EXPLORER OF
LIGHT
For a greater Loyola Loyola University New Orleans Since 1923 | Nov. 15, 2024 | Vol. 101 Issue 10 | loyolamaroon.com
Award-winning cinematographer and educator prompts students to "think freely."
Courtesy of Synergy Communications
By Eloise Pickering ewpicker@my.loyno.edu
Award-winning cinematographer and filmmaker Claudia Raschke will visit Loyola University New Orleans starting Monday, Nov. 18 as part of Canon’s Explorers of Light program, offering workshops focused on her passion for immersive, hands-on education and cinematography. Raschke is best known for her work with documentaries, most notably the 2022 mini-series “House of Hammer,” the 2018 documentary “RGB” on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the 2021 documentary, “Fauci.” A talk by the cinematographer at Loyola's Nunemaker Auditorium,
starting at 4:55 p.m. Monday, is free and open to the public. Born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, Raschke was brought into the world of film through her mother, who owned a chain of movie theaters. Raschke shot feature films for 10 years before switching her focus to documentaries and television.
"Documentaries are my life source." “Documentaries are my life source. It makes me connected to stories, to people, to cultures, to
conflicts, to forgotten heroes, to blind spots that people are unaware of. And in that for me is, you know, that's my calling,” Raschke said. Today, Raschke lives in New York City continuing her filmmaking career, working for Canon as an Explorer of Light. She founded the NYC Kamera Kollektiv, a boutique agency for documentary cinematographers. Canon’s Explorers of Light program was “created to recognize world-class photographers and filmmakers while providing an educational platform to share their experiences and expertise with other industry professionals, including those at the university level,” said Kevin McCarthy, marketing commu-
nications director at Canon and head of its Explorers of Light and education programs Canon’s education program sends professionals to visit universities and conduct workshops and activities as an extension of students’ in-class curriculum over a three- to four-day period. According to McCarthy, every visit is specifically tailored to the university. From Nov. 18-21, Raschke will be visiting Loyola to share her experience with Loyola’s film students “Aside from her award-winning skills as a documentary filmmaker, Claudia Raschke is an extraordinary educator and will bring an added dimension of hands-on learning, and
an experience students will remember long after she leaves,” McCarthy said, “LOYNO has an exceptional film program, and we know that experiential learning is a primary component of the university’s approach to education.” According to Raschke, her method of teaching is based on immersion and takes into account the objectives of the students. “My workshops kind of embrace where students are in the moment, and then I try to bring them on a journey to discovery,” Raschke said.
See LIGHT, p.8