Carla Gutiérrez
Editor
Finding Your Story: How Ideas Become Great Films (Nov 13)
A great documentary starts with more than enthusiasm. Before committing years of your life to a project, how do you know if the idea can sustain a film, connect with audiences, and find support? Through practical conversations about story, audience, format, and feasibility, we’ll explore how filmmakers refine, reshape, and sometimes rethink their ideas. Examine not just what makes an idea exciting, but what gives it the depth, shape, and staying power to become a strong documentary.
TICKETING INFORMATION
Each PRO Day Pass grants access to a single conference 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 Ticket button above) or benefit from discounted pricing when you purchase Multi-Day Pass Packs to an assortment of thematic days.
SCHEDULE
10:00 AM – 11:15AM
Against All Odds: The Making of American Doctor
American Doctor follows three physicians, one Palestinian, one Jewish, and one Zoroastrian, from a besieged hospital in Gaza to the halls of Congress. Moderated by editor/director Carla Guiterrez (Frida), director Poh Si Teng will reflect on the challenge of finding and capturing their stories while filming amid an unfolding crisis, and how those extraordinary circumstances shaped the film she ultimately made. In this discussion, Poh will share what it took to bring that vision to life: shooting in Gaza, building a production across eight countries, and preserving the film’s intimate, human-scale perspective along the way.
Co-presented by Watermelon Pictures
Carla Gutiérrez
Editor
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy and Eddie nominated documentary filmmaker. Her directorial debut Frida, about iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, premiered at Sundance 2024 where it won the prestigious Jonathan Oppenheim Award for Best Editing. Frida (TIME Studios, Imagine Documentaries) is an Amazon MGM Studios original and it’s currently streaming on Prime Video.
Carla’s work as an editor includes the Oscar nominated films RBG, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and La Corona. She edited Julia, about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child (Telluride, Toronto Film Festivals, CNN Films); and Pray Away (Tribeca, Telluride, Netflix Original). Carla’s work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards and the DuPont Columbia Awards.
Carla has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab, and a mentor for the Firelight Producers’ Lab, The Karen Schmeer Diversity Program, and the Tribeca Film Fellows program. Carla is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and the American Cinema Editors. She received a Masters in Documentary Film from Stanford University.
Poh Si Teng
Director
Poh Si Teng
Director
Poh Si Teng is an Emmy® Award–winning executive producer of Patrice: The Movie. She is a former creative executive for ABC/Disney, documentary commissioner for Al Jazeera, IDA grants director, and New York Times journalist. She is the founder of Tiny Boxer Films, which produces non-fiction feature docs, and docu- and unscripted-series for the US and global majority markets. American Doctor marks her debut as a feature documentary director.
11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
You Have an Idea. Do You Have a Film?
Every documentary starts with an idea, but how do you know if there’s a film inside it? Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville will talk about the art of finding the story, especially when it isn’t immediately obvious. Moderated by editor/director Carla Guiterrez (Frida), Morgan will draw on projects like Man on the Run, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and 20 Feet from Stardom, he’ll share how he spots narrative possibilities, follows unexpected leads, and turns big subjects into unforgettable films. A candid conversation about recognizing what makes a story worth pursuing and bringing it to life on screen.
Co-presented by Amazon MGM Studios
Morgan Neville
Director
Morgan Neville
Director
Morgan Neville is an Oscar®, Emmy® and Grammy Award®-winning director and producer best known for his work as a cultural documentarian. His acclaimed film Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, a documentary about Fred Rogers, was one of the most successful and culturally significant documentaries of all time. His 2013 film 20 Feet From Stardom won the Academy Award® for Best Documentary, as well as a Grammy Award® for Best Music Film. Most recently, Neville directed Lorne, the first-ever, behind-the-scenes look into the life of Lorne Michaels. In the same year, he also directed the Paul McCartney documentary Man On The Run for Amazon MGM Studios, which documents McCartney’s decade-long creative surge after the Beatles.
Carla Gutiérrez
Editor
Carla Gutiérrez
Editor
Carla Gutiérrez is an Emmy and Eddie nominated documentary filmmaker. Her directorial debut Frida, about iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, premiered at Sundance 2024 where it won the prestigious Jonathan Oppenheim Award for Best Editing. Frida (TIME Studios, Imagine Documentaries) is an Amazon MGM Studios original and it’s currently streaming on Prime Video.
Carla’s work as an editor includes the Oscar nominated films RBG, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and La Corona. She edited Julia, about renowned chef, and television personality Julia Child (Telluride, Toronto Film Festivals, CNN Films); and Pray Away (Tribeca, Telluride, Netflix Original). Carla’s work has received awards at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlinale, Outfest, the Critic’s Choice Awards, the National Board of Review Awards and the DuPont Columbia Awards.
Carla has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab, and a mentor for the Firelight Producers’ Lab, The Karen Schmeer Diversity Program, and the Tribeca Film Fellows program. Carla is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and the American Cinema Editors. She received a Masters in Documentary Film from Stanford University.
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
The Story Doula: Beyond the Logline
Every documentary begins with an idea, but not every idea can carry a film. Join Story Doula’s resita heavenly cox (Freedom Hill) and director of the Documentary Accountability Working Group Natalie Bullock-Brown for an interactive session where pre-selected filmmakers pitch early-stage projects and receive live feedback on story, creative direction, and next steps. Through candid conversation, practical funding insights, and collective problem-solving, participants will dig deeper than the logline to uncover a project’s true potential. This isn’t a competition. It’s a rare chance to watch creative development unfold in real time and ask: can this idea sustain a documentary?
Co-presented by the Documentary Accountability Working Group (DAWG)
Natalie Bullock Brown
Documentary Accountability Working Group
Natalie Bullock Brown
Documentary Accountability Working Group
Natalie Bullock Brown is director of the Documentary Accountability Working Group, a collective she co-founded in 2020, which produced a framework that provides guidance for documentary filmmakers in accountable storytelling, and a syllabus to teach that framework. Natalie is also a 2023 Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center Documentary Film in the Public Interest Fellow; a 2023 DOC NYC New Leader; and a 2021 Rockwood Institute JustFilms Fellow. Natalie is director/producer of a documentary work-in-progress that explores the impact of messaging about beauty and aging on Black women. She also served as a producer for award-winning filmmaker Byron Hurt’s PBS documentary, Hazing, his NOVA film, Lee and Liza’s Family Tree, and his soon-to-be-released short doc, Men of Courage. Natalie is executive producer for filmmaker Resita Cox’s upcoming film, Basketball Heaven, and was an associate producer on documentary filmmaker Ken Burns’ 10-part PBS series, Jazz.
Resita Cox
The Story Doula
Resita Cox
The Story Doula
resita heavenly cox (b. 1994) is an Emmy-winning film director and educator. Her practice centers on community-led documentary filmmaking and impact-focused storytelling. She founded the Freedom Hill Film School in 2022, a paid documentary program for rural students, following her debut film, Freedom Hill (PBS, 2024). A fellow of the Ford Foundation, Sundance Institute, and Chicken & Egg, she holds an MFA from Northwestern University. Currently, resita is developing her debut feature, Basketball Heaven, supported by Sundance and PBS, which serves as a love letter to her hometown of Kinston, NC.
3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Have Celebrity Documentaries Sidelined Risky and Vital Storytelling?
What gives a documentary idea the best chance of finding support, reaching audiences, and getting made? Celebrity, in all its guises, has transformed documentary into mainstream entertainment, bringing unprecedented audiences and investment. Yet as buyers compete for ever more recognizable names, many filmmakers wonder whether original, emerging, and riskier projects can still break through. Does attaching a famous subject, producer, or journalist make an idea more viable? Indiewire executive editor Ryan Lattanzio leads a conversation with filmmakers Pamela Ryan (If Dreams Were Lightning ) and Kreshnik Jonuzi (Enough) and Higher Ground’s Ethan Lewis about how story, audience, and market realities influence which projects move forward.
Co-presented by Gigantic Studios
Kreshnik Jonuzi
Filmmaker, Enough
Kreshnik Jonuzi
Filmmaker, Enough
Kreshnik Jonuzi is an Albanian-American filmmaker based in New York whose work spans documentary filmmaking and sports storytelling. He began his career at NFL Films, contributing to long-form documentaries for HBO and ESPN, and has continued working across independent film and sports media, including producing content for the NFL.
His feature directorial debut, Triumph, chronicling the Albanian national football team’s historic qualification for the European Championship, premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival and won the Audience Award at DokuFest. His second feature, Belonging, supported by the Icelandic Film Centre, premiered at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival and screened internationally.
His latest feature documentary, Enough, co-directed with Matthew Vigil and produced in collaboration with Cineflix Media, follows civil rights attorney Lee Merritt and his team as they fight for families impacted by racial injustice. Enough will make its world premiere at DOC NYC in November 2026. He was named to DOC NYC’s “40 Under 40” in 2024.
Pamela Ryan
Producer, If Dreams Were Lightning
Pamela Ryan
Producer, If Dreams Were Lightning
Midwestern native Pamela Ryan is a producer of documentaries, podcasts and scripted films. Her recent non-fiction releases include Oscar-shortlisted If Dreams Were Lightening (Telluride Film Festival; PBS), top-10 true crime podcast series Mafia Tapes (ID), and feature docs Charm Circle and The Jungle. Prior, Pamela co-produced Emmy Award nominated, SXSW Grand Jury prize-winning documentary The Great Invisible (Radius-TWC; ITVS) and music doc Heartworn Highways Revisited; she also produced Night School (Tribeca; Oscilloscope Laboratories) and Ramin Bahrani’s Blood Kin (Venice Film Festival). Pamela is a 2024 DOC NYC “40 Under 40” honoree, an Impact Partners Documentary Producing Fellow, and an Oscar Shortlist nominee.
Ryan Lattanzio
Executive Editor, IndieWire
Ryan Lattanzio
Executive Editor, IndieWire
Ryan Lattanzio is the Executive Editor for IndieWire, where he has covered film since 2019. He also co-hosts the publication’s weekly “Screen Talk” podcast with Anne Thompson, covering festivals, awards season, and the industry. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle, he has served on juries at Cannes, SXSW, Montclair, and other festivals.
Ethan Lewis
Head of Non-Fiction and Sports, Higher Ground Productions
Ethan Lewis
Head of Non-Fiction and Sports, Higher Ground Productions
Ethan Lewis is the head of Non-Fiction and Sports at Higher Ground Productions, the media company of former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. At Higher Ground, Lewis oversees the company’s expansive non-fiction slate, producing a wide variety of films and series including Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds, Starting 5, Court of Gold, The Later Daters, Working: What We Do All Day, The Turnaround, and Larry David’s Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.
Lewis joined Higher Ground in 2022 as SVP, Non-Fiction, coming from Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz-Morini’s SMAC Entertainment, where he served as Head of Unscripted & Branded Content. At SMAC, Lewis produced acclaimed shows, including HBO’s docuseries The Cost of Winning, ESPN’s 30 for 30: Deion’s Double Play, Wiz Khalifa: Behind the Cam for Apple Music, and BS High for HBO. He began his career at WME, developing content and branding opportunities between talent and the agency’s then advertising arm, Droga5.
DOC NYC PRO is co-presented by:
