We’re thrilled to share BGDM’s 2025 Sustainable Artist Fellows — three bold documentary filmmakers using nonfiction storytelling as a force for activism, cultural transformation, and collective liberation.
As we approach our 10-year anniversary this fall, we’re proud to double down on investing in storytellers like these who center marginalized communities, speak truth to power, and create documentary projects that push for social change and collective liberation.
Selected from over 125 applications, these fellows represent the next wave of impact-driven documentary makers shaping our field.
Meet the Fellows & Their Projects:
Thien Dinh (they/them)
Project: Through Our Hands (working title)
Who is the American worker? Set against the backdrop of 'Made in the USA' pride and rising xenophobia, THROUGH OUR HANDS weaves AAPI stories of everyday working class heroes and a critical lens on labor history to challenge the myths of the American working class. The film prompts viewers to reconsider who truly cashes in on capitalism – and who pays the price.
Sara Husain Chishti
New York, NY | Filmmaker and producer
Project: Taxi Driver Amid crippling debt and relentless exploitation, New York City’s immigrant taxi drivers fight to reclaim their humanity and the American Dream, navigating a city-sanctioned medallion lending scheme that has left their community in financial ruin.
Caron Creighton
Bay Area, CA | Journalist and documentary filmmaker
Project: Wood Street
Two unhoused men turned community leaders— John and LaMonté —organize their neighbors in the face of displacement, addiction, and a failing social system.
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