Mia Bruno
Distribution Consultant
Distribution: Where Are We and What’s Next? (Nov 20)
How do we keep telling urgent stories when the paths to audiences are narrowing? How can we pivot from a changing distribution landscape to reclaim our power and find new ways to reach audiences? This day gets real about what’s broken, what’s shifting, and how filmmakers and industry voices are creating new paths forward.
Each PRO Day Pass grants access to a single DOC NYC PRO day comprised of several panel discussions and all day access to the Festival Lounge where you can enjoy complimentary breakfast and happy hour.
To experience the DOC NYC PRO lineup, purchase an individual PRO Day Pass (via the Buy Day Pass button) to hone in on a specific topic, or benefit from discounted pricing when you purchase Multi-Day Pass Packs to an assortment of conference days.
10-11:15AM
When the Filmmaker Becomes the Distributor
The old distribution formulas aren’t just outdated, they’re irrelevant, especially for films written off as unmarketable, too risky, or politically sensitive. When silence or censorship looms, collective action and creative approaches become survival. Distribution consultant Mia Bruno (Navalny) turns to filmmakers Danielle Varga (Seeds) and Sam Feder (Heightened Security) who share strategies and inspiration for self-distribution and reclaiming control over where work is seen. Together, we’ll explore how to forge a distribution plan, reach the audiences that actually want your film, and redefine success on your own terms.
Mia Bruno
Distribution Consultant
Mia Bruno is a producer of marketing and distribution, designing and executing distribution strategy, theatrical booking, impact campaigns, sales, and grassroots marketing. Mia infuses innovation into the traditional distribution framework, working with filmmakers both who are working with distributors or who are self-releasing their films. Mia creates campaigns that elevate films in the marketplace and connect with audiences meaningfully, achieving goals both financial and impact-based. Mia’s recent campaigns include Sundance documentary, Heightened Scrutiny, NY Times Critic’s Pick Art For Everybody, and was the U.S. impact producer for BAFTA and Academy award-winning documentary, Navalny.
Danielle Varga
Producer
Danielle Varga
Producer
Danielle Varga is an award-winning nonfiction producer who has been working in documentary film for the past decade. She most recently produced SEEDS, directed by Brittany Shyne, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2025 in U.S. Documentary Competition. She also produced Sasha Wortzel’s RIVER OF GRASS, which premiered at the True/False Film Festival 2025 and won the Special Jury Award at Hot Docs. Varga’s additional producing credits include Brett Story’s THE HOTTEST AUGUST, Todd Chandler’s BULLETPROOF, Rachel Elizabeth Seed’s A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY and Vicky Du’s LIGHT OF THE SETTING SUN. Her co-producing credits include Zackary Drucker and Kristen Lovell’s THE STROLL and Kirsten Johnson’s CAMERAPERSON. Varga recently received the 2025 Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producer Award for nonfiction film. She was a 2016/2017 Sundance Creative Producing Fellow and listed on DOCNYC’s inaugural list of “40 Under 40” filmmakers to watch.
Sam Feder
Filmmaker
Sam Feder
Filmmaker
Sam Feder‘s work explore the intersection of media and politics along the lines of race, class, and gender. Sam created and directed Heightened Scrutiny (Sundance 2025), DISCLOSURE (Sundance 2020, Netflix 2020), the widely acclaimed Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger, and Boy I Am.
Sam’s films have been programmed by Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, CPH:DOX, MOMA PS-1, The British Film Institute, The Hammer Museum, and in hundreds of film festivals around the world. Sam’s work has been supported by Ford/JustFilms, Fork Films, California Humanities, The Jerome Foundation, Perspective Fund, Threshold, IFP Film Week, Good Pitch USA/Doc Society, MacDowell, and Yaddo artist residency.
11:30-12:45PM
Breaking the Jam: Envisioning the Future of Distribution
Distribution for filmmakers is getting harder: crowded platforms, shrinking funding, and changing audiences make it tough to get stories seen. This session has two parts: first, a presentation about the current state of distribution by Anya Rous (Multitude Films). Next an interactive activity led by Malikkah Rollins and Stephanie Palumbo (Peace is Loud) where the audience will use a simple structured process to imagine new ways forward. It’s a chance to learn from experts and then experiment together. We’ll start by identifying what’s holding filmmakers back, then flip those obstacles around to dream up fresh, bold ideas for how distribution could work. Working in small groups, everyone will share insights and leave with a clearer picture of what the future of distribution might look like.
Malikkah Rollins
Director of Industry and Education
Malikkah Rollins
Director of Industry and Education
As the new Director of Industry and Education at DOC/NYC, Malikkah will oversee a portfolio of projects including DOC NYC PRO, the festival’s line-up of educational courses and industry networking opportunities; Only In New York industry meetings for filmmakers with works-in-progress; and the 40 Under 40 list. Malikkah brings 15 years of experience in education, counseling, and professional development to the role. As a freelance doc producer, WIFV/DC board member, Sundance Collab Community Leader and D Word Ambassador, Malikkah’s passion is rooted in connecting people and building stronger, more collaborative film communities.
