OPAL PICTURES

Paula Froehle is a FILM DIRECTOR, VISUAL ARTIST, EDUCATOR and ENTREPRENEUR with over 30 years experience in film and education.

Paula Froehle is a filmmaker, visual artist, entrepreneur, and educator whose work spans documentary film, media arts, design, and impact-driven storytelling.

As a filmmaker, she has directed 14 films and more than 20 media projects. Her directing credits include her second feature-length documentary, The Faraway Nearby, which premiered at Docville in Belgium and has screened at numerous festivals.

As a visual artist, Froehle explores new approaches to traditional mediums. Her recent work blends portraiture and stitching to create what she describes as “floating drawings.”

As an entrepreneur, she has helped found several successful ventures, including Opal Pictures, a design and film production company founded in 2004; Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, where she served as Founding Academic Dean from 2007 to 2014; and Chicago Media Project, founded in 2014, a member-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting impact documentary work and presenting the annual DOC10 Film Festival.

She is also co-founder and co-fund manager of CMP Invest/Impact, one of only two equity funds in the United States investing in documentary films through a “pay it forward” model that supports and sustains documentary work.

As an educator, Froehle served as Founding Academic Dean of Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, where she developed intensive, immersive degree programs in Film & Broadcast Media, Recording Arts, Game Design & Interactive Media, VFX & Animation, and Design & Visual Communication. She has also developed graduate-level curriculum in Social Impact Media for Saybrook University in Oakland, California.As a FILMMAKER she has directed 14 films and over 20 media projects. Her directing credits include her 2nd feature-length documentary, “The Faraway Nearby,” which premier at DocVille Belgium and has screened at numerous festivals.

MOVIES THAT HAVE INSPIRED ME:

Un Chien Andalou by Bunuel + Dali

Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Deren

La Jetee by Chris Marker

Man on Wire by James Marsh

Anything by the Quay Brothers

ICARUS by Bryan Fogel

306 Hollywood by Elan & Jonathan Bogarin

so many others...

FAVORITE PLACES

Sardinia

The coast of Maine

Cadaques, Spain

Santa Fe

Joshua Tree

My home

“It's all in what you choose to put a frame around in the world.”

My first film. A found footage loop, optically printed. My first love.

DAD @ 80 + new technology = just speeding along.