PROJECTS & ENGAGEMENT
a small sampling of projects I’ve produced and participated in beyond film
ETCHED IN LIGHT BY CASSILS, National Mall, Washington D.C., Trans Day of Visibility, March 31, 2024. Photo: Ashley J. Mitchell
Etched in Light (CASSILS) + The National Center for Transgender Equaility
Role: Producer / Communications, & Press (Performance Producer: Buffy / Co-Producer: Farihah Zaman)
MARCH 2024 | WASHINGTON D.C. – The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and critically acclaimed visual artist Cassils presented Etched in Light, a Trans Justice Art Action, made with 100+ trans and non-binary artists and community participants, with vocal invocations and musical scoring by Blood Is Here (Carmina Escobar, Roco Córdova and Dorian Wood). This durational performance resulted in the live creation of one of the world’s largest cyanotypes as a mediagenic spectacle to mark Trans Day of Visibility on the National Mall in Washington D.C., on March 31, 2024. The artwork anchored a day-long program that included a TRANSform the Vote Rally celebrating NCTE’s campaign to TRANSform the Vote, a historical movement to register the trans, non-binary, and intersex community as a viable and powerful voting block.
BIG SKY FILM FESTIVAL, DOCSHOP PANEL “WHAT IS IMPACT” (PHOTO: Elias Synders)
On a panel discussing the state of impact in the indy doc industry with Ellen Schneider, Former POV Executive in February, 2024. This was my second opportunity to participate in a DocShop Panel at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and we engaged in a dynamic dialogue with first-time filmmakers, seasoned creatives, distributors, and community members around the challenges facing our work in impact. Some of the topics ranged from what meaningful impact might look like, how projects are not one-size-fits-all and neither is our approach to change-making, and meanningful strategizing as creatives seek support they so desperately desire.
RESOURCE PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Over the years, I have produced hundreds of educational resources focused on inspiring critical, community-informed, and healthy dialogue meant to highligh sociocultural issue highlighted in films. My approach is to engage in deep listening with filmmakers and film teams, including participants, to clearly understand what is most important to frame the stories shared in documetnaries. From there, it is a collaborative step-by-step process bringing resources, histories, foundational knowledge, and transformative questions to audiences to support post-screening engagement. I am highly experienced in resource production with a PhD and a history of teaching to boot! Peruse the hundreds of resources I’ve produced here.
HOT TAKES DOCUMENTARY SCREENING SERIES, AUSTIN, TX
Role: Producer, Curator, Programmer
HOT TAKES was a new doc series that shared queer stories from across the globe while building community in Austin, Texas. Hot Takes emerged because I knew that being queer rules! I also understood that, perhaps, it was easy to forget that while legislation attacking the LGBTQIA+ community continued to move forward in Texas. In light of this my team and I wanted to host a series that centered queer lives, trans experiences, and drag queens.
This series invited everyone to join in for some queer, wholesome fun; to rest and renew; to be with community and to play! Texas Queer Joy forever.