Montes-Bradley: Speaker Profile

Documentary Filmmaker | Lecturer

I’m a documentary filmmaker with over thirty years of experience directing, producing, and editing films that explore the intersections of art, public memory, immigrant narratives, and cultural identity. My work includes more than sixty film credits and has been screened at festivals around the world, as well as distributed through PBS, Kanopy, and other academic and cultural platforms. In 2023, I was honored to be featured in The New York Times for my documentary The Piccirilli Factor, which brings to light the story of Italian-American artisans behind some of America’s most iconic public monuments.

My Speaker Profile: Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of sharing my films and insights in countless film festivals nd at institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, UCLA, the University of Virginia, Saint Louis University, UC Irvine, University of Miami, the British Academy, the University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès, the Universidade Federal do Brasil, the Universidad de Buenos Aires, the African American Museum, The Holocaust Museum, the New York Public Library, Fairfield University, and The Hotchkiss School, among others.

While I’m deeply committed to my work as a filmmaker, I also value the opportunity to teach, speak, and collaborate with students and audiences. I’m not a retired filmmaker looking back—I continue to actively produce and direct new projects. My public speaking, screenings, and workshops are an extension of my creative practice and offer a space for meaningful cultural exchange.

I offer lectures, film screenings with Q&A, and short-format workshops that explore the creative, ethical, and cultural dimensions of documentary filmmaking. My programs are grounded in personal experience and designed to engage students, artists, and general audiences in meaningful conversations about the role of visual storytelling across cultures and historical contexts.

Drawing on my own experience as a documentary filmmaker, I offer a series of curated presentations, each centered around my films and the narratives they bring to light:

•. Redefining the Public Space: From Daniel Chester French: American Sculptor to The Piccirilli Factor. A three-day program featuring screenings of both films, followed by discussions on how public monuments reflect and reshape national identity.

•. The Journey: From The Other Madisons to Julian Bond, Rita Dove: American Poet, and Black Fiddlers. A week-long series presenting four films, each addressing different aspects of the African American experience, followed by in-depth discussions on memory, representation, and legacy.

•. Women Perspectives: Two Extraordinary Women in the Arts – Alice Parker and Joy Brown. A comparative program that includes screenings of Alice Parker and The Art of Joy Brown, and a moderated discussion on artistic innovation, longevity, and the evolving roles of women in American cultural life.

Each of these programs invites participants to engage not only with the films themselves but also with the broader historical and ethical questions they raise—questions I have grappled with personally as a filmmaker committed to telling stories that challenge, preserve, and illuminate.