Political yard signs, a history of Sesame Street and a research expedition that changed gay history were among the subjects of the films as NewFilmmakers Los Angeles (NFMLA) presented its annual line-up DocuSlate documentary program.
DocuSlate began with the Los Angeles premiere of Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon from director and Emmy-nominated TV writer Ernie Bustamante. The film is a behind-the-scenes look and cultural analysis of how Sonia Manzano became the beloved and groundbreaking “Maria” on Sesame Street, the first Latina with a regular role on American TV, and the impact her career had on millions of children.
“Sonia Manzano is truly a pioneer. I made this film to reveal the person behind the character, to cement her place as an American icon, and to remind us why representation still matters,” said Bustamante.
The program continued with the Los Angeles premiere of Moses, the heartfelt and remarkable story of one man’s life on the streets of San Francisco, filmed over the course of fifteen years by award-winning director Francisco Guijarro.
“Being homeless is being behind the fog — you are invisible. People don’t see who you really are because they just see a category. But homelessness is not your identity and you need to show that,” Moses told Guijarro, and the director delivered.
The programming continued with short documentaries, and then with Loulwa Khoury’s timely portrait of the Lebanese diaspora, We Never Left, in its Los Angeles premiere. The film follows people caught between the revolution in their homeland and their lives in New York.
“It’s important for me to shed light on what’s happening in my country and tell the story of my people, but it’s also cathartic for me and the protagonists to talk about this constant duality in our lives. We found each other through these circumstances and our relationships grew since then, finding common grounds to fight for,” said Khoury.
The line-up contuied with more shorts, and concluded with the Los Angeles premiere of Encuerados by Orlando Bedolla. Bedolla originally shared the short version of this film at NFMLA, and the NFMLA proudly welcomed him and his team back with the feature-length project. It documents Latino men in the leather scene in Los Angeles.
NFMLA showcases films by filmmakers of all backgrounds throughout the year, across both general and InFocus programming. All filmmakers are welcome and encouraged to submit their projects for consideration for upcoming NFMLA Festivals, regardless of the schedule for InFocus programming, which celebrates representation by spotlighting various communities of filmmakers as part of the NFMLA Monthly Film Festival. This project is made possible in part by grant support from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Here is more information on the films and filmmakers, as well as interviews, provided by NFMLA.
“Cirilo, A Legacy Untold” directed by Justin O’Shea Cooper
About Justin: Justin O. Cooper is a Los Angeles–based filmmaker and founder of JOCMedia & Entertainment. He directed and produced the Oscar-qualifying documentary Cirilo, a Legacy Untold, which has screened at international festivals, including Diversity in Cannes, the Seattle Latino Film Festival, and the Detroit Black Film Festival. Cooper also consults for the Royal Film Commission – Jordan, liaising with Hollywood productions filmed in the Kingdom, such as Aladdin and Dune: Part One. A former film liaison in Georgia and ASCAP Plus Award–winning writer, his career bridges film, music, and global production.
About “Cirilo, A Legacy Untold”: The inspiring story of Cirilo McSween, who rose from poverty in Panama to become a civil rights leader and pioneering entrepreneur whose legacy bridged the Americas.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Justin O’Shea Cooper, the director of “Cirilo, A Legacy Untold”:
“Handwoven” directed by Dasha Levin, Mason Cazalet, Mihika Das and Matthew Wisdom
About Dasha: Dasha Levin is an award-winning Mexican-American documentary filmmaker from San Diego. As a graduate of Dodge College of Film and Media Arts with a Bachelor’s Degree in Documentary Filmmaking, Levin has a passion for sharing stories based on social issues, underrepresented communities, LGBTQ+ rights, environmentalism, and equality. Levin’s films have screened at many Academy qualifying festivals, winning the Grand Jury Prize for Best Student Film at Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival, nexGEN Filmmaker Award at the Berkshire International Film Festival, and the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes Student Documentary Jury Award.
About “Handwoven”: A lyrical portrait of Nikyle Begay, a non-binary shepherd and weaver; working to preserve their way of life through the traditional art of weaving.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Dasha Levin, one of the directors of “Handwoven”:
“Encuerados” directed by Orlando Bedolla
About Orlando: Orlando Bedolla is a filmmaker and LGBTQ activist working to create LGBTQ content to increase LGBTQ presence in the media. He produced and directed two short documentaries: “Preserving LGBT History” (a history of the ONE Archives) and “Coming Out: The LGBT Cultural Revolution Before Stonewall,” in which participants from the early days of activism in Los Angeles were interviewed and their stories told. Orlando Interned at GLAAD, working to advance LGBTQ representation and participation in the media. He worked as a production coordinator for The Ellen Show and as a creative marketing production manager for Disney+.
