Helen Hood Scheer
Helen Hood Scheer is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, freelance producer, and professor at ºÚÁÏÍø, where she spearheads the documentary production track and serves as the internship advisor for students in the Department of Cinematic Arts. In 2023, she won ºÚÁÏÍø's Distinguished Teaching Award. Throughout her instruction, service, and professional work, Helen is a strong advocate for students. In 2020, she received the  Advancement of Women Award from the  ºÚÁÏÍø President’s Commission on the Status of Women, and both Helen and her students were  featured in &²Ô²ú²õ±è;, &²Ô²ú²õ±è;an article expressing the CSU’s commitment to preparing  the next generation of female filmmakers for California’s multi-billion dollar entertainment industry. She was also selected to represent the College of the Arts , which focuses on excellence in research at ºÚÁÏÍø.
Stanford University
MFA in Documentary Film and Video, Department of Art & Art History Additional coursework in Stanford’s Business School and Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school)
University of California, Santa Cruz
BA with highest honors in American Studies and a minor in History
Emphasis in Politics and Expressive Culture
Universidad de Madrid, FilosofÃa A
Emphasis in Spanish language, history and art history
Helen regularly teaches documentary production courses at the introductory, intermediate, and advanced levels (CINE 355, 455, and 465) and CINE'S internship course (CINE 492). Occasionally she offers Documentary Film Festival & Analysis Experience (CINE 384), and she previously taught Documentary History & Theory (CINE 380) and other courses. Except in special circumstances, CINE 355/455/465 are only intended for students enrolled in the Documentary Filmmaking track.
Documentaries that Helen Hood Scheer has directed/produced/shot/edited have screened at over 100 festivals and museums including Hot Docs, Full Frame, True/False, and the National Gallery of Art, and been broadcast on television and streamed on demand. She has also worked on documentaries for other directors that have been broadcast on HBO, PBS, ABC, and National Geographic Television. Past credits include contemporary and historical films on a wide range of topics, from science and sports to arts and politics. She is an alumna of the Sundance Creative Producing Summit and IFP’s Spotlight on Documentaries.
Recently, Helen produced and served as sound recordist on  , a documentary feature tracing the evolution of "sex" on-screen from a woman’s perspective, exposing the uncomfortable realities behind some of Hollywood’s most iconic scenes and celebrating the bold creators leading the way for change. The film features Jane Fonda, David Simon, Joey Soloway, Karyn Kusama, Angela Robinson, some of the nation’s top intimacy coordinators. The project received funding from Sundance, California Humanities, the International Documentary Association Enterprise Fund, and more. Body Parts had its world premiere at the  and is now screening at festivals and universities worldwide. It was acquired by Starz and the BBC (among others). It is now available is the US on , , , and additional VOD partners plus through for educational use.
Films Helen directs herself tend to be cinema verité portraits. She made her directorial debut with &²Ô²ú²õ±è;—an award-winning documentary feature film about competitive jump rope following kids pursue their dream of becoming world rope skipping champions; it premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, was acquired by Showtime, broadcast nearly 250 times, and optioned for fictionalization. She also produced, shot, and co-wrote this project, produced an educational outreach campaign, and self-distributes DVDs. Scholastic Media created a 3-minute version for distribution to under-performing schools nationwide. Helen also made several acclaimed documentary shorts, including  , about a druggist who operates the only pharmacy within a 4,000 square mile radius in the American Southwest while navigating a profound divide between his personal and professional life; it premiered at DOC NYC, won both Special Jury and Special Audience Recognition at Aspen ShortsFest. Both &²Ô²ú²õ±è;JUMP!  and &²Ô²ú²õ±è;The Apothecary  were selected by the U.S. Department of State as part of the American Film Showcase, a film diplomacy program that travels to American embassies worldwide.  
In recent years, Helen served as Consulting Producer on (PBS POV), (PBS Independent Lens), &²Ô²ú²õ±è; (SXSW premiere),  Archival Producer for &²Ô²ú²õ±è; &²Ô²ú²õ±è;(Full Frame Film Festival premiere), and as a Consulting Producer on &²Ô²ú²õ±è; &²Ô²ú²õ±è;(winner of SXSW's 24 Beats Per Second Award; HBO Latino). &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
Helen is now in the midst of post-production and R&D on two of her own documentary shorts (both set in the Los Angeles Superior Court) and consults on work-in-progress documentary features by other directors.
Helen has won numerous grants to brings acclaimed filmmakers to campus to screen and discuss their works. She has also created master classes for students with leading directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, and attorneys in the documentary field.
As part of her role as internship advisor, Helen organizes several professional development activities for students each year, including workshops and panel discussions with professionals in the entertainment industry. Additionally, Helen crafted an on-going program for students to attend top documentary film festivals such as Full Frame and True/False with partial scholarship funding.
Helen’s students’ films have won the top awards at the CSU Media Arts Festival including the Jury Award, Audience Award, and several Best Documentary Awards; earned spots at professional film festivals; and received distribution through outlets including PBS and Nowness. Several graduates from the Documentary Filmmaking track have gone on to graduate schools (including UCLA and Duke) and many have established successful careers in film (including winning Emmys and securing full-time jobs in production, post-production, casting, grant administration, and more).
