Have you downloaded the DAWG Syllabus?
We want to hear from you! Even if you downloaded, but haven't had a chance to use the DAWG Syllabus, we'd love your feedback. We continually assess our programming and resources to improve what we share with you and tailor what we create to meet your ethical filmmaking needs.
This survey will only take 5 minutes of your time. To ensure you have time to weigh in, we have extended the deadline for the survey to Friday, May 29th.
Click the link in our bio to take the survey today! Thank you
DAWG was proud to serve as a community sponsor for the 2026 edition of the Black Trans Short Film Festival in Durham NC this past weekend, April 30-May2!!
DAWG director Natalie Bullock Brown was in attendance. “What a joy to be in the achingly beautiful space that my friends @joieloushakur and @wazimaret of Comfrey Films curated! From the amazing film Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, to the ancestor altar, networking, and wonderful vibes and opportunities to connect with siblings new and old (here I am with @elijaa_ Elijah McKinnon!), it was a joy to experience the festival. Looking forward to BTSFF 2027! Let’s make it happen, together.🤎
Today is the day — the start of BTSFF!! DAWG is so incredibly proud to partner with Comfrey Films for the Black Trans Short Film Festival—an inspiring celebration of bold, culture-shifting films by Black trans, gender non-conforming, and intersex filmmakers.
Register for free to join us at the Black Trans Short Film Festival in Durham, NC April 30-May 2nd. comfreyfilms.org/festival
The Black Trans Short Film Festival begins tomorrow!! 🥳
DAWG is proud to partner with Comfrey Films for the Black Trans Short Film Festival—an inspiring celebration of bold, culture-shifting films by Black trans, gender non-conforming, and intersex filmmakers.
Register for free to join us at the Black Trans Short Film Festival in Durham, NC April 30-May 2nd. comfreyfilms.org/festival
Can’t make it to Durham this month? Get your ticket to BTSFF virtual!
We hope to see you there!
At Justice for My Sister, we strive to make trauma-informed storytelling–a practice coined by founder @kimbidybautista –an industry standard. We are intentional to create conditions for safety and non-violent communication in the fast-paced and high-demand set environment. Furthermore, we are intentional about the stories we tell and how we tell them by keeping the viewer in mind and minimizing graphic imagery that’s unnecessary to the story.
It is a long-term goal at Justice for My Sister that a trauma-informed consultant be required on every set that depicts gender-based violence to protect actors, as well as the production crew, from possible retraumatization. Equally, we want to see more films that are restorative, ethical, and helmed by survivors with lived experience.
If you would like to hire us as a trauma-informed consultant on your set, or have us train your crew, contact us at: [email protected].
We’re partnering with @geenadavisorg and @disabilitybelongs to increase our reach and impact with trauma-informed storytelling in scripted films and TV, and with @documentaryaccountability and @representmedia.oakland to create an industry standard for ethical practices adopted by documentary filmmakers. Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more.
Thank you to consultants Soraya Giaccardi Vargas, Tegan Bratcher, Mayana Geathers, Ana Ruth Castillo, Hilda Franco, Janet Arelis Quezada and others who have contributed to this work over the years!
Photos by @gabrielasvision .
#TraumaInformedStorytelling #TraumaInformedSet #StoriesThatHeal #NonviolentCommunication #SurvivorsFirst
DAWG is proud to partner with Comfrey Films for the Black Trans Short Film Festival—an inspiring celebration of bold, culture-shifting films by Black trans, gender non-conforming, and intersex filmmakers.
Register for free to join us at the Black Trans Short Film Festival in Durham, NC April 30-May 2nd. comfreyfilms.org/festival
Can’t make it to Durham this month? Get your ticket to BTSFF virtual!
This year’s theme, “We are free now,” centers storytelling that does not ask for
permission—stories that are shaping culture, building community, and imagining new possibilities for the future.
The Black Trans Short Film Festival features a dynamic lineup of film screenings, filmmaker conversations, and community events that celebrate emerging and established voices in Black
trans media.
Join us in supporting these incredible artists and experiencing the power of their work.
🎬 Learn more and get tickets: comfreyfilms.org/festival
We hope to see you there!
That’s a wrap on the 2026 Works-in-Progress Lab! We already miss our filmmakers and mentors. It was a week filled with thoughtful, intentional, values-based project deep dives, workshops, community feedback screenings, and shared meals together. Bonus highlights: finding yummy ice cream (with gluten free waffle cones), shared humor, and singing karaoke together! We are grateful for the participating filmmakers and mentors, and for our partners at @docaccountability and @cucalorus . We cannot wait to see each of these powerful films come to fruition and create strong social impact. We’re rooting for y’all!
@soy_cristian29@thisiselodie@queerchristians@alexjbledsoe@oaklead@sekiyadorsett
To support more social change filmmakers and programs like Works-in-Progress, head over workingfilms.org/donate or the link in our bio to contribute! YOU are what helps sustain this work❤️
📣 Learning & Practice Lab Phase 3: Pre-Production
📅 Two Part Webinar on Thurs Apr 16 & Thurs Feb 23 | 1-2pm ET
DAWG and Marwa Consulting, LLC invite filmmakers into Learning & Practice Lab Phase 3: Pre-Production. This two-part webinar is developed and facilitated by Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Oseguera.
Ethical pre-production calls for identifying creative and decision-making partners who can deepen perspective, challenge blind spots, and reflect participants’ realities with care.
Phase 3 asks a critical question: What must be designed now to ensure that care can be sustained under the pressures of production?
Register by clicking the link in our bio!
🎬✨ Cucalorus Film Foundation, Working Films and DAWG are excited to announce the 2026 Works-in-Progress Lab cohort, an immersive program uplifting social justice docs and Black storytelling.
Next week at the Cucalorus campus in Wilmington, filmmakers Alex J. Bledsoe, Cristián Martin, Sekiya Dorsett & Elodie Edjang will workshop their projects with mentors @byronhurt & @natalie_bullock_brown .
👏 Congrats to this year’s cohort!
#wiplab #WiP #worksinprogresslab #blackfilmmakers #socialjustice @alexjbledsoe@sekiyadorsett@queerchristians #queerchristians #lgbtfilms #oaklead #cristian #20yearsoflonging @encoreilm@statonator88@avery.stephanie@iamjusttomika@wectnews@starnewsonline@wwaynews
Hi good people! Our webinar featuring a conversation between @geetagandbhir , director of the Oscar-nominated documentary @theperfectneighborfilm , and DAWG Director, Natalie Bullock Brown takes place this Thursday, March 12th!
🔔Please note the time of the webinar has changed to 1:00 pm ET! 🔔
If you have already registered for the webinar, there is no need to register again for the new time. If you haven’t already registered, click the link in our bio and join us for what promises to be a powerful conversation!
#DAWG #ThePerfectNeighbor #Oscars2026 #Documentary
📣New DAWG Webinar!
What do you get when the story of a community tragically plagued by a resident is told through the lens of police body cam footage?
You get @theperfectneighborfilm , the Oscar-nominated and much lauded documentary film by award-winning director, @geetagandbhir .
On Thursday March 12th, join director, Geeta Gandbhir, in conversation with DAWG director, Natalie Bullock Brown, as they discuss the making of The Perfect Neighbor. Gandbhir and Brown will consider some of the film’s ethical dilemmas, and the particular type of scrutiny social justice films often endure.
To increase accessibility, the webinar will include Spanish and ASL interpretation.
Register by clicking the link in our bio!
#DAWG #DocumentaryAccountabilityWorkingGroup #ThePerfectNeighbor #Netflix #Oscars2026
