Poetic Witness

Award-winning, acclaimed filmmaker Dawn Porter has emerged in the entertainment industry as a leader in the art of storytelling, directing, and producing critically acclaimed projects that have impacted generations of people from all walks of life. As a two-time Sundance film festival director, Porter‘s work has been featured on HBO, Netflix, CNN, PBS, MSNBC, MTV Films, and other platforms. She has been recognized with career achievement awards from the Hamptons DocFest and Mill Valley Film Festival. She is the recipient of the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards “Impact Award” and is an honoree at the 2022 Gracies Leadership Awards. In 2022 Porter‘s work was highlighted in ESPN‘s monumental initiative entitled Fifty/50, which follows the civil rights journey of women across the sports and cultural landscape. Porter co-directed 37 Words with Oscar® nominee Nicole Newnham. 37 Words is a four-part documentary series charting the spectacular transformation that 37 Words have inspired in American culture and women’s lives. Up next, Porter is directing and executive producing a 6-part series on the continuation of the historic civil rights documentary series Eyes on the Prize for HBO.

Iliana Sosa is an Austin-based filmmaker raised by Mexican immigrant parents in El Paso, Texas. Her work has screened at festivals and museums, including SXSW, Full Frame, Camden, Morelia, and the Museum of the Moving Image, and she’s held fellowships and residencies with Firelight Media, Sundance Institute, Berlinale Talents, Logan Nonfiction Program, and Jacob Burns Film Center. Her Gotham Award-nominated debut feature What We Leave Behind (ARRAY Releasing) won two awards at SXSW 2022 and was a New York Times “Critic’s Pick.” It’s currently available to stream on Netflix. She was one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” and one of DOC NYC‘s “40 Under 40.”

Originally from Fort Worth, Texas, Lagueria Davis grew up in a household where her dreams had to be practical, which is how she found herself at the University of Oklahoma, double majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Three years she left the engineering program and landed at the School of Art. After graduating with a BFA in Media Art, she worked in production until landing a Writers PA position on season two of The L Word: Generation Q. She was selected to participate in the Mentorship Matters Program. She was also hired as the Director’s Shadow on season three of The L Word: Generation Q, where she shadowed all ten episodes and five directors. Lagueria has several feature specs and four original pilots under her belt, was a 2016 Academy Nicholl Quarterfinalist, and is a four-time Austin Film Festival Second Rounder. She’s gearing up for the premiere of her first feature documentary about the first Black Barbie at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival.

Jude Harris is a producer and development executive. Her executive experience includes work for MTV, Gunpowder & Sky, and Hearst Magazines Media. Her documentary producer credits include Amy Adrion’s 2018 STARZ gender equality film Half the Picture, Vikram Gandhi’s 2021 Hulu film 69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez, Jasmine Stodel’s PBS America ReFramed film Kid Candidate, and David Siev’s 2022 IFC film Bad Axe.