Independent film pushes the boundaries of what stories are told, but the field has historically been dominated by White filmmakers. But many are working to change this, to support storytelling by, for, and about people of color. Color Congress, a grantee, organized a panel discussion on supporting new leaders in the documentary and independent film world.

Lauren Pabst, Senior Program Officer, Journalism and Media, spoke on the panel about opening doors instead of gatekeeping for people of color in the documentary field. She emphasized that philanthropy can pool resources, and then “let people who have been leaders in the field, who have been doing this work on the ground, who have different perspectives, take the lead and make the decisions.”