WHAT'S INSIDE

🌟 Session #1 – Welcome + How Does AI Actually Work? with Ani Mercedes
We’ll set the stage—why AI is one of the most provocative topics in documentary right now—and give you a clear, jargon-free understanding of what it is, what it can (and can’t) do, and where the opportunities lie for our industry. All grounded in real AI case studies from films you know.

SPEAKER: Ani Mercedes is the Founder of Looky Looky Pictures and a leading voice in documentary film impact. She has served over 1,000 filmmakers design campaigns that have commuted a prison sentence, educated policymakers who passed record-breaking legislation, and educated constituents to mobilize historic voter turnout. Before entering film, she spent 8 years helping large school districts across the U.S. improve their technology. Today, she blends her background in tech, storytelling, and social change to teach small doc teams how to use both proven impact frameworks and new AI tools to create campaigns with clarity, ease, and joy.

🤖 Session #2 – Interactive Demo: Practical AI for Film Impact with Laila Jhané
Watch live demos of AI tools for research, strategy, messaging, and outreach—designed to save time, scale your reach, and boost campaign impact without a steep learning curve.

SPEAKER: Laila Jhané is a creative researcher, AI educator, and consultant who has spoken and led workshops at institutions such as Spelman College’s Innovation Lab, Third World Newsreel, and other established organizations. Through these sessions, she has guided filmmakers and artists in meaningfully integrating AI into creative practice, production workflows, and systems. Her creative accomplishments span both film and new media. Her work has been featured by Motionographer and showcased at eyedrum Art Gallery. Across her projects, Laila champions the ethical and transparent use of creative technology as a partner to human creativity.

💌 Session #3 – AI Accountability in Documentary Practice with Rachel Antell
The promise, peril, and power of AI in documentary work—plus a practical accountability framework so you can integrate AI responsibly. We’ll unpack examples like synthetic content, voice recreation, and archival deepfakes.

SPEAKER: Rachel Antell has worked in documentary film production for over two decades, but found her true passion in archival producing. In 2014 she co-founded Sub-Basement Archival, where she’s had the honor of being archival producer on dozens of documentaries that have screened worldwide, and garnered FOCAL Awards and an Emmy nomination for research and use of archival footage. In 2023, Rachel co-founded the Archival Producers Alliance (APA) to organize archival producers, educate the film community about the craft, and advocate for the field. The APA's first initiative addresses Generative AI’s impact on documentary film and archival work. 

🎉 Session #4 – Hands-On Workshop: Newsletter Party Kickoff!
Finally hit send on that film newsletter you’ve been putting off! Learn newsletter best practices AI can’t teach you, then combine them with your favorite AI tool (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) to write, design, and send your impact newsletter.

YOU ALSO GET

• A clear understanding of AI and what's at stake
• A toolkit for applying AI to your film’s impact campaign (including a plug-and-play prompt library)
• A finished newsletter, ready to send (or already sent)!
• Tools and insights to incorporate AI into your workflow
• Replay available for 30 days
• and more!