Media Makers with Disabilities Report
Presenters: Ranell Shubert and Cielo Saucedo (IDA’s Nonfiction Access Initiative)
To be able to champion nonfiction practitioners from the disability community at different scales and across media, we must understand where and how storytellers are working, what their barriers of entry and sustainability are, and how we can best support their work.
The Nonfiction Access Initiative (NAI) 2024 Report: Enhancing Accessibility and Support for Disabled Nonfiction Media Makers, is a pivotal community-based research project spearheaded by IDA’s NAI program and FWD-Doc. The report underscores the importance of data in advocating for the inclusion and support of disabled media makers. This session will highlight the distinctive survey methodology, outline its research goals, and share its key findings. In addition, the NAI team will provide valuable insights to funders and organizations on how to eliminate existing barriers to foster the creative work and lives of disabled media makers.
People of Color Documentary Ecosystem Report
Presenters: Sahar Driver and Sonya Childress (Color Congress)
The documentary field has responded to calls to diversify the industry in varying ways and recent commitments have swung from launching diversity initiatives to rolling them back. However, a small ecosystem of POC-led and serving documentary organizations have remained steadfast in their commitments. Now more than ever, we need to be considering their efforts to strengthen people of color visibility, voice, and power.
Since 2022, Color Congress has been weaving a web of organizations across the US and US islands that serve nonfiction filmmakers, leaders, and audiences of color. There is deep power in community-based initiatives that are distinct from one another, but networked and in relationship. In this session, Color Congress will present a new report that highlights the collective contributions of their member organizations, offering a deeper look into who they are, how they run, and who they serve—as well as how they can be better supported as they lay the groundwork for a future of the field that is a more powerful force for social change.
SPECTRES
Presenter: Sally Volkmann (SPECTRES) and Nicholas Pilarski (ASU's RV-CoLab)
Drawing on extensive research and the expertise of veteran documentary producers, directors, academics, and cybersecurity specialists, SPECTRES seeks to clarify digital security’s nuances for the documentary maker. The talk will outline practical steps for adaptation, mitigation, and resilience to equip filmmakers and XR storytellers with the necessary tools to safeguard their sensitive content.
In response to the evolving challenges and ethical dilemmas within the digital realm, SPECTRES, a comprehensive guide tailored for documentary filmmakers, will launch in early summer. The guide aims to illuminate the complex aspects of digital security, ethical considerations, and the realities faced by documentarians today. It will also provide a clear strategy for enhancing cyber hygiene and protecting creative work. This research is conducted by ASU’s Resilient Visions CoLab (co-directed by Nicholas Pilarski and Sarah Basset) and documentary editor Sally Volkmann who's team experienced state surveillance during Academy Award winning ICARUS (2016).
Biographies (submitted by the speakers):
Ranell Shubert is the Nonfiction Access Initiative Funds Program Manager at the International Documentary Association, a movement aimed at narrative change through building power, community, and increasing opportunities for nonfiction media-makers who identify as disabled. She also teaches Podcast Production at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining IDA and NAI, she produced the Whats Up With Docs Podcast and also worked with the 1IN4 Coalition creating artist development programs for creatives with disabilities. Ranell has 10 years of experience in artist support programs and education, film festivals and industry programming, production, pitching, funding, advocacy, and distribution, and provides creative and professional consultation to nonfiction storytellers of various forms from film, series, podcasts, and immersive content.
Cielo Saucedo is an disabled artist from a family of migrant farm workers. They work with computer generated imagery, non-fiction writing and sculpture to disrupt notions of humanism and make space for disabled mind-bodies and ecologies. Technology mediates their artistic production with the wax and wane of their ability. From this direct response to their body, an unprivileged mutuality between ecological space and virtual experience is offered. In their work video games trace histories of oil infrastructure and birch trees are woven into sand dunes. They have shown work in New York, Chicago, London and Quito. They participated in the artist collective SIQ (Sick in Quarters) and are a founding member of W.E., an ecological action group started in Chicago. They received their BFA from School of the Art Institute, Chicago, and are a MFA candidate at UCLA.
Sonya Childress is a founding Co-Director of Color Congress, an ecosystem-builder that resources, supports, and connects organizations led by people of color that serve nonfiction filmmakers, leaders, and audiences of color across the US and US islands, with Sahar Driver. As Senior Fellow with the Perspective Fund, she examined issues of ethics, equity and accountability in the documentary field. A veteran strategist, she spent two decades devising impact campaigns and distribution strategies at Active Voice, California Newsreel and Firelight Media, where she piloted a fellowship for impact producers of color. She is a board member of the Center for Cultural Power, a member of the Documentary Accountability Working Group, a working group member for ‘The Lens Reflected’ study, a 2015 Rockwood JustFilms Fellow, a recipient of the 2022 Leading Light Award from Doc NYC, and a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Sahar Driver is a veteran documentary impact strategist, field builder, and researcher. Her career has focused on social and cultural transformation through nonfiction storytelling. She has led impact campaigns and strategy for over two-dozen documentaries, independently and with Active Voice. She has designed and led impact trainings and grantmaking programs to support impact producers and filmmakers of color with Firelight Media. She worked with Doc Society to update the second edition of their Impact Field Guide and wrote the 2019 Impact Hi5 case studies. She is on the Picture Motion Advisory Board, was a 2022 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow, and a 2021 Rockwood/JustFilms Fellow. In 2020 she authored the Ford Foundation commissioned report: Beyond Inclusion: The Critical Role of People of Color in the U.S. Documentary Ecosystem. She is founding Co-Executive Director of Color Congress.
