Sun June 08 - 1:00 PM
Follow the Funding with Documentary Producers
Free Talks
| 60 MINUTESFour producers with documentaries premiering at Tribeca Film Festival this year share insight into how the challenges of funding a film help to shape the filmmaking process. How did they reconcile the pressures of the film marketplace and all too common funding shortages to successfully complete their films, and what compromises may have been required? Our panelists are Gabriella García-Pardo (Backside), Carolyn Hepburn (Empire Skate), Darcy McKinnon (Natchez), and Shannon E. Riggs (Andy Kaufman Is Me). The panel is presented by the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA) and moderated by DPA Board President Erica Taylor.
Panelists
Gabriella Garcia-Pardo
Gabriella is a Colombian-American non-fiction filmmaker drawn to our relationship to land, place, and the non-human. She produced and co-wrote La Bonga (True/False, 2023), from directors Sebastián Pinzón Silva and Canela Reyes. The film is a co-production with the community featured, and journeys with them to the home from which they were displaced due to Colombia’s civil conflict. With director Raúl Paz Pastrana, she produced and co-wrote BACKSIDE (Tribeca, 2025), an observational feature following the workforce behind the Kentucky Derby. Gabriella directed the short The Bardia (Mountainfilm, 2022) and is currently directing her first feature, FENCED, a lovingly subversive meditation on the boundaries that define U.S. land, identity, and belonging. Her projects have been supported by Sundance, Catapult, Creative Capital, ITVS, Nia Tero, LPB, and Firelight Media, among others. Previously, Gabriella created short docs at National Geographic, filmed NPR’s Tiny Desk, and led horse treks through Chile. She has been selected for fellowships at Sundance, Impact Partners, BAVC, and NOFS, among others. Committed to community-building, Gabriella founded the DC Video Consortium, where for 4 years, she facilitated mentorship and curated events for filmmakers and journalists.
Darcy McKinnon
Darcy McKinnon is a documentary filmmaker based in New Orleans, whose work focuses on the American South and the Caribbean. Recently released projects include Natchez, (Tribeca, 2025), A King Like Me and Roleplay, (SXSW, 2024), Commuted (PBS, 2024), Algiers, America (Hulu, 2023), Under G-d (Sundance 2023), Look at Me! XXXTENTACION (SXSW, Hulu, 2022) and The Neutral Ground (Tribeca, POV, 2021). Current projects in production include Jason Fitzroy Jeffers’ The First Plantation, Abe Felix’s Turnaround, CJ Hunt’s Unlearned, Nicole Craine’s Kinfolk and Zac Manuel’s The Instrument. Her work has been on World Channel, AfroPop, POV, Reel South, LPB and Hulu, and has screened at Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, CPH:DOX and more. Darcy is an alum of the Impact Partners Producing Fellowship and the Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellowship, and a recipient of American Documentary’s Creative Visionary Award.
Shannon Riggs
Shannon Riggs is a veteran producer of acclaimed films and series. In 2017, she co-founded Parkside Films, with director Clay Tweel. Parkside’s work is known for their extraordinary access, and character driven, commercial appeal. Currently, Shannon is in post production on the Damar Hamlin sports documentary DDID WE WIL and is set to have premiere ANDY KAUFMAN IS ME at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, both directed by Tweel. Shannon’s upcoming films include legal docu-thriller The Bitter Pill, and Rough House co-production, Mississippi River Styx, co-directed by Tim Grant and AndyMcMillan. After graduating from USC Film School, Shannon began her career at Spike Lee’s legendary production company, 40 Acres and A Mule. Her early work in narrative development launched her into big-budget studio features and ingrained a cinematic, story-driven sensibility which has become her professional hallmark. Outside her work in film, Shannon is a mentor for women breaking into the business through The Sundance Institute, Women in Film, and Start With 8.
Carolyn Hepburn
Carolyn Hepburn is an Emmy, Peabody and Gotham Award-winning producer who joined ESPN Films in 2022. Recent films include Empire Skate (ESPN Films; 2025 Tribeca Festival), Candace Parker: Unapologetic (ESPN Films), Love To Love You, Donna Summer (HBO Documentaries; Berlin Film Festival), Victim/Suspect (Netflix; Emmy Winner; Sundance Film Festival), The Fire That Took Her (MTV Documentary Films; Emmy Winner), American Pain (CNN Films; Tribeca Festival), Unfinished Business (Amazon, Tribeca Festival), The Return of Tanya Tucker featuring Brandi Carlile (Sony Pictures Classics, SXSW Audience Winner), In The Same Breath (HBO Documentaries; Oscar Shortlisted; Sundance Film Festival), The Velvet Underground (Apple Original; Oscar Shortlisted; Cannes Film Festival), The Mole Agent (Hulu; Oscar Nominee; Sundance Film Festival), A Thousand Cuts (Frontline; Emmy, Gotham and IDA Winner; Sundance Film Festival), One Child Nation (Amazon Studios; Oscar Shortlisted; Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner), Life, Animated (A&E IndieFilms; Oscar Nominee; 3x Emmy Winner; Sundance Film Festival), Weiner (IFC Films; Oscar Shortlisted; Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner), Art and Craft (Oscilloscope; Oscar Shortlisted; National Board of Review Winner; Tribeca Film Festival) and 3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets (HBO Documentaries; Oscar Shortlisted; Emmy Nominated; Sundance Special Jury Prize for Social Impact).
* Rush Tickets will be offered at venues when advanced tickets for a screening or event are no longer available (EXCLUDES: Beacon Theatre and United Palace).
The Rush system functions as a standby line that will form at the venue approximately one hour prior to scheduled start time. Admittance is based on availability and will begin roughly 10 minutes prior to program start time. Rush Tickets are the same price as advance tickets and are payable upon entry.
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