UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art has accepted me into their 2024 Collaborative Studio! This six month artistic and professional development program is an opportunity for me to expand my documentary practice in collaboration with eleven other artists and filmmakers. As a late bloomer in this industry, the CoLAB will allow me to build my network, my skills, and my portfolio in ways that I wouldn’t be able to do on my own. Documentary, like life, is a journey meant to be shared. That’s where you come in.

Your support will offset the cost of the program so that I can fully participate. Having recently lost my job, the CoLAB will give me a space to continue the work I care so deeply about. Since venturing into the world of documentary film and art, I’ve earned a Graduate Certificate in Documentary Studies, worked as an Impact Producer, and screened my short documentary film Welcome to King Friday’s Dungeon at the Camden International Film Festival and UnionDocs. More recently, I completed FilmNorth’s Inclusive and Socially Conscious Filmmaking Lab. 

Your support and commitment would be deeply appreciated. Please join me on my journey, and thank you for believing in me!

Filmmaker Bio 

I love exploring stories about niche hobbies, small communities, and collective interests. I discovered my love for documentary film in 2018 and took some time to pivot from my professional work in nonprofit media to filmmaking, finding myself at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2022. My short documentary film Welcome to King Friday’s Dungeon made its world premiere at Camden International Film Festival in September 2023. Recently, I completed FilmNorth’s Inclusive and Socially Conscious Filmmaking Lab. I’m a fan of Boston Terriers, artisanal cocktails, and vintage coats.

About the CoLAB:

The UnionDocs Collaborative Studio (CoLAB) will span 6 months, inviting a select group of media artists from the US and abroad to come together for a unique opportunity in one of NYC’s most exciting neighborhoods, Ridgewood, Queens. The CoLAB offers a platform for exploring contemporary approaches to the documentary arts and a process for developing an innovative collaborative project with this group. The program consists of weekly production meetings, seminars, screenings and other public events, along with regular critiques and encounters with visiting artists.

The group’s collection of work will take shape around a shared thematic focus, which for the next iteration will be grounded geographically in UnionDocs’ new neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens and nearby communities. Building off UnionDocs’ history of doing groundbreaking community-based projects like Living Los Sures, each team of collaborators will be asked to research locally to explore the cultural histories and present-day realities of our nearest surroundings.

The Brooklyn Rail summed it up with the title of their feature article: “UnionDocs Brings Auteurs Together.” For some, participation in the program may lead to further study. For others, it may lead to independent projects and strengthened careers within the industry. For all, it is an unparalleled immersion in the expansive field of documentary art.