‘After Parkland’ director, producer tells stories behind the stories in free Vail Symposium program

The Vail Symposium continues to convene locally (via Zoom) while thinking globally. Next up in the Vail Symposium’s free programming is an online presentation on Thursday at 6 p.m. with Emily Taguchi, director and producer of “After Parkland,” a film that follows students and families directly affected by a school shooting.

As a veteran journalist, documentary filmmaker and TV producer, Taguchi will discuss how stories get told on the big and small screens, who decides which stories to tell — and in what format.

For more information and to register, visit vailsymposium.org.

“Embedded is a term most commonly used to describe war correspondents attached to specific military units during conflict,” said Claire Noble, director of programming at Vail Symposium. “Similarly, whether it is the aftermath of a school shooting in America or an indigenous tribe in Brazil trying to save the rain forest, Emily Taguchi immerses her journalism into the lived experiences and emotions of her subjects, providing the audience with an intimate account of how the story affects real lives.”

“After Parkland” is a documentary that details the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting on Feb. 14, 2018, when a former student returned to his high school, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, and opened fire, killing 17 students and faculty and injuring 17 others. Taguchi will discuss important social issues and how documentaries can spark dialogue and focus on the humanity at the core of these issues.

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A veteran journalist, Taguchi’s instinct is to “listen and play witness”; this is then translated into visual journalism. In the Vail Symposium program, Taguchi will address what stories get told, how topics are presented and how television reporting differs from documentary reporting. Documentaries by their very nature address hot button issues that often have numerous facets and journalists must make the call as to which to amplify and which to avoid. Find out how Taguchi makes that call.

Taguchi is currently a producer at ABC “Nightline.” In addition to her role directing and producing “After Parkland,” a feature-length documentary, her documentary work has highlighted other important issues such as aging, the politics of food, and the challenges faced by transgender children.

About the speaker

Taguchi is a journalist and a filmmaker whose work has been recognized with multiple Emmy nominations and a DuPont-Columbia Award. Currently working for “Nightline,” Taguchi’s stories have also aired on CNN, The New York Times Op-Docs and PBS, among others.

Her most recent film with co-director Jake Lefferman, “Asylum,” chronicles the paths two Honduran fathers take on their search for refuge in the U.S. and is premiering at the St. Louis International Film Festival. In 2016, she produced “Taller Than The Trees” (AFI, Tribeca), a documentary short about aging in Japan by Academy Award-winning director Megan Mylan. Previously, she worked as a coordinating producer on “In Defense of Food,” an Emmy-nominated film on the politics of food, and as field producer on “Growing Up Trans,” a duPont-Columbia Award-winning film on transgender children.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Taguchi graduated from Tufts University and the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.