Wilbur Award, the Christopher Award, the Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival Award, and the José Rovirosa Award.
Panelist
In 2009 and 2011 Adele served as a panelist for the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (Maryland), reviewing applications in the disciplines of writing, philosophy, history, and media arts.