Walking Iris Media

Asian American Documentary Network

Walking Iris Media is a nonprofit organization established to facilitate the research, production, and distribution of media projects on historical and current issues, and to support initiatives and programs that promote the visibility of documentary filmmakers of color and address the challenges around access and sustainability specifically faced by People of Color in the documentary industry. Walking Iris is the fiscal sponsor of the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc), a network-building, skill-sharing, advocacy organization for Asian American documentary filmmakers. A-Doc supports its growing community with opportunities to gather virtually and in-person, hone crafts and build careers, and discuss issues of accountability, equity, and representation facing the wider documentary field. This grant provides flexible support of A-Doc. The intended outcome is greater multifaceted support for Asian American nonfiction multimedia storytellers.

Asian American Documentary Network

Walking Iris Media is a nonprofit organization established to facilitate the research, production, and distribution of media projects on historical and current issues, and to support initiatives and programs that promote the visibility of documentary filmmakers of color and address the challenges around access and sustainability specifically faced by people of color in the documentary industry. Walking Iris is the fiscal sponsor of the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc) a network-building, skill-sharing, advocacy organization for Asian American documentary filmmakers. This award provides flexible operating support for A-Doc. The intended outcomes of this work are more opportunities for Asian American documentary filmmakers to access the networks, skills, and support that are needed to advance in the industry, and that will result in more accurate, just, and inclusive narratives reaching the American public.

Brown Girls DOC Mafia

Walking Iris Media is a nonprofit organization established to facilitate the research, production, and distribution of media projects on historical and current issues, and to support initiatives and programs that promote the visibility of documentary filmmakers of color and address the challenges around access and sustainability specifically faced by people of color in the documentary industry. Walking Iris is the fiscal sponsor of Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM), a filmmaker-led collective that is moving the documentary industry toward greater equity. BGDM provides network-building, skill-sharing, and advocacy for women and gender non-binary filmmakers of color in the nonfiction film industry. This award provides flexible operating support to BGDM. The intended outcomes of this work are more opportunities for documentary filmmakers of color to access the networks, skills, and support that are needed to advance in the industry, and that will result in more accurate, just, and inclusive narratives reaching the American public.

Asian American Documentary Network and Brown Girls Doc Mafia

Walking Iris Media is a nonprofit organization created to facilitate the development, production and distribution of media projects that aim to engage the public on relevant historical and current issues through compelling storytelling. Walking Iris Media supports initiatives and programs that promote the visibility of documentary filmmakers of color and address the challenges around access and sustainability specifically faced by people of color within the documentary industry. With this award Walking Iris Media supports two projects that have been established to create greater equity for independent documentary filmmakers from historically underrepresented groups: the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc), a national network that works to increase the visibility and support of Asian Americans in the documentary field, and Brown Girls Doc Mafia, a collective of women and non-binary documentary filmmakers and industry representatives of color, that works to build community online and in person to further members’ creative enrichment, to exchange resources and ideas, and to bolster professional growth and opportunities. The outcomes of this grant are connected and engaged networks of documentary filmmakers of color, whose members are more able to access opportunities for advancement in the field.