Ten Nonfiction Projects From First-Time Filmmakers Announced For Gotham Documentary Lab

Special: Gotham Film & Media Institute has announced for the first time 10 projects selected for the prestigious Documentary Art Lab, an intense program for filmmakers.

“Capturing universal themes such as family, home and the power of personal narrative, this year’s films promise to push the boundaries of documentary filmmaking with a distinctive and authentic sound,” Gotham CEO Jeff Sharp said in a statement. “We are excited to support these incredible creators from around the world in reaching their audiences.

lab, now 18^I The year “supports film directors for the first time in a year by completing, marketing and distributing their first films, supported by Gotham staff and mentored by leading industry members and filmmakers.”

The Documentary Lab is run by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon, whose production company includes: Დ at the end2017 documentary feature film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January Calland Maureen A. Ryan, author, professor of Columbia University Film MFA Program and producer with credits including man on the wire (2008) and dick johnson is dead (2020).

For the first time, the projects selected for the lab include three: find your smile, eldest daughterY stand on the clouds – Initiative from the Expanding Communities programme, “To provide access to specialized resources, community space and industry for Black, local, PoC and LGBTQIA+ persons with disabilities and creators in the film, television and sound industries”.

Sponsored by Gotham Labs, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and SAGindie. 10 projects and scholarships that will help you take part in the laboratory, which will take place on 13-17 June:

• black snow –– A tense and illuminating thriller told through the eyes of a bad citizen journalist who promises to shed new light on the human value of coal. Alina Simone (Director, DP), Kirstine Barfod (Producer)
• short sensitive light –– Four African students at America’s elite MIT try to graduate from their country’s change agents. But what changes come from living in two different worlds? Arthur Moussa (Director, Producer, Cinematography), Kelly Creedon (Editing), Brooke Sitgraves Turner (Co-Producer)
• find your smile (Member of Expanding Communities) – Comedian Arlieta Hall must learn to balance her life as a future artist with the pain of watching her father slowly die from Alzheimer’s disease. Light the way for hope, healing and other caregivers to find their own laughter. Arlieta Hall (director, writer), Brittany Alsot (director, producer, writer), (Don Cells Um., Editor)
• bubbles of joy –– Joybubbles (1949-2007) was the name chosen by Joe Engresia: a born blind child prodigy who can hack an analog telephone system with a magic whistle. Joybubbles spent her entire life on the phone, exploiting early telecommunications vulnerabilities with her signature 2600Hz whistle: winning hearts, fighting demons, and finally proclaiming she’s 5 years old forever. Rachel Morrison (director, writer), Sarah Winshall (producer), Will Butler (producer), Patrick Lawrence (editor, writer)
• made in ethiopia –– Three women traverse the rough terrain of Ethiopia’s largest Chinese industrial park. Xinyan Yu (director, producer), Max Duncan (director, producer, DP)
• eldest daughter (Scholar of Expanding Communities) – When filmmaker Mabel Valdivieso is reunited with her Peruvian family, whom she hasn’t seen in sixteen years, World War IV. While battling stage-stage cancer, he must confront the secrets of the past that separated him from his parents. As time slows down, Mabel must find a way to mend frayed family ties before it’s too late. Art can be your only hope. eldest daughter Explore the connection between family reunification, mental health, identity and belonging in the anti-immigrant era. Mabel Valdivieso (director, producer, writer), Sarah Maamur (editing), Cello Alvarez-Stelle (impact producer)
• stand on the clouds (Member of Expanding Communities) – When the world’s largest telescope is built on its sacred mountain, Mauna Kea, three native Hawaiian families dedicate their lives to protecting it. Through the eyes of mothers and daughters, stand on the clouds It explores intergenerational healing and challenging social and emotional work to preserve ancient rites while protecting your body from the sacred mountain. Jalena Keane-Lee (Director, Producer, Cinematography), Amber Espinosa-Jones, (Producer), Erin Lau (Producer)
• house footprints –– Film director Colette Gunnim embarks on a journey with her family to find their ancestral home, who fled to Mexico and Palestine as a child. Intertwined journeys reveal family trauma and their struggle for a sense of home in suburban America. What started as a desire to connect with Colette’s cultural background will turn into an inner desire to heal her difficult relationship with her parents and ultimately herself.. Colette Gunim (director, writer), Capella Fahumi (producer), Sarah Maamur (editor)
• Invisible – Invisible Follow the story of Pedro, who aspires to become a social worker. Pedro, a blind and baseless immigrant, faces a harsh political reality in the United States to fulfill his dreams and provide mental health care to the vulnerable. What started as a journey to improve the mental health of others will eventually become Pedro’s path to self-healing. Set Hernandez Rongkilyo (director, producer, DP, editor), Felix Endara (producer), Daniel Chavez-Antiveros (editor)
• Anonymous Muscogee Nation Documentary –– When the Moscow nation suddenly censors its free press, a rogue reporter struggles to expose his government’s corruption in a historic war that will resonate across India. Rebecca Landsbury-Baker and Joe Piller (Directors), Jean Remy (Editor)