Sally Volkmann (she/her) is an artist and documentary filmmaker. She is drawn to intimate, character-driven narratives, non-linear storytelling and the rich texture of archival. Her work reflects her interests in climate solutions, social justice, and the creative process. Sally has contributed to the documentary community as a Jury Member for the IDA Awards; Contributing Editor at the Sundance Documentary Edit & Story Lab; Emerging Editor Fellow in the Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room Program; and served on the Steering Committee of the Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE).
Nicholas Pilarski is an Associate Professor at ASU and a Senior Global Futures Scientist, focusing on XR and spatial computing within the realm of media. With a deep passion for co-creating content that sheds light on historicized poverty and class dynamics, he believes in making media that genuinely represents communities rather than just portraying them. Notably, he has been recognized as one of the "25 New Faces of Cinema" by Filmmaker Magazine. Pilarski's methodology has been featured at the MIT Co-Creation Studio and is a Co-Director of ASU's RV-CoLab, emphasizing community visioning and security. He has advised the Mayor's Office of the City of New York on media policy for societal betterment and economic mobility and his work has been showcased on platforms such as The New York Times, museums like the MoMA, and various global film festivals for his documentary work., Nicholas Pilarski is an Associate Professor at ASU and a Senior Global Futures Scientist, focusing on XR and spatial computing within the realm of media. With a deep passion for co-creating content that sheds light on historicized poverty and class dynamics, he believes in making media that genuinely represents communities rather than just portraying them. Notably, he has been recognized as one of the "25 New Faces of Cinema" by Filmmaker Magazine. Pilarski's methodology has been featured at the MIT Co-Creation Studio and is a Co-Director of ASU's RV-CoLab, emphasizing community visioning and security. He has advised the Mayor's Office of the City of New York on media policy for societal betterment and economic mobility and his work has been showcased on platforms such as The New York Times, museums like the MoMA, and various global film festivals for his documentary work.
Media Makers with Disabilities Report
Presenters: Ranell Shubert and Cielo Saucedo (IDA’s Nonfiction Access Initiative)
To be able to champion nonfiction practitioners from the disability community at different scales and across media, we must understand where and how storytellers are working, what their barriers of entry and sustainability are, and how we can best support their work.
The Nonfiction Access Initiative (NAI) 2024 Report: Enhancing Accessibility and Support for Disabled Nonfiction Media Makers, is a pivotal community-based research project spearheaded by IDA’s NAI program and FWD-Doc. The report underscores the importance of data in advocating for the inclusion and support of disabled media makers. This session will highlight the distinctive survey methodology, outline its research goals, and share its key findings. In addition, the NAI team will provide valuable insights to funders and organizations on how to eliminate existing barriers to foster the creative work and lives of disabled media makers.
People of Color Documentary Ecosystem Report
Presenters: Sahar Driver and Sonya Childress (Color Congress)
The documentary field has responded to calls to diversify the industry in varying ways and recent commitments have swung from launching diversity initiatives to rolling them back. However, a small ecosystem of POC-led and serving documentary organizations have remained steadfast in their commitments. Now more than ever, we need to be considering their efforts to strengthen people of color visibility, voice, and power.
Since 2022, Color Congress has been weaving a web of organizations across the US and US islands that serve nonfiction filmmakers, leaders, and audiences of color. There is deep power in community-based initiatives that are distinct from one another, but networked and in relationship. In this session, Color Congress will present a new report that highlights the collective contributions of their member organizations, offering a deeper look into who they are, how they run, and who they serve—as well as how they can be better supported as they lay the groundwork for a future of the field that is a more powerful force for social change.
SPECTRES
Presenter: Sally Volkmann (SPECTRES) and Nicholas Pilarski (ASU's RV-CoLab)
Drawing on extensive research and the expertise of veteran documentary producers, directors, academics, and cybersecurity specialists, SPECTRES seeks to clarify digital security’s nuances for the documentary maker. The talk will outline practical steps for adaptation, mitigation, and resilience to equip filmmakers and XR storytellers with the necessary tools to safeguard their sensitive content.
In response to the evolving challenges and ethical dilemmas within the digital realm, SPECTRES, a comprehensive guide tailored for documentary filmmakers, will launch in early summer. The guide aims to illuminate the complex aspects of digital security, ethical considerations, and the realities faced by documentarians today. It will also provide a clear strategy for enhancing cyber hygiene and protecting creative work. This research is conducted by ASU’s Resilient Visions CoLab (co-directed by Nicholas Pilarski and Sarah Basset) and documentary editor Sally Volkmann who's team experienced state surveillance during Academy Award winning ICARUS (2016).
