Week of July 20th – July 27th, 2025
Imagine yourself and your film or work-in-progress, a group of fellow filmmakers, and a week in the mountaintop haven of Treefrog Farm in Guilford, Vermont: Film screenings in a rustic barn, creative problem-solving in the hot tub, networking by the swimming hole, and strategizing your Kickstarter campaign over coffee on the deck. This is an opportunity to gain practical insights, engage in meaningful discussions, and recharge your creative energy through our unique approach to “radical relaxation.”
CID’s Executive Director Susi Walsh understands the power of the unique role that Kopkind/CID offers to independent filmmakers. “Over 150 filmmakers have joined us up at Kopkind over the years, bringing their diverse and inspiring films to be workshopped in a truly supportive space with their peers. Filmmakers have formed lasting partnerships, networks and collaborations with their fellow campers—many of them coming back at different stages in their film. We are proud to be “early and often” supporters of so many great filmmakers!”
Augusta Palmer, Kopkind Film Camp 2022 attendee, said of the experience, “Film camp was a game changer for me. One of the characters in my film says, ‘We were filled with eroici furori, poetic furor … I always thought that was the best thing that could happen to you, to be thrown together with this group of people who had a heroic enthusiasm.’ Kopkind was like that for documentary. Thank you for that gift.”
How to Apply
Applying for the retreat week is easy. Use the form on this page to tell us something about you and what you might want to “workshop” during that week (plan to screen 30-40 minutes of either a work-in-progress or completed piece.) We expect to have more applicants than spaces so please reach out as soon as possible. Deadline for all applications is June 1st.
Cost and Amenities
The cost to participate for the week is $425 per person. This includes: a single cabin room for 7 nights (shared bathroom facilities), clean linens and towels, continental breakfasts, lunches, and sit-down family style dinners. Wireless internet is available. Participants are expected to come to evening film screenings in the barn and discussions held on the deck overlooking the meadow in the morning. Participants will be responsible for their own travel to Treefrog Farm which is located in Guilford, VT. Once registered, more information will be emailed to you including suggested items to bring and directions.
Our Staff
Susi Walsh has been the Executive Director of the Center for Independent Documentary for the past forty-two years. Over 300 documentary films have been produced in association with independent filmmakers during her tenure, and have been screened nationally on public and cable television, as well as theatrically released and marketed to educational institutions worldwide. In addition to her work with the Center for Independent Documentary, her past work includes four years as the New England field organizer for the Independent Television Service (ITVS); and screen credits as co-producer on documentaries for public television with Fred Simon. In 2008 she was recognized by Women in Film and Video with an “Image Award” for her work with independent filmmakers, and in 2017 with a “Visionaire Award”.
John Scagliotti has lived at Tree Frog Farm for over thirty years. He is an independent filmmaker, whose work includes the Emmy Award-winning “Before Stonewall” and “After Stonewall”. He was the creator of “In the Life”, which was a nationwide public television program on gay life. Before that he was program director at WBAI radio in New York and news director at WBCN in Boston. His most recent documentary “Before Homosexuals” continues his work on the history of same sex love and is now in distribution. He is the administrator of Kopkind.
Mary Lewis is our chef. She lives in Martinsburg, WV, where she is acting director of The Arts Center, a nonprofit cultural organization. She has been cooking for large and small groups and events in West Virginia and New York for more than twenty years.
JoAnn Wypijewski worked for eighteen years as an editor and writer at The Nation. Her writing has appeared also in Harper’s, CounterPunch, The New York Times Magazine and other publications. She anthologized Andy’s work in The Thirty Years’ Wars and is the creator of Painting by Numbers: Komar and Melamid’s Scientific Guide to Art. She is on the editorial committee of New Left Review, is a regular columnist for Mother Jones and is active in housing/tenants rights issues on New York’s Lower East Side. She is president of the Kopkind board and program director of the journalist week.
Christopher Dawes graduated from Colgate University, is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, and has spent most of his career working for two large financial institutions as a Product Manager while being a prolific filmmaker in his spare time. He has produced over 30 mini-documentaries on a wide range of topics. He is currently working as the Associate Producer, Assistant Director, Editor, and Archivist on a feature length documentary about gay and lesbian history from 2000 BC through 1900 AD, and as the Assistant Producer on a feature length film adaptation of an award winning one woman stage play.
MacPherson Christopher, our operations manager, is a documentary film maker based in Vermont. His work is centered on environmental and social justice issues, and specializes in human interest stories of all variety. His main goal in film-making is to continue to tell meaningful stories and a balance a career of passion projects alongside work for integral non-profits and organizations. Mac holds a degree in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College and a Master of Fine Arts from Emerson College.
We are proud to participate in the Card to Culture program, a collaboration between the Mass Cultural Council and the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, and the Massachusetts Health Connector, by broadening accessibility to cultural programming. EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders automatically qualify for financial aid for workshops and seminars; tuition will vary. See the complete list of participating organizations offering EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare discounts.