MPI has selected 24 filmmakers for the 2026 Documentary Storytelling Workshop, bringing together a group focused on developing thoughtful, character-driven nonfiction projects. The program challenges participants to move beyond the traditional “talking head” format and find the story within their footage—shaping stronger narratives and more fully realized characters.

Through a series of virtual sessions, filmmakers work with experienced documentarians—led by  Academy Award-nominated director and cinematographer Elizabeth Mirzaei—to refine their concepts and prepare for production, supported by a $1,000 grant. Following the workshop, select projects may advance into further development as MPI Original films through the Production Lab.

Below are the 2026 Documentary Storytelling Workshop filmmakers: 

Rocco Ambrosio is a filmmaker, carpenter, and traveler who values the hard work behind production, collaboration among creatives, and growth through problem-solving. He gravitates toward character-driven storytelling explored through tactile imagination and is especially drawn to dystopian narratives as a lens for examining human nature and the systems that shape it.

Maggie Anders is a video journalist and political commentator specializing in distilling complex ideas into engaging, accessible content. Her work explores international political movements, history, pop culture, economics, the cost-of-living crisis, and Gen Z social issues. She has hosted multiple shows and a podcast. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Fox News, and The Free Press, among others.

Kennedy Beckius is a writer and director committed to storytelling as a tool for empathy and change, with a focus on amplifying overlooked voices. She first connected with MPI through the Hollywood Career Launch Program, where she interned at RPM Talent Agency in 2025, and is now part of MPI’s Mentorship Program, training under Academy Award–nominated documentarian Elizabeth Mirzaei. Though early in her career, her student work has already achieved festival success, reflecting both creative promise and a strong foundation developed through MPI.

Seth Binford is a Midwest-based filmmaker and cinematographer with more than a decade of experience across documentary, commercial, and branded productions, leading crews nationally and internationally from concept through completion. In 2021, he received an artist grant supporting his documentary work, and his short documentary on lowrider bike culture was selected for the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition Corazón y Vida: Lowriding Culture in the United States, which launched in 2025. He is currently directing his debut feature documentary, Lowriders in the Heartland, continuing his focus on culturally rich, character-driven storytelling.

Alexis Brunnert is an independent documentary filmmaker whose work has streamed nationally on NBC, earned the Susan A. K. Shaffer Humanitarian Award, and screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals. Alongside Nathan Knox, she co-founded Notable Human Films, a studio dedicated to elevating community changemakers and advancing the public good. Their work has achieved measurable outcomes—including increasing nonprofit donations by 33%, securing international funding cycles, and informing research through collaborations with government and scientific institutions—demonstrating the tangible impact of storytelling.

Dylan Bushnell is a director, writer, and game developer, as well as the co-creator of Planet Atmos: Exordium, where he directs game production at Planet Atmos, blending narrative design with interactive storytelling.

Laura Calzada is an award-winning writer and director working across documentary and fiction, drawn to character-driven stories with a strong sense of perspective. Her short documentary on sound and blindness, Tainted by the Visual, has received six international awards, including several BIFA-qualifying honors, and continues to screen globally. Her narrative short My Sister Is a Cactus explores childhood through the lens of sibling relationships. She is also the writer of the coming-of-age feature The Darkroom, currently in post-production. A MetFilm School graduate based in London, she also serves as lead editor on One in Two and brings a rich multicultural perspective shaped by her background across Belgium, Spain, and Guatemala.

Hannah Caruana is an Orange County–based editor and creative producer with a degree in film and TV production from Taylor University. She has been an active collaborator across multiple MPI programs, including the Hollywood Career Launch Program, Rising Executives Program, and Mentorship Program since 2024. Her credits include production assisting on MPI’s One Second After, production coordinating for the MPI Original short film Pocket Change, and contributing to production and post on Netflix’s Starting 5. Her producing debut, Kojak: A Fuller Life (2021), received accolades from 22 US film festivals, and she is currently developing a project focused on underrepresented female athletes.

Charles A. Honeywood is a writer/director from Chicago’s South Side whose creative voice is shaped by music, spoken word, and lived experience. He trained through the Script to Silver Screen initiative and taught himself directing through screenwriting, culminating in his debut short film winning Best Empowerment Short at the Tokyo International Film Festival. He continues to balance his filmmaking work with a full-time career while developing new projects.

David Iveren is a Phoenix-based documentary filmmaker and journalist whose work spans print, broadcast, and digital media. His writing and reporting have appeared in The New York Times, Business Insider, CNN, ABC, and CBS, reflecting a strong foundation in journalism that informs his documentary storytelling. 

Joe Kaiser is a Chicago-based filmmaker, writer, and performer whose documentaries have received industry awards and screened at festivals worldwide. In addition to directing and producing nonfiction work, he has performed in comedy clubs, theaters, and private events and has written and acted in sketches that have garnered millions of online views. He has produced short films across multiple genres, and his first feature documentary, 2020: A Comedy Special, premiered at festivals in 2021 and is now available on Amazon Prime Video.

Trevor Klein is a filmmaker based in New York and Los Angeles whose debut documentary, Days Before the Dawn, screened at eight festivals and won seven awards. He has worked as an editor, assistant editor, and camera operator, and has contributed to marketing campaigns for major titles including The White Lotus, Dune: Part Two, The Brutalist, and Wicked, bringing both creative and industry experience to his work.

