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A Powerful Community of BIPOC Women and Nonbinary Professionals Transforming the Documentary Industry

Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM) works to disrupt inequity in the film industry by nurturing, amplifying, and investing in the creative capacity and professional success of our members.

By Chithra Jeyaram • December 4, 2025

Amma's Pride Is Rewriting the Rules of Awards Season

By Edwin Flores • October 19, 2025

DOCS GET DOWN - A Selena-Inspired Celebration

By Chandler Phillips • October 8, 2025

Nine Questions with Paushali Saha, 2025 Sriyanka Ray Grant Recipient

Community Spotlight

In Focus: Educators

Jennifer Maytorena Taylor

Jennifer Maytorena Taylor is a professor at UC Santa Cruz and the founding director of the Social Documentation Lab, where she helps shape the next generation of impactful storytellers.

Chen-Yi Wu

Chen-Yi Wu is a Taiwanese artist and adjunct professor whose interdisciplinary work bridges film, literature, and performance to explore identity and address social issues within the Asian diaspora.

Sonali Gulati

Sonali Gulati is a filmmaker and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches courses on documentary storytelling and media activism.

Tracy Heather Strain

Tracy Heather Strain, a Peabody Award–winning filmmaker, teaches at Wesleyan University and co-founded The Film Posse, guiding students in uncovering untold histories through film.

Anayansi Prado

Anayansi Prado is an award-winning filmmaker and visiting professor who has taught documentary storytelling at UCLA, Chapman University, and Cal State Northridge, and led film workshops across five continents through the U.S. State Department's American Film Showcase.

Carleen L. Hsu

Carleen L. Hsu is an Emmy- and Peabody-winning filmmaker and educator whose teaching draws on two decades of experience producing documentaries for HBO, PBS, and the BBC.

Alicia Hawkins

Alicia Hawkins is a filmmaker and educator who has taught film and writing at Antioch University, Temple University, and Northwest Indian College, emphasizing storytelling as a tool for healing and representation.

Anjanette Levert

Anjanette Levert is the Director of the Documentary Film Program at Spelman College, where she helped establish the first documentary program at an HBCU alongside legendary filmmakers Ayoka Chenzira, Ph.D, and Julie Dash.

Sindhu Thirumalaisamy

Sindhu Thirumalaisamy is a filmmaker and educator whose courses in film, sound, and installation encourage students to engage with civic and environmental issues through creative practice.

Sarah Hennigan

Sarah Hennigan is a Cherokee filmmaker and Assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi, where she champions authentic Native storytelling through film production and mentorship.

Soraya Sélène

Soraya Sélène, a filmmaker and cinematographer, teaches at CalArts, where she nurtures the next wave of creative, socially engaged filmmakers and integrates her womanist perspective into visual storytelling.

Ley Comas

Ley Comas is a Costa Rican–Dominican filmmaker and professor at Temple University who teaches documentary filmmaking and sound, empowering students to tell stories of underrepresented communities and oppressed identities.

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