Deirdre Haj

Deirdre Haj Film Streams, Omaha, Executive Director Deirdre Haj joined Film Streams in May 2021 following an outstanding run at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, in Durham, NC, which she had led since January 2010. Under her leadership, Full Frame developed into a prized, Oscar-qualifying festival, established year-round programming and community engagement, and prioritized equity, diversity, and inclusion across the organization and its programming. Achievements during her tenure include the creation of the nationally acclaimed School of Doc filmmaking course for teens, the Teach the Teachers documentary literacy program for educators, and the festival's celebrated Speakeasy Conversations series, including an annual panel addressing the lack of diversity in the documentary filmmaking field. Haj also developed resources to build new Full Frame offices, as well the Full Frame Theater in downtown Durham, and oversaw a consistent annual growth in membership. In addition to her executive leadership of Full Frame, Haj also served as Senior Advisor for Television and Film at Duke University since 2016. Prior to her roles at Full Frame and Duke, she worked between Hollywood studios via the MPA and government agencies, drawing together film and television actors, producers and directors and federal agencies to examine onscreen depictions of various public health issues. She is the founding Vice President of the Film Festival Alliance.

Deirdre is married to Joseph Haj, Artistic Director of The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Selected Press:

"Brave New World", Real Screen, 2020 "We Need to Stop Patting Ourselves on the Back", Filmmaker Magazine, 2017 "Notes from North Carolina", Documentary Magazine, 2017 "Documentary Has a Race Problem", Indiewire, Roger Ross Williams, 2017

Selected videos and Publications:

"A&E IndieFilms Speakeasy", Interview with Jehane Noujaim, 2019 Interview with Deirdre Haj, Papagena Robbins, Synoptique, Vol. 3 Issue 2, 2015