Anya Rous
Producer, Multitude Films
Anya Rous
Producer, Multitude Films
Anya Rous is a Brooklyn, New York-based producer and the vice president of production at Multitude Films, an award-winning production company dedicated to stories by and about underrepresented communities. Her recent credits include Pray Away (Telluride 2020), and Always In Season (Sundance Special Jury Award Winner 2019). She was a Sundance Creative Producing Fellow and Impact Partners Producing Fellow.
Stephanie Palumbo
Director of Film Impact and Innovation, Peace is Loud
Stephanie Palumbo
Director of Film Impact and Innovation, Peace is Loud
Stephanie is an organizer, writer, and film producer leading strategic campaigns that use documentary films to build movement power. For more than 20 years, she has worked with grassroots movements to challenge systemic inequities, and joined Peace is Loud in 2016, where she oversees their documentary film impact campaigns and Collective Lens impact trainings, and develops strategies that integrate care into all aspects of documentary filmmaking. Her propensity for archival and story producing propelled her career, where she has worked with award-winning filmmakers including Michael Moore and Martin Scorsese, and spearheaded impact campaigns for groundbreaking documentaries including Knock Down the House, The Hunting Ground, and The Armor of Light. She is also a former assistant editor at O, the Oprah Magazine, and a freelance writer published in The Believer and Vulture, among other outlets.
2:00-3:15PM
Focus on Shorts
What if short films aren’t just stepping-stones, but destinations in themselves? Could they live and thrive in places we haven’t yet imagined, reaching audiences in ways unique to the form? This panel leans into those questions, exploring how shorts move through today’s distribution landscape, from festivals to streaming, social platforms to community screenings, and what it means for a short to truly find its place in the world. Nick Ravich (Art21), Paul Moakley (The New Yorker), and filmmakers Ava Wiland (Rava Films) and Nick Canfield (OH YEAH!) will join moderator Tracie Holder to share how they’re navigating this shifting terrain and where they see the most exciting possibilities ahead.
Co-presented by
Paul Moakley
The New Yorker
Paul Moakley
The New Yorker
Paul Moakley is the executive producer at The New Yorker, where he curates and produces the magazine’s Oscar-winning short-film program. In this role, he also produces and directs original short films and videos for The New Yorker. He’s earned numerous awards and accolades for his documentary work, including an Emmy for his role as a producer and reporter for the interactive project and HBO documentary feature Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience, an ASME award for the short film Life after Addiction, and first place in World Press Photo for the short film Behind the Video of Eric Garner’s Deadly Confrontation With New York Police. Previously, Moakley was an editor at large and deputy photo editor at TIME.
Ava Wiland
Filmmaker
Ava Wiland
Filmmaker
For over a decade, Ava Wiland has produced award-winning shorts and documentary series under the moniker Rava Films, collaborating with leading brands, institutions, and networks in the arts and culture sectors. Skilled at aligning storytelling with institutional messaging, Ava spearheads all of Rava’s projects, bringing a sense of curiosity, rigor and nuance to every phase of the production process. She is most excited to smudge the boundaries of narrative and documentary, to demystify and lift the veil of the creative process of artists. She has twice served as a “Film Ambassador” for the American Film Showcase, the United States’ flagship international film diplomacy program.
Nick Ravich
Art21
Nick Ravich
Art21
Starting as a researcher for filmmaker Errol Morris, Nick Ravich has had a twenty plus year career in documentary filmmaking in which he’s had the privilege to focus on producing thoughtful and stylish arts-centric programming for television and the web. Nick is currently the Director of Production at Art21, the longrunning arts and documentary nonprofit organization, serving as series producer for the Peabody Award-winning longform PBS broadcast series “Art in the Twenty-First Century” and the Webby-nominated digital shorts series “New York Close Up,” which he also co-created. As a director, series producer, and consulting producer for Art21, Nick has been directly involved in the production of 400 (and counting) short films which have been screened times at over 100 film festivals across the world—including BlackStar, FullFrame, Newfest and Rooftop Films—and have been honored with over 10 Vimeo Staff Picks.
Tracie Holder
Filmmaker
Tracie Holder
Filmmaker
Tracie Holder is a filmmaker, consultant, producer and film funding specialist. A 2016 Sundance Creative Producers Fellow, Holder leads workshops, tutors and serves on juries at international pitching and training sessions, and is a grant panelist for national and local funders. She is widely regarded as a “go-to” person and all-round resource for artists seeking U.S. funding, having raised more than $3 million in grant funding for her own projects. She was a longtime consultant to Women Make Movies, Development/Funding Strategist for Abby Disney’s Fork Films and former board member of NY Women in Film. Producing credits include Grit, (Hot Docs/POV), Small Town Universe, and Give It a Shot?, currently in production.
