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
Moses Aubrey is a documentary filmmaker and science communicator who is endlessly passionate about urban wildlife and ecology. Growing up in Los Angeles, he didn’t realize that nature was in his own backyard until he was in his early 20s. Now he is on a mission to photograph, film and document all forms of life from Jumping spiders to Great Blue Herons to California Grunion and much more! His video series "Have You Seen Me?" aims to highlight urban biodiversity in LA and across the US. Moses believes bringing awareness to our neighbors will help people form deep and meaningful connections to nature, which ultimately helps conserve the lands we all care deeply about.
Currently, Moses works as a program manager in the Community Science Department of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles county where he brings various communities into nature. In addition to his work at the museum, Moses works as a freelance videographer and photographer for a variety of nature based organizations throughout Los Angeles and the Southern California region. In his free time Moses can be found with a camera in hand looking for urban wildlife to film and trying his best to upload all his observations to iNaturalist.
Ethan Kauffman is an emerging filmmaker dedicated to telling stories that inspire change. A recent graduate of the Film and Media Arts program at American University, his work spans both documentary and narrative filmmaking, with a focus on character-driven storytelling and environmental themes that connect audiences more deeply to the world around them. He has written and directed short narrative films, created short documentaries for the National Park Service, and produced “Saving Chesapeake Bay: A Cleaner Future” for Maryland Public Television. He also interned in the Natural History department at National Geographic within The Walt Disney Company, further developing his foundation in visual storytelling centered on the natural world.
Most recently, he has served as an Associate Producer for the "Upstream, Downriver" Media Project, bringing a strong sense of purpose and emotional depth to his work while using film to elevate human stories and inspire meaningful engagement.
Anna Lueck is a documentary filmmaker who tells stories about the people and communities working towards a better world --particularly those in close relationship to rivers and oceans. She began her career at Brooklyn’s BRIC TV, where she helped produce videos on issues from climate activism to gun violence. Raised on a Puget Sound island, she now translates her love for Northwest lands and waters into frequent visual storytelling about conservation, environmental justice, and connection to nature. Her film hitoláayca (Going Upriver), a documentary short about the first contemporary Nez Perce person to receive a whitewater guiding license, was a finalist in the Redford Center and IF/Then Shorts’ Nature Connection Pitch and won awards at BendFilm and the Eastern Oregon Film Festival. Anna holds a Master’s in Multimedia Journalism from the University of Oregon.
Callie Mejia (she/her) is a documentary producer and director committed to telling stories that deepen audiences’ relationship with the natural world. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, she developed an early understanding of nature not only as a place of beauty, but as an underlying force that shapes communities, identity, and stewardship. She earned a B.A. in Film and Television Production with a minor in Environmental Studies from Loyola Marymount University before moving to Denver to pursue nonfiction filmmaking at the intersection of science, environment, and public engagement. Her work is driven by a belief that documentary film can make complex environmental issues both accessible and emotionally resonant, inspiring viewers toward greater awareness and action.
Grace Sullivan (she/her) is a filmmaker and writer whose work has become progressively more rooted in environmentalism. Born in the Bay Area but raised in the Deep South, Grace has had the privilege of growing up surrounded by nature and immense biodiversity. Two months after graduating from Temple University's Honors Program and Film and Media Arts Department, she began her current position as Manager for the Green Film School Alliance, an organization focused on promoting sustainable production and climate storytelling. She has been awarded two Environmental Media Association Green Seals for sustainable behind-the-scenes production practices, and was the first at her university to achieve this recognition.
Grace enjoys integrating experimental aesthetics into dramatic narratives, reflected by all of her directorial projects, including her first documentary and most recent work, "Where the Water Goes." She strives to equally engage and educate audiences through her doc content as it screens at film festivals across American cities. This short sparked a newfound interest in documentary, leading to Grace's current involvement with Bending the Arc Project, an Alabama docuseries, and the Titusville Environmental Heritage archival project.
Grace is thrilled to take on a new endeavor that combines her knowledge and passions and, most of all, connects to her hometown community!