Biographies (submitted by the speakers):
Ranell Shubert is the Nonfiction Access Initiative Funds Program Manager at the International Documentary Association, a movement aimed at narrative change through building power, community, and increasing opportunities for nonfiction media-makers who identify as disabled. She also teaches Podcast Production at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining IDA and NAI, she produced the Whats Up With Docs Podcast and also worked with the 1IN4 Coalition creating artist development programs for creatives with disabilities. Ranell has 10 years of experience in artist support programs and education, film festivals and industry programming, production, pitching, funding, advocacy, and distribution, and provides creative and professional consultation to nonfiction storytellers of various forms from film, series, podcasts, and immersive content.
Cielo Saucedo is an disabled artist from a family of migrant farm workers. They work with computer generated imagery, non-fiction writing and sculpture to disrupt notions of humanism and make space for disabled mind-bodies and ecologies. Technology mediates their artistic production with the wax and wane of their ability. From this direct response to their body, an unprivileged mutuality between ecological space and virtual experience is offered. In their work video games trace histories of oil infrastructure and birch trees are woven into sand dunes. They have shown work in New York, Chicago, London and Quito. They participated in the artist collective SIQ (Sick in Quarters) and are a founding member of W.E., an ecological action group started in Chicago. They received their BFA from School of the Art Institute, Chicago, and are a MFA candidate at UCLA.
Sonya Childress is a founding Co-Director of Color Congress, an ecosystem-builder that resources, supports, and connects organizations led by people of color that serve nonfiction filmmakers, leaders, and audiences of color across the US and US islands, with Sahar Driver. As Senior Fellow with the Perspective Fund, she examined issues of ethics, equity and accountability in the documentary field. A veteran strategist, she spent two decades devising impact campaigns and distribution strategies at Active Voice, California Newsreel and Firelight Media, where she piloted a fellowship for impact producers of color. She is a board member of the Center for Cultural Power, a member of the Documentary Accountability Working Group, a working group member for ‘The Lens Reflected’ study, a 2015 Rockwood JustFilms Fellow, a recipient of the 2022 Leading Light Award from Doc NYC, and a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Sahar Driver is a veteran documentary impact strategist, field builder, and researcher. Her career has focused on social and cultural transformation through nonfiction storytelling. She has led impact campaigns and strategy for over two-dozen documentaries, independently and with Active Voice. She has designed and led impact trainings and grantmaking programs to support impact producers and filmmakers of color with Firelight Media. She worked with Doc Society to update the second edition of their Impact Field Guide and wrote the 2019 Impact Hi5 case studies. She is on the Picture Motion Advisory Board, was a 2022 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow, and a 2021 Rockwood/JustFilms Fellow. In 2020 she authored the Ford Foundation commissioned report: Beyond Inclusion: The Critical Role of People of Color in the U.S. Documentary Ecosystem. She is founding Co-Executive Director of Color Congress.
Sally Volkmann (she/her) is an artist and documentary filmmaker. She is drawn to intimate, character-driven narratives, non-linear storytelling and the rich texture of archival. Her work reflects her interests in climate solutions, social justice, and the creative process. Sally has contributed to the documentary community as a Jury Member for the IDA Awards; Contributing Editor at the Sundance Documentary Edit & Story Lab; Emerging Editor Fellow in the Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room Program; and served on the Steering Committee of the Alliance of Documentary Editors (ADE).
Nicholas Pilarski is an Associate Professor at ASU and a Senior Global Futures Scientist, focusing on XR and spatial computing within the realm of media. With a deep passion for co-creating content that sheds light on historicized poverty and class dynamics, he believes in making media that genuinely represents communities rather than just portraying them. Notably, he has been recognized as one of the "25 New Faces of Cinema" by Filmmaker Magazine. Pilarski's methodology has been featured at the MIT Co-Creation Studio and is a Co-Director of ASU's RV-CoLab, emphasizing community visioning and security. He has advised the Mayor's Office of the City of New York on media policy for societal betterment and economic mobility and his work has been showcased on platforms such as The New York Times, museums like the MoMA, and various global film festivals for his documentary work., Nicholas Pilarski is an Associate Professor at ASU and a Senior Global Futures Scientist, focusing on XR and spatial computing within the realm of media. With a deep passion for co-creating content that sheds light on historicized poverty and class dynamics, he believes in making media that genuinely represents communities rather than just portraying them. Notably, he has been recognized as one of the "25 New Faces of Cinema" by Filmmaker Magazine. Pilarski's methodology has been featured at the MIT Co-Creation Studio and is a Co-Director of ASU's RV-CoLab, emphasizing community visioning and security. He has advised the Mayor's Office of the City of New York on media policy for societal betterment and economic mobility and his work has been showcased on platforms such as The New York Times, museums like the MoMA, and various global film festivals for his documentary work.