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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Alabama Rivers Alliance is thrilled to welcome the Southern Exposure program to their organization. Directed by Liza Slutskaya.
A small community in Northeast Alabama. A mayor whose town sits on the river’s banks. A businessman in the Mobile Bay. All of these communities are impacted by coal ash in Alabama.
Coal Ash, a pollution by-product of burning coal, is impacting communities across Alabama. Billions of tons of ash are stored in unlined pits alongside our rivers and stream causing harmful pollution such as mercury, arsenic, and many other heavy metal to be dumped into our rivers, lakes, and bays where we fish, swim, and drink. This film tells the grim story of coal ash in Alabama and what you can do to call on the electric utility companies to become leaders by cleaning up the pollution they have created.
Directed by Kaitlin McMurry.
A mosquito bite decades ago leads Catherine Coleman Flowers on her life’s journey.
The second in the Southern Exposure series, this captivating film brings viewers into the world of Catherine Coleman Flowers, a Lowndes County, Alabama activist who became passionate about the environment when she found out that tropical diseases, like hookworm, were showing up in her community because of sewage treatment problems. Her journey to solve problems at the intersection of poverty, climate change, and politics has taken her from the Alabama Black Belt to Washington, D.C. to Switzerland and back. She shares her special connection to place and invites you in to a day in her life.
Directed by Ellen Esling.
Farming is a practice that impacts our health, our environment, our communities and our world. Knowing where our food really comes from and how safely it is grown is becoming increasingly difficult. This film explores farming in Alabama through the eyes of local farmers all across the state that care about the land, the water and the people they feed. Directed by Jess Lingle.
The Cahaba River is one of the Southeast’s most iconic river systems. Urban sprawl in the state’s largest metropolitan area has already placed a great strain on this important river system and now the proposed Cahaba Beach Road threatens to destroy the area along the Little Cahaba River that is the drinking water source for hundreds of thousands of people in the area. This film exposes the risk of building a road across an important forested stretch of river and how citizens and watershed groups are fighting to protect this precious resource. Directed by David Diaz.
Alabama currently has no plan for how we will ensure that future generations have enough clean, affordable water. Our rivers and streams are home to more types of fish and aquatic species than any other state in the country, yet our laws do not consider how much water they need to survive. This film describes the current effort underway to develop an Alabama Water Plan and how having an abundance of water does not mean you can take it for granted without consequences.
Directed by Amelia Tyson.