Where They Went
Alumni from Actuality Abroad have gone on to work for PBS, the BBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, VICE, and Voice of America, to win an Emmy, and to start their own production companies. It started with one short documentary, made in the field, on a deadline, with a crew of strangers.
Featured Alumni
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. Her feature documentary In a Dry Land streamed on PBS. Now Creative Director at Videos That Matter, and has shot music videos for Gregory Alan Isakov and Andrea Gibson.
"I loved the program and the experience. Would tell anyone to jump on board with them."
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.
Jack VanderToll
Cinematographer, Saruen — Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2014
Won a Student Emmy for Best Director for his debut film The Fawn. Now a TV producer in broadcast news at CBS affiliate WBTV in Charlotte.
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.
Dylan Turk
Producer, The House of Tipi — Vietnam, 2019
Now a Senior Project Manager at VaynerMedia, producing branded documentary-style content for major clients. Previously a Senior Account Manager at VICE Media.
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.
More Working Alumni
Brianna Celestina
Director and cinematographer on Pikala Binatna in Morocco. Founded her own production company, Filmed by Brianna LLC, now shooting documentary and branded work out of Atlanta.
Portfolio →Erica Negrini
NYC cinematographer and creative director, runs Fieldwork Creative. Returned to teach cinematography on Actuality Abroad trips in Morocco and Thailand.
Portfolio →Brianna Avnell
Produced and directed Koala Town: The Unseen Truth (2024). Started on Actuality Abroad's The Happiness Shop in Vietnam.
Profile →Anita Koltun
Freelance senior producer. Her Guatemala documentary Cada Gota Cuenta won a Social Impact Award at Illinifest and screened at MY HERO International and We the Peoples Film Festival London.
Portfolio →Hadley Hendon
LA documentary director. Her Actuality Abroad film Blessing screened at the UN Convention for Persons with Disabilities. Now a post-production producer at Gnarly Bay.
Portfolio →Spencer Byam-Taylor
Founder of Visual Observer, a social-impact video studio. Has shot and edited for The Hollywood Reporter.
Portfolio →Cassandra Heikkila
Formed her own production company with eight award-winning films. Taught a filmmaking workshop in Barbados and now works at Amazon.
LinkedIn →Chrisann Hessing
Toronto documentary director. Turning Tables won Best Short Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival and played over 30 festivals, including Hot Docs.
Portfolio →Karsu Nalbantoglu
Actress, director, and editor with an IMDb-credited filmography including Dagko na Tawo and Zygote.
IMDb →Ashunda Norris
Black feminist filmmaker, poet, and archivist, founder of Sibyls Palace. Mino: A Diasporic Myth is an award-winning Afrofuturist short. California Arts Council Fellow.
Portfolio →Jennine Terra Rybicki & Karli Clark
Co-directed, shot, and edited Fabric of Change, an Actuality Abroad film in Rajasthan, India, which went on to win Best Documentary at the Toronto Film Channel.
Watch Fabric of Change →Nayla Tawa
Founder of Purple Nomad Films. Returned to Kyrgyzstan to complete her feature documentary The Road Back after surviving a near-fatal accident on location.
Read her story →Documentary Outreach Application
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