Featured Alumni
Nine people. Nine different paths.
Abby Cannon
Director, Colorful Souls — Guatemala, 2023
Now streaming on PBS. Her documentary In Her Court airs on WETA+ and the PBS App. She has since directed Looping, Sanctuary, and a documentary on the Women's Pro Baseball League.
"I now feel equipped to organize a visual storytelling project by myself."
Ben Suliteanu
Producer / Editor — Estelí, Nicaragua, 2017
Now Documentary Filmmaker at Imagine5. Previously edited the weekly podcast at Emergence Magazine and worked with Migrant Films. Stanford-trained, with an independent documentary practice built on the same fieldwork he started with us.
"It's impossible not to learn a ton from the process of making a documentary start to finish in a few weeks in a foreign country."
Sarah Megyesy
Director — Guatemala, 2012
Earned an MFA in Cinematography from AFI in 2023. Her documentary feature In a Dry Land streamed on PBS, and she's shot music videos for Gregory Alan Isakov and Andrea Gibson. Now a working cinematographer based in Denver.
"I loved the program and the experience. Would tell anyone to jump on board with them."
Laura Boyd Owen
Cinematographer, Un Techo Para Meyling — Costa Rica, 2012
Creative Operations Manager at Informa Engage, leading a multidisciplinary creative team. Her debut feature documentary The Call — on mental health crises among firefighters and first responders — has earned honors at Cannes World Film Festival, Toronto/Los Angeles Documentary Festival, and Replay International Film Festival.
"There were great lessons and discussions and I can't wait to apply what I have learned."
Michael Kuba
Cinematographer, Dirt Court Dreams — Kenya, 2013
Now a documentary cinematographer shooting for CNBC, Bloomberg, Voice of America, and Brut. His independent work has screened at the DC Environmental Film Festival and DC International Film Festival.
Alice Stephens
Cinematographer, Hustle Smart — Kenya, 2013
Now a working cinematographer with commercial credits for Capital One, BMO, New Balance, Cadbury, Optus, and ABC iview, alongside narrative and documentary work, including Kibera Yetu, a 2014 documentary set in the same Kenyan community where she got her start.
Leonardo Castillo
Cinematographer, Bakery & Little Rose: The Choice I Made — Mexico, 2022 · Vietnam, 2026
Founder of Lion Castle Studio in Houston, working as a DP and editor across documentary, narrative, and branded work. His Actuality Abroad film Little Rose: The Choice I Made has been officially selected for the ICJ Award 2026 and will screen in 100 Ukrainian schools through the Cinema in Schools program. DP on the upcoming drama feature BALLO, and assistant director on Insensible Loss (Nevada Women's Film Festival, Reel Equals International Film Festival).
"I will be talking about my experience for the rest of my life."
Kate Boylan-Ascione
Director, The Butterfly Effect — Belize, 2019
Queensland-based documentary director. A SheDoc grant recipient through Documentary Australia and Screen Queensland, with The Butterfly Effect going on to stream on the Planet Classroom Network.
"It was an awesome opportunity to meet and work with people across the globe from different walks of life and create something special."
Lottie Watters
Cinematographer, The Butterfly Effect — Belize, 2019
Now a freelance TV and multimedia producer based between London and Lisbon. Produced Rise of the Bolsonaros, a BBC-produced documentary series that aired on PBS.
Eric Barstow
Director, ¿Qué Será del Caribe? — Costa Rica, 2012
Multimedia Director at the Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University, where he earned his MFA as part of the program's first graduating class. His documentary Bi/RACIAL Me won Best Short Doc at Urban Mediamakers Film Festival and screened at San Francisco Black Film Festival, Dam Short Film Festival, and the World Music & Independent Film Festival in DC. Also produced extensive documentary work in Haiti for the NEH-funded Vodou Archive, a collaborative ethnographic project between Duke and the University of Florida.
"Overall, this was an experience that left a strong impression on me. I've learned so much."
Ryan Hogue
Cinematographer, Ritmo En Los Barrios — 2011
Freelance DP based in Los Angeles and New York, shooting for internationally recognized artists under the directing collective Muted Widows. Credits include music videos for Mareux, Boy Harsher, DEAFHEAVEN, She Past Away, Alexisonfire, and Danny Elfman, alongside commercial work for MoMA and Michigan Lottery.
Olivia Loccisano
Cinematographer, Campesino a Campesino — Costa Rica, 2012
Screenwriter, filmmaker, and story editor based in Toronto. Her horror short First Blood premiered at Fantasia International Film Festival and Chicago International Film Festival and was released by ALTER. Her animated short Pocket Princess (2024) won Best Animated Short at GenreBlast and exhibited at the Krupa Art Foundation. Currently developing the feature DEVOUR with Wildling Pictures, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and National Film Board of Canada.
"The amount that I learned was so much in comparison to the amount of time that I was there."