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Meet Your Docathon Mentors.
DOCATHON MENTORS
Our mentors are working journalists, documentary filmmakers and community storytellers from around the world — each bringing real field experience to guide your students from idea to finished film.
Each mentor connects live with your students at key moments in the programme — bringing outside eyes, real-world perspective, and genuine accountability to the filmmaking process.
Meet your mentor
WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND?
My career started in corporate advertising where I learned how to tell stories in 30 to 60 seconds. Wanting to create more impact, I became an on-ground community developer working with local Indigenous tribes in the Philippines and collaborating with them to tell their stories to the rest of the world in hopes of getting support for their reforestation efforts in their land.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING?
When I was working in advertising, I saw the true power of storytelling in influencing people's actions, whether that's in a good way or a bad way.
But more profoundly, when I worked with local indigenous tribes in the Philippines, I saw the way that it could put people together and inspire them to work with each other for something bigger than themselves.
And this ability of storytelling to build community, to build compassion, and to create lasting impact is something that has stayed with me throughout and something that I wish to impart upon all our students and users of Docathon.
YOUR MEMORABLE DOCATHON MOMENT
One standout memory from my experience as a mentor so far has been attending a conference of more than 200 student changemakers and watching films from Mongolia and Poland screened to these 200 students. It was incredible to see people getting curious about other communities that they've never met before, and from other parts of the world, but more so seeing the reaction of them getting inspired and charged up about the issues that they were seeing, and the solutions that we can all be a part of.
Meet your mentor
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WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND?
My background is in journalism and media production. I've worked across news reporting, documentary filmmaking and community storytelling projects, often focusing on social impact, things like education, mental health and climate.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING?
Growing up and working in Uganda, I kept seeing powerful experiences in communities that weren't being documented properly, and I felt like storytelling could help bridge that gap.
YOUR MEMORABLE DOCATHON MOMENT
it’s the moment that I could see how quickly students move from uncertainty to clarity. You will find a student who starts with a very vague idea, but once they begin asking the right questions and engaging with their subject, the story becomes sharper, so that transformation alone is always interesting to watch.
Meet your mentor
WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND?
I co-founded a creative community called Where to next with my partner in 2014. We used to publish an annual journal featuring stories of travelers, artists and community builders. And our main goal is really to see and to show that travel is a form of teacher.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING?
Since I was a kid, I've loved storytelling. I could not sleep until my parents would tell me a story, and every story, every bedtime, had to be unique. But in my adulthood, I've been fortunate enough to see storytelling as a form of career or profession. It sort of blended both as a passion and a profession.
YOUR MEMORABLE DOCATHON MOMENT
One of my most memorable Docathon moments was seeing a participant work on a documentary topic that was deeply connected to her own personal story. I really appreciated that because I recognized her positionality right away. It wasn't an issue she had just taken up, googled, or simply decided to cover. Instead, it was something rooted in lived experience. Even through the planning phase, I could see how important the topic was to her and how much she cared about discussing it. Because of that personal connection and commitment, I felt more drawn to the project, more willing to listen, and ultimately more curious as a viewer.
Meet your mentor
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Brock Edwards
Filmmaker
ABOUT YOUR MENTOR
Brock Edwards is a filmmaker, social science researcher, and graduate student at Kansas State University whose work bridges documentary storytelling and community-based research. As the director, writer, and editor of the award-winning short documentary The Table We Share, Edwards uses ethnographic and visual storytelling methods to illuminate complex social issues through deeply human narratives. His films are driven by a commitment to amplifying lived experiences, fostering connection, and highlighting community resilience. By combining academic rigor with an empathetic storytelling approach, Edwards creates documentaries that not only inform but also inspire meaningful reflection and dialogue.