Susanne Schwibs

Susanne Schwibs serves as a Senior Lecturer at The Media School, Indiana University Bloomington, where she teaches documentary, experimental, and 16mm filmmaking courses including T583 Introduction to Documentary Practice and P468/C660 Advanced Collaborative Workshop—Double Exposure. Her creative practice focuses on documentary and nonfiction film, with works distributed nationally via PBS, Netflix, and public television.

Her research centers on visual storytelling through 16mm & super-8 film, experimental art techniques, and experiential learning models. She emphasizes collaborative production processes, particularly in documentary editing and community-based narratives that explore cultural identity and social themes. This approach integrates technical film craft with pedagogical innovation.

Her filmography demonstrates consistent engagement with American cultural institutions—from sports (blind baseball) to arts education (harp competitions, Nutcracker ballet) and historical preservation (covered bridges). Recent works like the 2023 documentary Thunder Rolls! reflect her commitment to underrepresented communities while maintaining rigorous artistic standards.

Her contributions have been recognized through:

• Multiple Regional Emmy Awards
• CINE Golden Eagle Awards

Schwibs actively bridges academia and creative practice through the Double Exposure project, where Media School students collaborate with Jacobs School of Music composers to produce films with live musical scores. This initiative exemplifies her philosophy of integrating filmmaking education with real-world artistic partnerships and public exhibition at IU Cinema.

Her works maintain national distribution reach while addressing niche subjects—from feminist art history (No Compromise: Lessons in Feminist Art with Judy Chicago) to prairie ecology (Wilderness Plots), demonstrating versatility across documentary subgenres and sustained relevance in media scholarship.