Dara Kell

Teaches at Magnet Training Center

Dara Kell is an award winning documentary filmmaker. Her films have been broadcast on PBS, TVFrance and Netflix, and screened at festivals worldwide. Her first film “Dear Mandela,” follows three courageous young South African slum dwellers who lead a social movement to stop mass evictions across the country. The film won multiple awards including Grand Jury Prize at the Brooklyn Film Festival and Best South African Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival. 

“Dear Mandela” was the centerpiece of a 3-year, 4 -continent-wide audience engagement project that developed the leadership skills of housing activists in slums in India, Nigeria, Brazil, Haiti, and many other countries. Dara has made short documentaries in Brazil, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and China, and is currently making a documentary about Reverend William Barber and civil disobedience in America. 

Her work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, the Ford Foundation and the Corporation of Yaddo.