Docs In Progress is pleased to announce the selections for the 2018 Docs In Progress Fellowship.

Now in its sixth year, this Program brings together a cohort of emerging documentary filmmakers from across the Washington DC/Baltimore Metropolitan area for an eight month Fellowship. Selected through a competitive application process, these ten Fellows represent a variety of professional backgrounds, documentary styles and subject matter, and stages of development of their current documentaries-in-progress.

The Fellows will participate together in a series of monthly meetings from February through September 2018 where they will come together to share and hold each other accountable for progress on these current projects, and have a facilitated discussion with each other and with special guest speakers about issues related to the documentary landscape, work/life balance, and the creative process. They will also attend the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

This program is made possible in part through support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Meet the 2018 Docs In Progress Fellows and their current films:

KHINÉ BONNER - Silver Spring, MD

Khiné is an editor, screenwriter, producer, consultant, and media literacy educator. He's designed and developed youth media and filmmaking curriculum for a myriad of non-profit organizations in the Washington DC metropolitan area. He's also the lead editor at TEK Creative, a small production agency in Washington DC.
Fellowship Project:The Least of These chronicles organizations and youth affected directly and indirectly by the inadequacies of the juvenile justice system in Baltimore, Washington, DC and Detroit.

SARAH DAGGETT- Washington DC

Sarah is a media strategist, documentary filmmaker, community organizer, educator, and civic engagement specialist. She has worked in supporting roles on a number of social issue documentaries including Emmy-nominated The State of Arizona and Camp Victory: Afghanistan. In the past five years, Sarah has worked with the Teach for America and Leadership for Educational Equity movements to close the opportunity gap in America.
Fellowship Project: Carbon Trade explores the State of California's pioneering carbon market policy and how this policy effects indigenous communities at the frontlines of the effects of climate change. The story follows indigenous leaders from the Mayan and Embera tribes as they advocate for their communities' interests in the formation of international climate policy.

JOEL GERSHON - Washington DC

Joel got his start in journalism, working as a producer for the groundbreaking Air America Radio network. He recently returned to the U.S. after 12 years in Thailand, where he worked as a TV reporter and producer, magazine and newspaper writer, communications consultant for NGOs and private companies, and was a lecturer at three of Thailand’s leading universities. His work has aired on CNN and Current TV, and been screened at various film festivals. Joel is committed to making films and telling stories with a social justice angle using his vast experience as a foreign correspondent.
Fellowship Project: Cirque du Cambodia follows two teenage boys over six years from the rice fields of rural Cambodia to the big city of Montreal as they both pursue the dream of becoming the first Cambodian performers with Cirque du Soleil. 

KATIE LANNIGAN - Washington DC

Katie is a producer who specializes in organizing and executing long-form projects for television and other visual media. Most recently she’s worked crafting, researching and licensing archival-based experiences. Previously, she produced and reported investigative documentaries for international audiences out of the DC Bureau of Al Jazeera and worked for PBS’ premiere public affairs series FRONTLINE.
Fellowship Project: The Last Days of Brookland Manor (working title) examines the impact of redevelopment and gentrification on the lives of families in Washington, DC through the lens of the a group of residents fighting to protect affordable housing for families in the Brookland Manor community in Northeast Washington DC. 

NATOSHA MORRIS - Laurel, MD

Natosha has experience in television production, technical writing and currently works as a corporate trainer in public service. She has written and produced Hip Hop jingles for TV commercials, marketing on hold messages, and currently freelances as a voice actor. Natosha has also taught English in South Korea where she created an online resource for women with afro-textured hair living and working in the country.
Fellowship Project: Afro: The Struggle, The Controversy, and the Magic explores the rebirth of the natural hair movement which, despite encouraging more women with afro-textured hair to wear their tresses freely in public, has come with the price of unwanted attention, personal space violations, and challenges in education and employment.

EMRE OZDEMIR - Takoma Park, MD

Emre is a director, videographer, and content developer who currently works in the multimedia department in an international finance institution. Originally from Turkey, Emre received a BFA in Film/Digital Video from the Universityof the Arts in Philadelphia. His thesis film Urva won a Director's Choice Award at the Black Maria Film Festival and was screened at Anthology Film Archives in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. He is a founding member of the artist collective Pupils of the Universe.
Fellowship Project: Alternative History of War on Terror puts the United States and her allies under the scope in an examination of global stability, security and the vicious cycles that breed terrorism where the lines between words like freedom fighter, terrorist, army, and rebel are lifted for a naked look at the profit of killing and its human cost.

JACLYN O'LAUGHLIN - Arlington, VA

Jaclyn is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has a passion for writing, photography, and filmmaking, and has used those skills at a variety of newspapers and organizations in Virginia and Washington DC. Jaclyn currently works as a multimedia manager and head video producer for a national association and has previously worked as a photojournalist and reporter for an international news organization. Jaclyn was also honored with Virginia Press Association Awards during her time as a reporter with a community newspaper in Virginia. 
Fellowship Project: Breaking Barriers is a web series about women who have pursued careers traditionally held by men in both white-collar and blue-collar professions, as well as those who are advocating for and advancing women’s rights.

TIEN PASCO - Washington DC/Maryland

Tien is president and executive producer of Storylab Films where she has produced, directed, and written award-winning corporate and marketing videos, educational documentaries, television promos, and everything in between. She has produced documentary films such as Generation Zero, The Gift of Life, Fire from the Heartland, and Nine Days that Changed the World: Pope John Paul II. Her work has aired on PBS, the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and Discovery. Storylab Films provides full service production, postproduction, and creative services for organizations of all sizes.
Fellowship Project: Give Yourself Grace tells the firsthand stories of mothers who suffer from postpartum depression, anxiety, or psychosis as they seek ways to deal with, heal, and recover from this mental illness that affects nearly 20% of all recent mothers.

ANGELA PINAGLIA - Baltimore, MD

Angela is an educator, cinematographer and producer. She produces films for small businesses and nonprofits and teaches at Kutztown University in the Cinema, Television, and Media Production Department. In addition to her fellowship project, she is co-producing/co-writing Riding Wild, a documentary about a BMX-lifer who dares to dream big and concocts an illegal bike park on a patch of forgotten woods in Baltimore city  whose work has screened at film festivals. Before diving into the world of film, she worked in education in her hometown of Miami.
Fellowship Project: Synchro explores the little known sport of synchronized skating that has big dreams of Olympic inclusion. Since its creation in the 1950s by a father who saw the need for team sports for his daughters, synchronized skating has grown steadily yet remains mostly on the fringe. Still there is a dedicated following of determined girls and women who carry the banner.

RAY WHITEHOUSE - Washington DC

Ray is a filmmaker and photographer with an interest in American history, politics and sports. His most recent short film, Believers, was recognized by the IDA, NPPA Best of Multimedia and screened at festivals in Iowa. He has worked with The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and others.
Fellowship Project: For Choco is a story of love and loss during the 2016 presidential election. After her madrina, mentor and Hilary Clinton campaign organizer dies unexpectedly, Frankie redoubles her volunteer efforts for the Clinton campaign to honor her godmother while encountering challenges in her own transition from male to female.