About “Encuerados”: “Encuerados” is a documentary highlighting the underground subculture of the Los Angeles Latino LGBTQ+ Leather community.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Orlando Bedolla, the director of “Encuerados”:
“Memoria Y Pérdida (Memory & Loss)” directed by Wilfredo Chavez
About Wilfredo: Wilfredo Chavez is a filmmaker and graduate of the Cinematic Arts program at California State University Long Beach. His work focuses on stories rooted in memory, migration, and social justice. With a background in archival research and a commitment to storytelling centered around the Latin American experience, Wilfredo seeks to illuminate the often-overlooked stories of the migrant’s journey through an intimate and humanistic lens. His recent project explores the emotional toll of border crossings and the resilience of humanitarians navigating the hostile terrains of the border.
About “Memoria Y Pérdida (Memory & Loss)”: Amid the unforgiving U.S.–Mexico borderlands, volunteers provide lifesaving aid to migrants confronting deadly terrains.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Wilfredo Chavez, the director of “Memoria Y Pérdida (Memory & Loss)”:
“My Neighbor’s Yard” directed by Kara Grace Miller
About Kara: Miller is a producer and director working in narrative film, documentary television and commercial production. Their independent work has screened most notably at SXSW, Fantasia Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, and Palm Springs ShortFest, as well as had a run on the underground and horror film festival circuit. Their documentary development work with Public Record (Hustle, We the Animals) is awaiting release across multiple streaming platforms, they traveled the country working as a testimonial producer for the Harris-Walz campaign, and they were thrilled to be a Bend:Film Basecamp Fellow in its inaugural year. You can view their work online through Vimeo Staff Picks, Director’s Notes, Girls in Film, and Film Shortage.
About “My Neighbor’s Yard”: Neighbors from Pennsylvania’s divided capital region use signs, flags, and halloween skeletons to turn their yards into opposing campaign endorsements leading up to the presidential election.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Kara Grace Miller, the director of “My Neighbor’s Yard”:
“Over the Kitchen Table” directed by Nisha Burton
About Nisha: Nisha Burton has been a filmmaker for over 15 years. As a documentary historian of Oregon, she has been commissioned by organizations like the Oregon Humanities Council and numerous foundations to make films about Oregon’s history centering on the experiences and stories of BIPOC residents. Her most recent film about the fires in Southern Oregon — which destroyed 2,800 homes and affected so many lives — reached thousands of people during its festival run, winning awards and eventually making it onto PBS. Being in the film industry for so long, she’s had many amazing opportunities like working at Sundance, having her short film screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and teaching filmmaking at universities.
About “Over the Kitchen Table”: After years of being silenced through violent opposition, Norma Burton, one of the key founders of the first women’s shelter in Tulsa, Oklahoma, tells an untold story of the battered women’s movement.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Jessica Daugherty, the producer of “Over the Kitchen Table”:
“We Never Left” directed by Loulwa Khoury
About Loulwa: Loulwa Khoury is a New York based filmmaker and film editor born and raised in Beirut. She edited Paradise Without People (2019), Dusty and Stones (2022), Joy Dancer (2024) and Traces of Home. She also directed her first award-winning feature documentary, We Never Left (2024). Her other work includes award-winning documentaries City of Ghosts (2017), Some Kind of Heaven (2020) and It Will Be Chaos (2018). She was also one of the mentees of the Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship Diversity Program of the year 2019-2020, a fellow in the Sundance Co//ab Art of Editing Fellowship 2020, and the DOC NYC x VC Storytelling Incubator, as well as a winner of the Creative Power Award.
About “We Never Left”: Set during the Lebanese revolution, We Never Left portrays a heart-wrenching duality between Beirut and New York, an impassioned testament to the Lebanese diaspora’s unrequited but irrepressible love for their homeland.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Loulwa Khoury, the director of “We Never Left”:
“Love Birds” directed by Elliott Kennerson and Angel Morris
About Elliott: Elliott Kennerson is a San Diego-born writer and producer specializing in post production. He has received three Regional Emmys for Deep Look, a KQED and PBS Digital Studios co-production, and created Animal R&R, an Emmy-nominated wildlife rescue series for KPBS San Diego. At Day’s Edge Productions, Elliott has contributed to San Diego: America’s Wildest City for PBS Nature and Human Footprint, a six-part national PBS series on ecology and evolution hosted by Shane Campbell-Staton. He earned an M.F.A. in natural history filmmaking from Montana State University and a B.A. in archaeology from Yale. He lives in San Diego with his partner Matt and their dog, Magnolia.
About Angel: Angel Morris (they/them) is a San Diego-based producer and editor specializing in natural history and archival documentaries. Their work spans film, broadcast, and digital media, with credits including National Geographic, NBC, and PBS. In 2021, they produced their award-winning debut, Diving for Rays, on WaterBear Network. After winning the Original Voices Pitch competition by If/Then and NBCU in 2023, they began their sophomore project, Love Birds. Angel is currently a full-time editor at Day’s Edge Productions, where their work on PBS’s Human Footprint earned a Jackson Wild nomination. They’re also part of Think Lemonade Productions.
About “Love Birds”: The research expedition that altered gay history.
Watch the NFMLA interview with Elliott Kennerson, the director of “Love Birds”:
Main image: Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon, directed by Ernie Bustamante.