Amplifier of underrepresented, impact-driven stories

Stacy Robinson has 20 years of experience writing and producing documentaries for television networks such as CNBC, National Geographic, Discovery and Disney+. She wrote and directed the Emmy Award winning documentary on “Ida B. Wells and the Birth of Gospel Music” for PBS and received a National Emmy nomination for her work as Co-Director of “We Are Witnesses: Chicago”.

She is currently Artistic Director of Kartemquin Films. With its legacy of award-winning documentaries (“Hoop Dreams”, “The Interrupters”, “Life Itself”) Kartemquin champions filmmakers who understand that documentaries are powerful vehicles for truth that can transform the world around us.

Marialuisa Ernst (she/they) is a queer, transcultural artist from Chile, Bolivia, and the U.S. Working across performance art and filmmaking, she delves into themes of memory, loss, and ritual. A Tribeca Film Institute alumna, her work has been showcased at international film festivals. A Place of Absence marks her feature-length directorial debut, supported by funding from Tribeca Gucci, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the NYC Women's Fund. The film has been featured in industry platforms such as the DOC NYC Forum, Gotham Lab, and Tribeca Film Network, among others. She is a member of the DPA (Documentary Producers Alliance) and BGDM (Brown Girls Doc Mafia).

Emmy-winning Director & Producer (Lakota Nation vs. United States, MLK/FBI)

Brittany first learned the power of personal storytelling working at Seattle Children's Hospital as a protege of Academy-Award shortlisted director Mike Attie. Since moving to Chicago, she continues to focus on work that impacts underrepresented communities, making videos for social justice and arts organizations. Bringing a producer mindset to her documentary editing work has made her an invaluable collaborator for the directors and producers who bring her on. Her fiction shorts have screened at queer and feminist film festivals across the country and internationally. Currently she is in post-production with co-director and protagonist Arlieta Hall on their first feature documentary, Finding Your Laughter, about Arlieta using improv to care for father who has Alzheimer’s.