Deborah Shaffer
Directing
Biography
Deborah Shaffer has a 50-year career as a documentary filmmaker. She began making films in 1970s as a member of the Newsreel Collective, where she collaborated on the short film Make-Out. In 1972 she co-directed and co-produced the short How About You?, and in 1976 Chris and Bernie. Shaffer co-produced and co-directed her first feature documentary, The Wobblies, an oral and archival history of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1979, which premiered at the New York Film Festival and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2021.
Known For

Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series created by George A. Romero, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot twist. The series' episodes spanned the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, and some episodes featured elements of black comedy or more lighthearted themes.
Tales from the Darkside

Since its 1988 premiere, this critically acclaimed documentary series has presented hundreds of films that put a human face on contemporary social issues by relating a compelling story in an intimate fashion. "POV" has won virtually every major film and broadcasting award available, including 38 Emmys, 22 Peabody Awards and three Oscars.
POV

A collection of horror stories taking the viewer into the dark world of Stephen King, featuring vampires, strange objects and sinister humor. The five 20-minutes tales were all taken from the Tales from the Darkside TV series and strung together as a video feature.
Stephen King's Golden Tales

The story of two young single mothers who join forces to make a new kind of family unit for themselves and their children.
Chris and Bernie

This political documentary illustrates the turbulent history of El Salvador from the 1920s-1970s, and the role of the U.S. government in that history. The most comprehensive film introduction to that country, examines the civil war there in light of the Reagan administration's decision to "draw the line" against "communist interference" in Central America. Archival material offers an overview of U.S. military and economic policy in Central America since 1948, while footage drawn from sources in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe provides extensive background to the current political and military situation.
El Salvador: Another Vietnam

Through oral histories, archival footage, photographs, and songs associated with the movement, "The Wobblies" tells the story of the Industrial Workers of the World, the radical union founded in Chicago in 1905 to organize workers across trades. Featuring interviews with aging Wobbly members alongside historical materials from early twentieth-century labor struggles, the film explores the union’s role in strikes, worker activism, and the broader fight for labor rights in the United States.
The Wobblies

This Academy Award–winning documentary follows Dr. Charlie Clements, a former U.S. Air Force pilot in Vietnam who, disillusioned by the war, abandoned his military career to become a physician. Working behind rebel lines in El Salvador, Clements dedicates himself to treating victims of conflict and advocating for nonviolence.
Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements

Racial, social and cultural aspects of La Paz (called Chuquiago by the Aymaras) seen through four stories.
Chuquiago
Throughout the 1980s, El Salvador -- a small country rich with coffee growers and rife with poverty -- endured a brutal civil war, largely ignored by the international community. With aid supplied by the United States, El Salvadoran soldiers ravaged the countryside, killing 75,000 civilians -- many of them women and children. In 1989, the horrific murder of six Jesuit priests and two women shocked the world into action. Following the U.S. investigation into the atrocity, ENEMIES OF WAR reveals the stories of people embarking on a seemingly impossible path to peace in a country suffering from war.
Enemies of War

An intimate look at the life and creative process of feminist, rebel, and visual artist Audrey Flack over her oft-controversial 40-year career.
Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack

The battle of El Salvador and its revolutionary history, from the time of the Spanish conquest and colonization, to the insurgency of the 80s, approached by a Puerto Rican filmmaker immersed in the conflict. Depicts a host of F.M.L.N. guerrillas marching forth from Monte Alzaco, the spiritual home of Salvadoran resistance.
El Salvador: The People Will Win

Based on the memoir of Nicaraguan writer and revolutionary Omar Cabezas, this documentary traces his journey from student activist to guerrilla fighter during the Sandinista revolution.
Fire from the Mountain

During the 1975 wildcat strike in Appalachia, tens of thousands of coal miners walk off the job to defend their right to strike, as cameras capture the struggle from inside the movement.
Wildcat
Filmmakers travel through war-torn Nicaragua to document the conflict between the Sandinista government and U.S.-supported Contra forces. Through interviews with soldiers, farmers, and policymakers, the film examines the human and political realities of the escalating Central American war.
Nicaragua: Report from the Front

Relatives of Chile’s “disappeared” confront the legacy of repression under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, seeking truth and justice for those who vanished during his rule.
Dance of Hope

This documentary examines the musical tastes of Puerto Rico's youth. The terms "cocolos" refers to those who prefer salsa music, and "rockeros" to those who prefer rock music. Through interviews and an array of musical settings, the film explores the young people's feelings in a humorist yet serious manner, bringing to the forefront issues of biases and national identity inherent in this innocent yet very powerful form of social entertainment.
Cocolos y Rockeros

As a young couple make out in a car, we hear the woman’s stream of consciousness thoughts. She worries about her reputation and whether he’ll try to “go all the way.”
Make Out
Thunder in Guyana is the remarkable tale of Janet Jagan, a young woman from Chicago who married Guyanese activist Cheddi Jagan and set off for the British colony to start a socialist revolution. For more than fifty years, the couple fought tirelessly to liberate the country from colonial rule and exploitation.