Nick Canfield
Filmmaker
Nick Canfield
Filmmaker
Nick Canfield is a Director and Cinematographer from New York City. He got his start as camera assistant to legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, developing an intimate vérité style as a cinematographer and archivist for Maysles Films. His first film, the feature music documentary The Reverend, won the Audience Award at DOC NYC, was distributed theatrically by Factory 25, and streamed on The Criterion Channel. His short doc My Back Pages premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival, won Best Short Documentary at Thin Line Festival, and will also stream on The Criterion Channel. His latest film OH YEAH! premiered at the Tribeca Festival, was selected for DOC NYC’s Short List, and will be released by Rolling Stone Films and Documentary+. Nick serves on the board of the Maysles Documentary Center, is a member of the Documentary Cinematographer’s Alliance, and was named one of DOC NYC’s 40 Filmmakers Under 40.
3:30-4:45PM
Creative and Business Realities of Getting Documentaries into the World
How do we balance vision with strategy, protect our work while pushing it forward, and find a path for each project in an ever-shifting industry? This panel digs into the creative and business realities that come with distribution today. From navigating deals and partnerships to making sure a film actually finds its audience, moderator Brian Newman (Sub-Genre Media) and panelists Sara Bernstein (Imagine Entertainment), FredAnthony Smith (SMAC Entertainment), and Amanda Culkowski (Paramount/MTV) will talk honestly about what’s working, what’s not, and what filmmakers need to know to thrive in the process.
Sara Bernstein
Producer
Sara Bernstein
Producer
Sara Bernstein is an award-winning producer and President of Imagine Documentaries, leading the development and production of premium documentary feature films and series. Recent credits include the five-time Emmy Award-winning Best Documentary Jim Henson Idea Man (Disney+), Frida (Prime Video), Music by John Williams (Disney+), The Super Models (Apple TV+), The Dynasty: New England Patriots (Apple TV+), The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari (Netflix), Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series (Apple TV+), David Blaine: Do Not Attempt (Nat Geo), Pets (Disney+), Earnhardt (Prime Video), and the upcoming Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything (Hulu). Prior to joining Imagine, Bernstein was SVP, HBO Documentary Films, where she oversaw award-winning nonfiction programming for the network. Bernstein’s films and series have garnered multiple EMMY, Peabody and Academy Awards. In 2024, she was featured on Variety’s New York Women’s Impact List.
FredAnthony Smith
Producer
FredAnthony Smith
Producer
FredAnthony Smith is SVP of Non-Scripted at SMAC Productions—a division of SMAC Entertainment, the content creator, cultural connector, and business incubator founded by Constance Schwartz-Morini and Michael Strahan. Most recently, he has produced projects including Evolution of the Black Quarterback (Prime Video), Black Comedy in America (Vice), It’s in the Game: Madden NFL (Prime Video), Coach Prime (Prime Video), BS High (Max), and The John Madden Bus Tour: A Bayou Adventure with Bill Belichick (FOX Sports), among others. He also serves as an executive producer on the upcoming Coach Vick docuseries with BET, which follows Michael Vick’s new journey as head coach of Norfolk State University’s football team, as well as Prime Time, a Netflix docuseries that peels back the layers of Deion Sanders—one of sports’ most electrifying and polarizing figures.
Prior to joining SMAC, FredAnthony spent the better part of two decades as a primary creative force behind NFL Media’s most dynamic and impactful storytelling. Overseeing original content for NFL Media’s Entertainment & Initiatives division, he directed and produced features for major events including the NFL Draft, NFL Combine, Democratic National Convention, multiple Super Bowls (including Super Bowl 50), and the NFL 100 celebration, as well as NFL Network’s Sunday morning pre-game show, NFL GameDay Morning.
Brian Newman
Principal, Sub-Genre
Brian Newman
Principal, Sub-Genre
Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, consults on content strategy, distribution and marketing for some of the top brands in the world. Current and former clients include: The Climate Pledge (Amazon), GoDaddy, IBM, New York Times, Oatly, Patagonia, Purina, REI, Stripe, Sundance, Unilever, and Yeti Coolers. Brian has served as CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, and writes a popular weekly newsletter on film.
Amanda Culkowski
Paramount
Amanda Culkowski
Paramount
Amanda Culkowski is an Emmy nominated Executive Producer and Vice President of Music Program Development & Documentaries at Paramount. She is responsible for developing original music and talent driven series and documentaries for MTV’s global channels and P+ premium content.
Since joining the network in 2019 she has overseen the development and production of Eminem’s STANS (SXSW London 2025), Emmy & Sundance Best Doc Nominee As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial, LOLLA: The Story of Lollapalooza (Sundance 2004) and the recently released, critically acclaimed Ozzy: No Escape from Now.
Prior to Paramount, Amanda was a part of the WE tv development team and has previously held positions at HGTV and at PBS member stations ThinkTV and WOUB. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Ohio University and is an alum of the Harvard Business School of Entertainment, Media & Sports. She is based in Brooklyn, New York and is originally from Toledo, Ohio.
DOC NYC PRO is co-presented by:
