Sherry Simpson Dean
Filmmaker, Educator, and Media Strategist
Career Sustainability: How Do We Thrive? (Nov 19)
What does it take to keep doing this work year after year? As the industry continues to evolve, we’ll look at how filmmakers adapt, seize opportunities, and build artistic careers that endure. That may mean branching into other forms of storytelling, building multiple income streams, or finding new avenues for support. We’ll look at how filmmakers adapt to change and keep moving their work forward.
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
10:00-11:15AM
The Career Between the Credits
How do you build a life that can sustain your creativity?
Creative careers are often measured by milestone moments: the exhibition, the book, the performance, the film. This conversation focuses on everything else. Bringing together filmmakers whose careers have unfolded across changing industries, life stages, and economic realities, the session explores what makes creative work sustainable over time. From community and resilience to reinvention, purpose, and paying the bills, speakers will share lessons on building a life that can support creativity through change, opportunity, and uncertainty.
Sherry Simpson Dean
Filmmaker, Educator, and Media Strategist
Sherry Simpson Dean is an Emmy and Sundance Award–winning filmmaker, educator, and media strategist. She has spent three decades at the intersection of media innovation, human rights, education and systemic change. She is the producer of the acclaimed documentary AMANDLA! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony and currently serves as Founder/Director of Human Fluency a company dedicated to human expansion through the power of storytelling. She is the author of the upcoming book and podcast Calling All Humans: The Art of Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence where she explores human resilience through the lens of The Fluent Human Framework, an actionable set of practices for navigating an algorithmic world, protecting cognitive liberty and embracing our humanity. She is also a strategy consultant for the Documentary Accountability Working Group (DAWG) and previously led Impact and Innovation for ITVS—the Peabody, Emmy, and Oscar-winning funder and presenter of independent non-fiction films
Tracy Renee Rector
Filmmaker
Tracy Renee Rector
Filmmaker
Tracy Renee Rector is a filmmaker, curator, impact producer, and educator whose work centers Indigenous, Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA+ communities through storytelling rooted in justice, reciprocity, and collective care. Over the past three decades, she has directed, produced, or supported hundreds of films spanning documentary, experimental, and immersive media. Her work has screened internationally, including at Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, and imagineNATIVE, and has appeared on PBS, National Geographic, and Independent Lens. Tracy is the co-director of 4th World Media, where she mentors emerging filmmakers, develops distribution pathways and impact campaigns that extend stories beyond the screen. A former Seattle Arts Commissioner for 8 years, she also serves in leadership roles with arts and advocacy organizations dedicated to narrative sovereignty and cultural equity. Whether producing films, curating exhibitions, or building creative ecosystems, Tracy’s practice is grounded in the belief that storytelling can strengthen community, inspire action, and help imagine more just and compassionate futures.
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.
11:30-12:45PM
The Story Has More Than One Home
What if a feature film or series isn’t the only destination for your story?
Stories evolve over years, and the road from idea to screen is rarely linear. In this conversation, documentary veterans Doug Block and Nina Gilden Seavey explore how documentarians can build sustainable creative careers by embracing multiple storytelling forms. They’ll discuss ways to test ideas, connect with audiences, sharpen craft, and keep projects moving while larger works are still taking shape. Rather than distracting from filmmaking goals, these opportunities can strengthen stories, expand reach, and open new creative and professional paths.
Doug Block
Copacetic Pictures/ The D-Word
Doug Block
Copacetic Pictures/ The D-Word
Doug Block is a New York City-based documentary director, producer and cameraman, as well as a highly sought-after story consultant. His critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning feature films (including 51 Birch Street, The Kids Grow Up and 112 Weddings) have screened in dozens of leading international film festivals, and have been released in theaters and broadcast on television throughout the world. In addition, Doug is the founder and co-host of The D-Word (www.d-word.com), the leading online discussion forum and community for documentary filmmakers worldwide, now in its 24th year. He is currently on the Advisory Board of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Nina Gilden Seavey
Seavey Media, LLC
Nina Gilden Seavey
Seavey Media, LLC
Nina Gilden Seavey is an Emmy Award-winning documentarian. Her films have been exhibited in theaters, on television and streaming platforms, and in museum installations across the globe. She is well-known podcaster and non-fiction author with numerous published essays and books. Her most recent publication is The Documentary Filmmaker’s Workbook: Producing and Directing Documentary.
Seavey is the Founding Director of The Documentary Center at the George Washington University, which she led for 30 years. She is also the Founding Director of SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival which she led for 10 years. She holds the academic rank of Research Professor Emerita of History and of Media and Public Affairs at GWU and is the President of Seavey Media, LLC.
2:00-3:15PM
What Brands Will Buy (And Won’t): Financing, Creative Control, and Making a Deal
Brand money is becoming a real source of documentary financing and it’s different from branded content. A brand backing an independent film isn’t buying a story about itself. What it gains is cultural relevance, audience connection, and credibility, but only if the film retains its independence. That balance depends on the deal. Explore how brand capital fits alongside grants, philanthropy, impact funding, and pre-sales, where it sits in recoupment, and what contract terms really mean for approvals, final cut, and exclusivity. Hear from insiders on both sides about what works, what doesn’t, and what to ask before signing. Join Raymond van der Kaaij and Margo Mars of London-based brand entertainment company Lief Entertainment Company, filmmaker Fiz Olajide (Imported), and David Isaac (Chobani) for a candid conversation about navigating the opportunities, realities, and tradeoffs of brand-backed documentary financing.
Margo Mars
Lief Entertainment Company
Margo Mars
Lief Entertainment Company
Margo Mars is the founder and CEO of Lief, the award-winning creative content studio that has redefined authentic storytelling in advertising, and the co-founder of Lief Entertainment Company, the premium entertainment studio for Auteur Brands. With over 20 years of industry experience, Mars has transformed her career-long ambition into powerhouse platforms that champions boundary-pushing artistry from uniquely diverse voices while delivering strategic excellence for global brands. Her acclaimed work spans documentaries with Oscar-nominee Laura Checkoway, culture-defining campaigns like Chanel’s Jellywolf with Alma Har’el, Essity TENA‘s £1 million Channel 4 Diversity Award-winning The Last Lonely Menopause, and Nike’s pioneering Saudi Arabia launch with WADJDA director Haifaa Al Mansour.
Raymond van der Kaaij
Lief Entertainment Company
Raymond van der Kaaij
Lief Entertainment Company
Raymond van der Kaaij is a film producer and co-founder of Lief Entertainment Company, bringing two decades of international production expertise to the brand storytelling space. As founder of Revolver Amsterdam, he has built an impressive slate of auteur films that have premiered at amongst others Sundance, Cannes and Locarno. Amongst the documentaries he (co)produced as Memory by Vladlena Sandu (Venice, 2025), A Little Gray Wolf Will Come (Sheffield 2025) and Bruce Lee & The Outlaw (Busan 2018) as well as the Adidas funded Too Beautiful our right to fight (Sheffield 2018). Specializing in structuring and packaging films, festival strategy, and international co-productions across Europe, the Americas, and Asia, Van der Kaaij’s cross-genre expertise and global distribution network make him uniquely positioned to transform brand partnerships into culturally significant entertainment.
Fiz Olajide
Director, No Longer Bobby
Fiz Olajide
Director, No Longer Bobby
Fiz Olajide is a documentary filmmaker whose visually distinctive work explores ambition, identity, and belonging through stories of movement and transformation. Blending intimate vérité with cinematic precision and a strong musical sensibility, her films find beauty and emotional depth in unexpected places.
Her feature directorial debut, Imported, premiered on Hulu and Disney+ in 2025. Following eight American basketball players as they pursue professional careers overseas.
She is currently directing her second feature, No Longer Bobby, a portrait of five young cyclists navigating brotherhood and history on a 1,100-mile journey through the American South.
Her work has received support from Sundance Institute, ITVS, Tribeca Film Institute, Mountainfilm, Points North Institute, Firelight Media, and Black Public Media. She has also directed campaigns for global brands including Google, Uber, American Express, Burberry, and YouTube, and was previously Head of Brand Design at Twitter/X, bringing a distinct cinematic perspective to commercial storytelling.
David Isaac
VP of Brand Operations & Creative Production, Chobani
David Isaac
VP of Brand Operations & Creative Production, Chobani
David Isaac is VP of Brand Operations & Creative Production at Chobani, where over the past eight years he has helped shape the company’s evolution into one of the country’s most beloved modern food brands.
Today, he leads teams shaping how Chobani and La Colombe show up in the world—from campaigns and storytelling to packaging, partnerships, content, retail experiences, and production—connecting ambitious creative ideas with exceptional craft and execution.
Before Chobani, David spent more than a decade developing award-winning work for global brands including adidas, Apple, Absolut, Coca-Cola, Stella Artois, Volkswagen, and The North Face. His work has been recognized at Cannes and featured in Fast Company and The New York Times.
3:30-4:45PM
Live Strategy Session for Funding Your Doc
Every documentary finds its own way to the finish line, often drawing on a mix of resources that evolve as the project grows. This workshop, moderated by funding specialist Tracie Holder, is part case study, part live strategy session, exploring how filmmakers piece together the support they need at different stages. Through a pre-selected audience submission and case studies from filmmakers including Rachel Elizabeth Seed (A Photographic Memory), and Loira Limbal (Through The Night) learn how grants, philanthropy, crowdfunding, fundraising letters/emails, investors, fiscal sponsorship, and other resources can come together to support a film from development through completion.
Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Filmmaker
Rachel Elizabeth Seed
Filmmaker
Rachel Elizabeth Seed is a Los Angeles-based nonfiction storyteller working in film, photography, and writing. Her debut feature film A Photographic Memory is a New York Times Critic’s Pick and was called “one of the best docs of the year” by ROGEREBERT.COM. It won a 2025 Film Independent Truer Than Fiction Spirit Award and was nominated for a 2025 Cinema Eye Honors Spotlight Award.
A Sundance Institute, Film Independent, IFP/Gotham Labs, and Chicken + Egg Pictures fellow, her work has been supported by NYFA, Field of Vision, the Jerome Foundation, NYSCA, Jewish Story Partners, the Roy W. Dean Grant, and the International Center of Photography, among others. Rachel is currently in production on several new documentaries and is developing a podcast featuring her mother, Sheila Turner’s, lost interviews with iconic photographers. She teaches fundraising and creative nonfiction filmmaking at Maine Media and is the co-founder of Backyard Film LA and the Brooklyn Documentary Club.
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.
Loira Limbal
President and CEO, Firelight Media
Loira Limbal
President and CEO, Firelight Media
Loira Limbal [she/her] was appointed as President and CEO of Firelight Media in June 2025. Her previous 16 years of service to the organization included roles as lead consultant and Senior Vice President of Programs. Throughout her tenure at Firelight, she has led the expansion of Firelight’s flagship Documentary Lab and the launch of its Groundwork Regional Lab, William Greaves Research & Development Fund, Impact Campaign Fund, and In the Making documentary short film series, produced in partnership with PBS’ American Masters.
Loira is a multidisciplinary artist who works in documentary film and video installation and as a DJ. Her acclaimed film Through the Night (2020), a feature documentary about a 24-hour daycare center, was a New York Times Critics’ Pick, garnered a dupont-Columbia award, was selected for a World Premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, and aired on PBS’ POV series. Her previous film, Estilo Hip Hop, a feature-length documentary that chronicles the lives of three hip hop activists from Brazil, Chile, and Cuba, aired on PBS in 2009.
Loira’s recent accolades include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Creative Capital Award, a USA Fellowship, a NAACP Image Award nomination, and a Sundance Institute Fellowship. She received a B.A. in History from Brown University and is a proud graduate of the Third World Newsreel’s Film and Video Production Training Program. She is a member of the New Negress Film Society and serves on the boards of Movimiento Ananse and Ruta Crítica.
DOC NYC PRO is co-presented by:
