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Meet the 2026 Works-in-Progress Lab Cohort!

March 24, 2026 BY admin

Cucalorus Film Foundation, Working Films and DAWG are excited to announce the 2026 Works-in-Progress Lab Cohort! The WiP Lab is an immersive laboratory supporting social justice documentaries with a focus on Black storytelling. The program fosters a tight-knit community of peer support, where facilitators and mentors guide filmmakers in providing constructive feedback on each other’s works-in-progress. This year’s mentors are filmmakers and WiP Lab alumni: Natalie Bullock Brown and Byron Hurt.

The 2026 WiP Lab cohort will come together next week at the Cucalorus Campus in Wilmington, NC. Congratulations to the filmmakers!

 

Alex J. Bledsoe

OAKLEAD

OAKLEAD, her debut feature documentary, follows Oakland community members as they fight to protect one another from lead poisoning in their own homes and schools — and uncover over a century of environmental racism.

 

Alex J. Bledsoe is a film director, producer and multidisciplinary artist whose work is grounded in healing justice and dismantling exploitative systems, especially related to medical and environmental racism.

 

 

Cristián Martin

Cristián

Cristián follows a year-long journey of coming out socially while navigating legal and medical transition. The film traces a nonlinear path from struggle to personal becoming.

 

Cristián is a documentary storyteller whose work focuses on identity and resilience. His films includes Boricua No Te Quites and post-production support on the NY Emmy-winning series Puerto Rican Voices.

 

 

Sekiya Dorsett

20 Years of Longing

20 Years of Longing spans two decades of a Black lesbian couple from Haiti and the Bahamas who must confront migration, religious silence, medical injustice, and their mothers’ legacy to build the family they were never meant to have.

 

Sekiya Dorsett is a GLAAD Award-winning filmmaker and founder of Seabreeze Media Inc., whose nonfiction and hybrid films center Black queer life with emotional rigor, political clarity, and deep care for community memory.

 

 

Elodie Edjang

Queer Christians

Queer Christians is a feature-length documentary exploring the intersections and boundaries between faith, race, and love. The film follows a group of queer women of color as they embark on intimate journeys of self-discovery.

 

Elodie Edjang is a Chicago-based creative focused on making people feel seen, heard, and understood. A third‑culture kid with roots in Cameroon, France, and the American South, she explores community and belonging.

 

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