EXCLUSIVE: Movie Unbiased has named the trio of program alumni set for his or her 2026 Changemaker Award.
The creatives set to be acknowledged for his or her contributions to the unbiased movie and tv panorama are filmmakers Alysa Nahmias (Cookie Queens) and Robbie Pickering (Gaslit) and editor Harry Yoon (Michael). They’ll be feted at Movie Unbiased’s twenty third Artist Improvement Showcase, an annual celebration of brief movies made by Movie Unbiased-supported filmmakers, which this 12 months will happen on the DGA Theater on July 21.
Nahmias involves obtain the Changemaker Award after collaborating in Movie Unbiased’s 2013 Quick Observe finance market and 2020 Documentary Lab. Pickering was a part of the 2006 Screenwriting Lab, the 2007 Directing Lab and the 2007 Quick Observe finance market. Yoon, in the meantime, took half in Mission Contain in 2004.
“We’re proud to rejoice visionary artists whose daring storytelling expands our cultural panorama and whose dedication to mentorship ensures a vibrant future,” mentioned Angela C. Lee, Movie Unbiased’s Director of Artist Improvement. “Alysa Nahmias, Robbie Pickering and Harry Yoon exemplify creative excellence, generosity and influence, demonstrating what it means to steer as changemakers in our trade.”
Previous recipients of the Changemaker Award embody Academy Award nominees Smriti Mundhra and Pamela Ribon; Unbiased Spirit Award nominee Tze Chun and winners Andrew Ahn and Jomo Fray; Peabody Award winner Grace Lee; SXSW Viewers Award winner Linda Yvette Chávez; Sundance Director of Programming Kim Yutani; and Hartbeat Vice President of Movies Aaron T. Edmonds.
Movies screening at this 12 months’s Artist Improvement Showcase embody:
Dolce, “Fräknarna“
Director, J.M. Harper (Amplifier Fellowship 2025, Episodic Directing Intensive 2026)
A music video for Dolce’s tune Fräknarna.
God Sleeps on Sundays
Author/Director, Naishe Nyamubaya (Worldwide Packages 2024, Quick Observe 2024); Producer, Sue-Ellen Chitunya (Mission Contain 2016, 2016 Grant Recipient, Producing Lab 2020, Amplifier Fellowship 2023, Quick Observe 2024)
A fierce rivalry erupts between a standard healer and a Christian preacher who’s hellbent on constructing his church on her land.
Haint
Producer, Selena Leoni (Mission Contain 2021); Cinematographer, Joewi Verhoeven (Mission Contain 2024)
When gentrifiers mysteriously start to die, a Gullah Geechee handywoman who lately misplaced her residence, should determine whether or not to assist them or go away the newcomers to their destiny.
Residing with a Visionary
Producer, Mireira Vilanova (Mission Contain 2021)
After 50 years of marriage, John should take care of his spouse whereas studying to stay alongside her vivid hallucinations.
Everlasting Visitor
Author/Director/Producer, Sana Zahra Jafri (Worldwide Packages 2023)
A younger lady’s world is rattled by the arrival of a relative who forces her to weigh household obligations in opposition to her rising discomfort.
The What
Author/Director/Producer, Christopher Nataanii Cegielski (Mission Contain 2016, 2016 Grant Recipient, Episodic Directing Intensive 2026)
A routine job for 2 hitmen unravels when certainly one of them acknowledges the goal as somebody who ghosted him months in the past.
