School of Elev8Docs

School of Elev8Docs

Presented by Color Congress

With Ani Mercedes, Carlos Gutierrez, Chana Ginelle Ewing and Tracy Nguyen-Chung; moderated by Sahar Driver.

In an age of disruptive marketing, distribution and press strategists share best practices for distribution. Elev8Docs is a learning initiative conceived in 2024 by Color Congress member organizations aimed at supporting experimentation and research for over two dozen nonfiction films by directors of color. Through eight distinct marketing experiments conducted in 2025, the project probed the barriers filmmakers face — from cultural gaps in mainstream marketing to limited data on diverse audience preferences — to identify pathways to strengthen distribution infrastructures. The result is a set of stress-tested strategies for connecting with audiences of color despite corporate consolidation, budget cuts and rising censorship.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be provided.