What does the U.S. Democratic Party have in common with observational documentary? The promise and the problem of transparency, according to filmmaker Jason Fox.

In a live performance on Thursday, Feb. 15, from the forthcoming audio series “Trust Issues,” filmmaker and World Records editor Fox explores the 60-year-long relationship between direct cinema and Democratic Party politics. Fox will trace these ties, from Primary, Robert Drew’s pioneering 1960 portrait of the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary contest between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, to Michelle and Barack Obama’s Higher Ground Productions and the Oscar-winning documentary, American Factory.

Fox is a film professor and editor based between New York and Toronto. He has taught in the Graduate School of Cinema Studies at New York University, Princeton University, Vassar College, and CUNY Hunter College. He has worked as a film programmer in conjunction with the American Museum of Natural History, the Flaherty Seminar, and the Museum of Modern Art, among other venues. He is also the founding editor of World Records, published with New York University’s Center for Media, Culture, and History.

Joining Fox for a question-and-answer session is artist and producer Aliya Pabani. She hosted and produced Canadaland’s critically acclaimed arts and culture podcast, The Imposter, and her audio work has appeared on In the Dark Radio, NTS Radio, and BBC’s Short Cuts. She co-created POC in Audio, an online directory of more than 700 people of colour in audio from around the world. Her predominantly installation- and performance-based art has been shown at Toronto venues including Images Festival, SummerWorks Performance Festival, Art Metropole, and the Theatre Centre.

This live cinema performance starts at 5 p.m. and is presented on the UWindsor campus by the Live Doc Project and the Department of History. This event is free and open to the public at the SoCA Armouries’ Performance Hall, 353 Freedom Way.