RACHEL GOLDBERG & ALEJANDRA LÓPEZ
AWD Icon and Emeritus Board Member Rachel Goldberg and #MLD Fellow Alejandra López have each been selected for the 2026 POC Accelerator, founded by Cate Blanchett, Coco Francini, and Dr. Stacy L. Smith with support from Netflix. The filmmakers will make a “proof of concept” for a feature film or television project. Each project is funded at $50,000 and directors will participate in a mentorship and exposure program which connects them with industry leaders.
Rachel will direct HOLY SHIT! (formerly known as THE BM), written by FAMILY GUY scribes, Artie Johann and Shawn Ries. Logline: A young woman’s desperate search for a bathroom gets her inadvertently caught up in a bizarre shakedown with her best friend.
Alejandra will direct THE 51st STATE from her own script. Logline: A young Puerto Rican woman is stopped at a militarized checkpoint where soldiers uncover explosives she was carrying—igniting the war between the 51st state and the resistance.
LISA COLE
Lisa Cole is premiering her “Filthy” at the 12th Annual Bentonville Film Festival on June 17th. Inspired by her award-winning feature script, this narrative short was part of AWD’s 2025 Rising Director Fellowship.
Logline: A thirteen-year-old girl is brought to the altar to be made pure. What rises in her instead unbinds every woman in the room.
Follow “Filthy” on IG to join the filmmakers on their film’s journey!
LINDA MENDOZA
AWD Icon Member Linda Mendoza will be performing the play she wrote: “Cursed: My Road to Hollywood” at the Hollywood Fringe. This is a story of finding your yourself, navigating tragedy, and the entertainment world. Get tickets HERE.
GISELLE VAZQUEZ
Giselle Vazquez‘s theatre directing debut “Anima Intervention: The Miraculous Undoing of Pola Torres” will be at the Lincoln Park Theatre Festival, presented by Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. Starring and written by Edie Pilar Monroy. The play is part of the Mini-Teatro English Series on Saturday, June 6th @ 12p. (Performance at Plaza de la Raza; 3540 North Mission Road, Northeast Los Angeles, CA, 90031)
Use discount code FESTIVAL for 25% off tickets HERE.
About the play: She rebuilds company identities from the ground up. But her armor won’t fool the Muisca goddess of joy and rebellion, who arrives uninvited and clocks the shame behind the swagger.
BUVANA RAM
LOVE ME, STUPID, a narrative feature written, directed, and produced by Buvana Ram, is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Google Play and YouTube.
LOGLINE: Opposites repel when a proper young Indian woman and an improper young American woman clash over their shared Los Angeles apartment in this sympathetic, cross-cultural mash-up of Indian drama and American romantic comedy.
Follow Buvana on IG for more!
ROBYN SYMON
AWD member Robyn Symon’s narrative directorial debut feature film, QUEEN OF SHOCK, which was workshopped through the Works in Progress (WIP) program, will premiere at the Dances With Films Festival in Los Angeles. More information, and tickets, can be found HERE.
“The feedback I received through the WIP program was instrumental in making QUEEN OF SHOCK a stronger, more fluid, and emotionally powerful film.” — Robyn Symon
The film premieres Saturday, June 20th at 8:45 PM at the TCL Chinese Theatres. A Q&A with Robyn Symon and cast members from the film will follow the screening.
AWD Directing Members can submit to the WIP program using THIS FORM.