Media Contact:
Torie Nugent-Peterson
torie@neworleansfilmsociety.org
NEW ORLEANS FILM SOCIETY ANNOUNCES
2026 EMERGING VOICES DIRECTORS LAB FELLOWS
NOFS celebrates the tenth EV Lab cohort serving 60+ independent filmmakers of color and marking a new milestone with the first-ever four-day overnight retreat at Docville Farm
New Orleans, La. (May 26, 2026) –– The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) has announced five Louisiana-based filmmakers to participate in the 2026 Emerging Voices Directors Lab (EV Lab). Now in its 10th new cohort, the EV Lab has supported 64 Louisiana-based filmmakers of color in developing their creative projects and building their careers as working directors since the program’s launch in 2014.
The 2026 EV Directors Lab fellows include: Elvira Castillo (New Orleans), Zain Hashmat (New Orleans), Jordan Christen Joseph (New Orleans), Shea Eddie Stephens (Baton Rouge), and Joshua Williams III (New Orleans).
The six-month fellowship is designed to uplift and invest in emerging Louisiana-based directors of color. The program supports independent filmmakers as they develop creative projects, whether short or feature-length, documentary, narrative, or hybrid, while also strengthening their professional pathways as working directors.
This year’s program introduces a new milestone: the first-ever four-day overnight retreat, held at Docville Farm in Violet, Louisiana. Fellows will gather for an immersive experience featuring workshops, panels, and interactive exercises led by a series of established directors designed to deepen their creative practices and move their projects forward. Each fellow will receive a $2,000 unrestricted grant and an invitation to attend the 37th New Orleans Film Festival presented by Andscape (NOFF) this October 21 – 27, 2026.
The retreat will be led by EV Alum and accomplished filmmaker Zandashé Brown. Zandashé is a writer/director born and raised in southern Louisiana and took part in the Emerging Voices program in 2015. She is a 2025 SFFilm Rainin Grant recipient, and an alum of the 2024 Film Independent Amplifier Fellowship, the 2022 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Directors Lab for her debut feature The Matriarch, and the 2021 Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program. She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2022.
Emerging Voices Lab Alum and Coordinator Zandashé Brown said, “Taking part in this lab over a decade ago gave me my foundation as a filmmaker in that it introduced me to a community that has poured a wealth of knowledge, care, and support into me at every stage of my evolution as a filmmaker. It is an honor and a privilege to get to continue that legacy and watch our filmmaking community grow in numbers and in achievements.”
Throughout the 4-days, the lab will feature immersive workshops with established directors working across documentary, narrative film, and television. In addition to Zandashé Brown, participating speakers and panelists include a number of alums of the New Orleans Film Society’s filmmaker programs, including Monica Sorelle (Southern Producers Lab ‘18), Robert Colom (South Pitch ‘18), Marion Hill (EV ‘18, South Pitch ‘19), and Abe Felix (EV ‘18). Other advisors and speakers include cinematographers Bruce Cole and Cierra Glaude, film director Dwayne Leblanc (NOFF ‘25), and filmmaker and episodic director Stacy Muhammed.
Quote from Executive Director, Dodd Loomis:
“Programs like Emerging Voices, South Pitch, and Southern Producers Lab are the heart and soul of the New Orleans Film Society because they allow us to invest directly in the artists who live here, work here, and carry the stories of this region out in to he world. At NOFS, we believe one of the most meaningful ways to uplift underrepresented Southern storytellers is to provide the time, mentorship, resources, community, unrestricted support, and industry expertise that help artists build sustainable creative lives. These filmmakers are not just developing individual projects. They are shaping how the South is seen, understood, and remembered, and we are honored to support them as they bring those stories to audiences around the world.”
Emerging Voices is made possible with support from the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Goldring Family Foundation, Arts Council New Orleans.
Emerging Voices Directors Lab 2026 Fellows and Projects
Elvira Castillo with Wasi: Longing for a Home Forgotten
Elvira Michelle (b. 1992, New Orleans, LA-based) is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and curator. Of Bolivian descent and raised in Miami, Florida, her work explores intergenerational memory and trauma, particularly as they shape the experiences of marginalized communities. She was a co-owner of film studio cooperative, Studio Lalala and is an alumna of the NBCU Creative Impact Lab 2023. She has exhibited work locally at The Front Gallery, The Parlour Gallery, The CAC and 912 Studios and nationally at Is it Real? Contemporary Artists for Reproductive Freedom at Lagoon Studios in Dallas, TX.. She has also exhibited work internationally at Echo’s Studio in São Paolo, Brazil, The Cica Museum in South Korea, and The Holy Art Gallery in London, UK. She is currently working on an original feature documentary film titled Wasi: Longing for a Home Forgotten as a part of the 2025 Power of Storytelling Cohort by NBCUniversal and The Alliance of Media Arts + Culture.
Project Logline: In this deeply personal documentary, artist and filmmaker Elvira Michelle follows her mother as they explore the meaning of home, tracing the threads of memory, identity, and belonging across generations and different lands.
Jordan Christen Joseph with The Girl in Plumes
Jordan Joseph is an award-winning filmmaker, a self-proclaimed “all-purpose storyteller,” and a proud New Orleans native. With an MFA from the University of New Orleans, Jordan has written, directed, and produced seven short films, three of which have garnered festival recognition. Her creative lens is focused on the totality of the Black American experience, specifically through a New Orleanian point of view. Jordan’s work is rooted in reality but sprinkled with light and love—resulting in warm, deeply humanistic narratives. Her background in journalism informs her “lean and clean” approach to pacing, ensuring every frame serves the heart of the story. Currently, Jordan is navigating the festival circuit with her latest short, SUGAR WATER, while developing her first feature-length script as a member of FILMSHOP NOLA; a project that she also brings to the 2026 Emerging Voices program. Ultimately, Jordan’s mission is to showcase the beauty of her heritage through cinema that is as lively, vibrant, and resilient as the city she calls home. Whether on the page or behind the camera, she remains dedicated to telling stories that honor the continual overcoming of her community.
Project Logline: A teenage girl is ripped from her home by Hurricane Katrina and dropped in a small town in Texas. She’ll need to weather her own emotional storm to find her voice and make it back home.
Joshua Williams III with WTF IS THAT?
Joshua J. Williams is an actor, writer and director from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has starred in television series such as “Quarry”, “Flatbush Misdemeanors” and Wayne to name a few. More recently, Joshua stars alongside Deborah Ayorinde, Luke James and Pam Grier on the horror anthology series “THEM” on Prime Video. On his down time, Joshua loves to produce and direct short-form content for his production company Melanin Pictures. Melanin Pictures is an independent film and television production company intended to create, educate, uplift and produce meaningful – captivating stories from the BIPOC community.
Project Logline: After a house party, a group of teens discover something that looks to be an alien.
Shea Eddie Stephens with When Heaven Doesn’t Answer
Shea Stephens is a filmmaker, educator, and multidisciplinary artist dedicated to storytelling that bridges community, culture, and personal truth. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his work spans narrative film, documentary, and theatre, often exploring themes of identity, resilience, and human connection. He earned an Associate of Applied Science in Entertainment Technology (Film Production) from Baton Rouge Community College, a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Film and Television from Louisiana State University, a Master of Arts in Film and Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and an MFA in Theatre Arts in Pedagogy and Directing from the University of Idaho.As a Film and New Media Production instructor at Baton Rouge Community College, Stephens blends industry practice with a deeply inclusive teaching philosophy, mentoring emerging artists to find their voice through both technical mastery and authentic expression. His creative projects, including Lotus, Boys Cry Too, and When Heaven Doesn’t Answer, reflect a commitment to emotionally grounded storytelling influenced by both classical cinema and contemporary visual language.A co founder and board member of Mid City Civic Theatre, Stephens is committed to building artistic community. His work is rooted in collaboration, vulnerability, and purpose, creating spaces where diverse voices are seen, heard, and empowered.
Project Logline: After the brutal suicide of his godson, a preacher is forced to confront the cracks in his supposed faith. As grief and doubt consume him, he must repair his fractured relationship with his estranged son while searching for meaning in a silence he no longer understands.
Zain Hashmat with Humera’s
Zain is a New Orleans-based filmmaker, raised and educated in Mississippi. He has spent the past five years in Southeastern Louisiana working to uplift the next generation of filmmakers as a programmer for the New Orleans Film Festival, an educator at the New Orleans Video Access Center, and a collaborator on various sets throughout the city. He has worked to share the films of local filmmakers and their visions as a coordinator for the New Orleans Film Festival and the Overlook Film Festival. As an editor, sound mixer, and 2nd AC, he has helped bring numerous filmmakers’ visions to life with dedication and a keen sense of collaboration. He is deeply interested in contemporary Southern stories told through a tender, comedic lens that heightens the everyday. His own films explore contemporary struggles told through a nostalgic viewpoint rooted in film history, the machinations of the cinema, and Southern and Pakistani culture. He is a member of Palestine Film Day, NOLA Freedom Forum, and is a regular contributor for Antigravity Magazine. Much like his favorite films, he’s short and sweet.
Project Logline: After a painful breakup, a 30-year-old struggling actor spends his days binge-eating his ex’s favorite treat at the local chaat house. When the confection runs out, the young man takes desperate measures to indulge in the treat one last time before the night ends.
ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS FILM SOCIETY
The New Orleans Film Society discovers, cultivates, and amplifies diverse voices of filmmakers who tell the stories of our time. Founded in 1989, NOFS produces the Oscar®-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival annually and invests year-round in building a vibrant film culture in the South to share transformative cinematic experiences with audiences, and connect dynamic filmmakers to career-advancing resources. Year-round programming includes free and low-cost screenings for members and the broader community of cinephiles in New Orleans, a 20-year running French Film Festival featuring contemporary and classic French cinema, and filmmaker professional development programs created to nurture diverse voices in filmmaking in the American South. NOFS is a 501(c)(3) organization.
The New Orleans Film Society is supported by grants from the Ford Foundation; MacArthur Foundation, Goldring and Woldenberg Family Foundations, Department of Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts, and administered by Arts New Orleans.
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