Nathan Knox is an independent documentary filmmaker whose work has streamed nationally on NBC, earned the Susan A. K. Shaffer Humanitarian Award, and screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals. His debut documentary, No Sanctuary (2018), was the first student film selected for AFI’s Meet the Press Film Festival alongside HBO, Netflix, and The New York Times. Alongside Alexis Brunnert, he co-founded Notable Human Films, producing projects that have driven measurable social impact through storytelling and nationwide documentary work.

Kaycee Leigh is a documentary filmmaker and writer whose work explores identity, institutional power, and the lasting impact of policy and systems. Her directorial debut, To Labour, with Love, premiered at the 2025 Kingston Canadian Film Festival through the Doc Factory program, blending personal narrative with expert insight to examine how media shapes experiences of childbirth. With a background in broadcasting and writing, she brings a journalistic, character-driven approach focused on emotional truth, clarity, and ethical storytelling.

Rohit Lila Ram is a film producer whose work spans more than 30 projects that have screened at Cannes, Raindance, FilmFest Dresden, PBS, and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg. He has worked at William Morris Endeavor and Anonymous Content on projects including Captain America: Brave New World, Avengers 5, and Masters of the Universe, and has collaborated with global brands such as Chanel, Adidas, and Peloton. A Sarah Graham Kenan Award–winning alumnus of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he continues to develop internationally focused projects between the United States and Pakistan.

Kate Milligan is the founder of 1 Girl Revolution, a nonprofit multimedia organization dedicated to telling underrepresented stories of women and girls creating change. Through podcasting, documentary filmmaking, live events, and national storytelling campaigns, she has built a mission-driven media platform that elevates grassroots leaders and social entrepreneurs. She is currently expanding the organization’s documentary work through festival circuits, national distribution, and impact-driven partnerships.

Kaitlin Moose is a writer/director from Greenville, South Carolina, whose award-winning films include Adultlings, Rough Draft, and Herd Mentality. She earned her BA from Clemson University and has a strong interest in “edutainment.” A 2024 MPI Documentary Storytelling Workshop fellow, she also created the aviation short On Borrowed Wings for MPI’s 2024 Collaboration Filmmakers Challenge, reflecting her continued engagement with MPI’s filmmaking initiatives.

Stephanie Romero is a Los Angeles–based director working across branded, editorial, documentary, and narrative storytelling. Her visual language is defined by restraint, intimacy, and emotional precision, and she frequently edits her own work, shaping projects from the inside out. Her clients include Cartier, Don Julio, Walmart, Marie Claire, and Who What Wear. She is currently expanding into long-form nonfiction with Neon Dreams, a documentary rooted in her Mexican American family’s legacy in Los Angeles.

Lucy Stylianou worked in broadcast television in the United Kingdom for nearly forty years, both in independent production and as a Commercial Affairs Executive at Channel 4. Programs she worked on have earned nominations from the Royal Television Society, the Grierson Awards, and the International Emmys. Her recent credits include Unapologetic (Channel 4), the BAFTA Award–winning series Extraordinary Portraits (BBC One), and the BBC Storyville documentary White Man Walking, now available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video in the US. In October 2025, she completed her first documentary short as a producer, Life in Check. She participated in the MPI Documentary Storytelling Workshop in 2024 and is now applying those lessons to Lowriders in the Heartland.

Aria Swarr is a filmmaker and writer who grew up between the Middle East and the United States and collaborates with global teams to tell character-driven stories. Her documentary work has received awards including the SparkArts Grant, Enerson Production Grant, and the Windrider Best Documentary Film Award, and has screened at festivals focused on human rights and social impact. She is currently producing a feature documentary and working in screenwriting and media consultation. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University, along with additional training in screenwriting from UCLA and entrepreneurship from Stanford Business School.

Ishan Thakore is a climate and environment reporter at Colorado Public Radio and a multimedia producer whose work has appeared on NPR, BBC, Netflix, and National Geographic. He also worked for six years at the news and comedy show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Ishan’s reporting has been supported by fellowships from organizations including the Fulbright Commission, Sundance Institute, and Investigative Reporters and Editors. He is also part of the filmmaking team behind Azadi on Ice.

Emily Thomas is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer whose work is grounded in journalism and human rights investigation. Supported by the Sundance Institute and California Humanities, her films have appeared on Netflix, VICE, PBS, Frontline, and The New Yorker. Her recent credits include Baby Doe (SXSW ’25), Bodyguard of Lies (Tribeca ’25, Paramount+), Last Days at Paradise High, and The Great Thirst (PBS). She is co-chair of the Video Consortium’s Baltimore chapter and a member of both the Documentary Producers Alliance and Documentary Cinematographers Alliance.

Leah Varjacques is a two-time Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker based in Colorado who has been making short documentaries for over a decade. Her latest film, Sound Guardians, is currently screening at festivals worldwide. Her work has appeared on FX/Hulu, The New York Times, VICE News, and The Atlantic, and she is a recipient of the Ted Scripps Fellowship in Environmental Journalism (2024–2025). A native of France, she speaks four languages and focuses on character-driven storytelling that amplifies overlooked voices.

Daniel Winn is a filmmaker, writer, and editor whose film Christina’s Fault was a finalist at the 2021 Ciele Film Festival. His film Limits received recognition from outlets including Defector, Explorer’s Web, and Citius Magazine, and his writing has been published in Defenestration Magazine, Oddball Magazine, and Millennial Pulp.