Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at MECA&D

01/27/2026

From Mailee OT, a new doc for The Guardian, about the influencer racing to save Thailand’s most endangered sea mammal.

Amateur conservationist and social media influencer Theerasak 'Pop' Saksritawee has a rare bond with Thailand’s critically endangered dugongs.Subscribe to Th...

12/02/2025

Our semester is coming to an end and we want to show you what we have been working on. Our two-night final showcase is coming up on December 10th and 11th! It will be held at the PMA and it’s free! Come watch and hear stories about giant pumpkins, a small town journalist, puppets, an optimistic climate scientist, and more. The links for both nights are in our bio.

11/26/2025

A visit from to ! Video by

03/18/2025

Congrats to Jo Strogatz (Salt ‘24) whose final Salt story is a finalist for the Student Podcast Challenge from !

03/05/2025

New from Tina Mullen (Salt Spring ‘22) — the story of how The Godfather movie almost didn’t get made! Produced for and

04/24/2024

Join us for an evening of short audio documentaries from the spring 2024 Salt grads! Stories include a community facing a make-or-break moment in the path of totality, one of the last video rental stores (!) in the state, inappropriate vanity license plates, a town torn apart by a toilet, kids talking about fear… and more!

Wednesday, May 1st, at SPACE! Doors 6:30pm, show 7:00pm. FREE!

Join us for an evening of short audio documentaries from the graduating class of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at MECA&D. Stories include a…

04/03/2024

Due to impending inclement weather, we are postponing our Storytelling Night at SPACE until this coming Tuesday, April 9, when the temps will be in the 50s.

A night of live storytelling from students at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at the Maine College of Art & Design

03/28/2024

Salt presents a night of live storytelling at SPACE! Join us as current students from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at Maine College of Art & Design share true personal stories, live, with (mostly!) no notes.

The evening will be hosted by guest artist Micaela Blei (2-time Moth GrandSLAM winner and former Director of Education at The Moth), who has spent several weeks working with Salt students on storytelling and performance.

Thursday April 4th! Doors 6:30pm, show 7:00pm. Free!

Salt presents a night of live storytelling at SPACE! Join us as current students from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at Maine College of…

03/20/2024

Come meet some Salt Faculty!

The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies will be hosting a Zoom Q&A session on Wednesday, March 27 at 6pm.

For those who aren’t familiar, Salt is a 15-week graduate certificate program in documentary studies that emphasizes fieldwork, production, and ethical approaches to storytelling.

This Fall we’ll be offering concentrations in Audio, Short Film and a new (!) track in Nonfiction Writing.

The priority application deadline for Salt’s Fall Semester is coming up on April 7th, and this is a great chance to meet the faculty, learn more about the program, and ask questions.

The event will feature:

Erin Murphy, Short Film Instructor
Peter Lang-Stanton, Radio & Podcasting Instructor
Zahir Janmohamed, Writing Instructor
Isaac Kestenbaum, Director of Salt

Register here https://apply.meca.edu/register/?id=f093eb2b-5327-4eea-bdf3-54952f12eaea

Photo: Christopher Dardaris

12/14/2023

Your one true love is trapped behind your phone screen: what do you do? My film, “Swipe Right on Juliet,” will explore dating app culture and the hoops people jump through all for a chance of love.

Watch the premiere of this short film by Chloe Dearborn tonight at !

12/14/2023

Does the internet have a physical mark in the world? In Portland, Maine? What does it take to render the so-called "cloud" visible? 

Watch the premiere of this short film by Natasha Markov- Riss tonight at at 7pm!

12/13/2023

Kennedy Park‘s street soccer courts are at the heart of Maine’s most diverse neighborhood. “Courts of Belonging” explores how the rising popularity in soccer together with grassroots initiatives like Kennedy Park Football Club have created diverse communities and a sense of belonging for new immigrants in Portland, Maine.

See this film by Santiago Tijerina and others in the Salt Fall '23 cohort this Thursday December 14 at 7pm at Space Gallery.