SE allowed me opportunities to grow as a filmmaker, create meaningful work, & explore a beautiful state with amazing people and places. It was refreshing & empowering to be a part of a community dedicated to our films' success and the betterment of the planet. Every state needs a program like this!
—Nora Long, 2023 Fellow
The Southern Exposure experience not only sharpened my filmmaking skills but also fueled my continued passion for telling stories with impact and purpose. The amazing environmentalists I met across Alabama quickly became family and friends of mine.
—Asia Singleton, 2022 Fellow
Southern Exposure really is a force of nature -- pun intended -- a whirlwind of hard work but a lot of fun. The program is supported so much by the team they have built, whose knowledge and southern hospitality is unmatched!
—Lily Ahree Siegel, 2023 Fellow
They made it really easy for us to fall in love with Alabama, especially as first timers. I think they also made it really easy for us to become concerned about this beautiful place because they opened our eyes to a very diverse range of pressing environmental needs here.
—Liza Slutskaya, 2016 Fellow and 2018-19 Program Coordinator
Southern Exposure was an incredible opportunity to build my filmmaking portfolio in a meaningful way. The program allows directors freedom of artistic expression while prompting a community-oriented filmmaking model and involving stakeholders in the decision-making process.
—John Haley, 2020 Fellow
My experience in Alabama in 2014 had a profound impact on me as a filmmaker, but more importantly I linked up with a great posse of friends and collaborators.
—Chris Jones, 2014 Fellow
Southern Exposure was the best 6 weeks of my life and really solidified that documentary film was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Not to mention I still collaborate with the other three fellows who have become my personal and professional lifelines.
—Kaitlin McMurry, 2018 Fellow
Run by an amazing group of experienced filmmakers & passionate advocates, it's impossible to leave this program without an impressive film for your portfolio and meaningful connections to those fighting for important issues across Alabama. I wish I could be a part of this fellowship every summer!
—Celine Francois, 2021 Fellow
I truly believe that Southern Exposure is a MUST for young, southern documentary filmmakers with interests in the realm of Social and Environmental Justice. Not often do you get an opportunity like this in the South, especially one of such value and importance.
—Jeb Brackner, 2019 Fellow
This opportunity allowed me to grow as a professional in the world of environmental filmmaking & gave me skills + insights on how I can use film & media to be a powerful advocate of the natural world. I gained a better appreciation for the culture, people & nature of the beautiful state of Alabama!
—David Diaz, 2018 Fellow
Southern Exposure was an amazing experience – learning about the pressures on the environment, being embraced by Alabama's community of environmental advocates, soaking in beautiful natural treasures, spending a summer with a talented group of filmmakers – I couldn't recommend it more.
—Emily Fraser, 2013 Fellow
Having the chance to explore Alabama's natural landscapes, the mentorship and peer-critique process within a diverse group of filmmakers, and the networking opportunities the process brought with it gave me such a positive experience with a group of peers whose friendship and work I truly value.
—Rhonda Chan Soo, 2013 Fellow
My favorite part of Southern Exposure was meeting so many amazing people. I had a lot of fun making my film and traveling to some of the many beautiful areas of Alabama. I love what Southern Exposure represents and was honored to be a part of it!
—Mindy Keeley, 2014 Fellow
Originally from Long Island, New York, Luke Buckley received a BA in Visual Journalism and Creative Writing at the University of Alabama before going on to complete his MA in Communication at the University of South Alabama in 2013. His first short- documentary, “The Future is in Your Hands," is an oral history of the struggle for voting rights in Mobile, Alabama. The film went on to win 'Best Short-Film' at the 2012 South Alabama Film Festival and continues to be used a means of raising civic awareness in southern Alabama.
Always intrigued with the natural world, Laurence Alexander received an MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking after obtaining a BS in Conservation Biology from Clemson University. Laurence's production experience ranges from crewing for short films to working as a camera operator at live events, and she was contracted by the U.S. Geological Survey to produce a public outreach film on brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Emily Fraser graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2007 with a dual degree in Environmental Policy and Art/Architecture, and holds an MFA from Stanford University’s Documentary Film program. Before transitioning into filmmaking, Emily worked in the Washington, DC area in both the nonprofit and private sectors, focusing on projects in conservation, resource management and alternative energy. She attended the George Washington University Institute for Documentary Filmmaking in 2010, and has since served as the lead videographer for Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico and as a submission screener for AFI Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival.
Katherine Gorringe is a documentary producer, director, editor, and sound recordist based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is the current Program Director for the Southern Exposure film fellowship. Katherine has worked on nonfiction productions for The History Channel, independent filmmaker Laurie Collyer, and her films have been featured on the Smithsonian Magazine website, at SXSW, LunaFest, Dam Shorts Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Festival International De Programmes Audiovisuels in Biarritz, France, among others. Katherine holds an MFA in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University.
Sebastian Lasaosa Rogers is a filmmaker and cinematographer currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. Originally from Concord, Massachusetts, he graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 2013 with a BA in Film Studies and Anthropology. He has filmed in Panama, Spain, Alaska, and across the U.S. for clients ranging from country singer Dierks Bentley, the Southern Environmental Law Center, and the Show Me 15 campaign fighting to raise the wages of fast food workers. His films aim to support social, environmental and economic justice work.
Lacey Kennedy graduated from the University Honors Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with a degree in Molecular Biology and minors in Media Studies, Spanish, and Chemistry. An activist at heart, she is heavily involved in the immigrant rights movement in her home state of Alabama and is interested in using film to illuminate environmental justice issues.
Nicholas Price graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in May 2013, with a dual degree in International Studies & Linguistics and Film Studies. As an undergraduate, he began his documentary work through UAB’s Media Studies program, and later studied with the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Communications Digital Production and Storytelling program in Dubai on a William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship.
Rhonda Chan Soo was born and raised on the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, where she began to develop an affinity for the natural world and a strong desire to protect it. After receiving her BS in Environmental Science from Furman University, Rhonda pursued her Masters Degree in Documentary Film at Wake Forest University.