Projects in Production
Artemis Rising has a full slate of exciting films and other media projects in the works
A House on Fire is an allegorical feature film script set in a world where trauma and mental illness are represented as “curses.” It follows a woman plagued by a rare curse of fire. She and her friends set out in search of help, discovering she is a “Cursebreaker” – someone who has the ability to break their curse and prevent it from being passed on. However, this means the curse manifests in the most destructive ways possible, typically killing its host and endangering those around them. Filmmaker: Nicole Melillo
>> A Letter To My Younger Self
A deeply personal animated short co-directed by survivor-advocate and endurance athlete Summer Willis and acclaimed animator Hisko Hulsing. Blending raw documentary footage with evocative rotoscope animation, the film follows Summer as she writes a vulnerable and powerful letter to the girl she once was—retracing a decade-long journey from surviving sexual violence to reclaiming her voice, body, and agency. Filmmaker: Summer Willis
A Test of Civilization takes viewers on an emotional roller-coaster ride around the globe documenting and bringing to light the never-before-told story of the only intergovernmental effort to rescue the Austrian and German Jews, beginning in 1938. Set against the backdrop of an encroaching war, the film unfolds like a thriller as President Roosevelt sends his top negotiator George Rublee to Nazi Germany to bargain for the safe emigration of the Reich’s Jews. Filmmakers: Katharina Otto-Bernstein, Debi Wisch, Keith Barish
This documentary short will capture the story and work of pioneering photographers, Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, as they continue their decades-long extraordinary adventure through Africa. Filmmakers: Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim
>> Alive!
A dazzling animated coming-of-age documentary following two young women restarting their lives after nearly dying from eating disorders in their youth. Now at the beginning of their healing, their lively delayed growing-up journey begins. Filmmakers: Kristine Stolakis, Anya Rous and Jess Devaney
The Montana Hi-Line is the most remote place in America’s lower 48. Small, dying towns, farms, ranches, and oil fields checker the landscape as sprawling plains, like a sea of grass, stretch as far as the eye can see. In this vast remoteness, organized crime feed on the vulnerable with drugs and human trafficking. In the face of climate change and wild fires, farmers and ranchers struggle to send their children to college, who after receiving an education, have little interest in returning home to work the land. Those who stay are not only connected by this landscape’s violent history, but the resilience to make positive change. Filmmakers: Neil Gelinas and Amy Berg
A screenplay by Tyler Hisel from the novel “An Infinity of Mirrors” by Richard Condon (“The Manchurian Candidate”, “Prizzi’s Honor”). Filmmaker: Edoardo Ponti
A film centered on the life and legacy of Artemisia Gentileschi, a trailblazing female artist of the 17th century, and the struggles of female artists over the last 400 years to achieve gender equity. Filmmakers: Nicole Shipley and Kathryn Everett
How V, (formally known as Eve Ensler) changed the understanding of body image and sexuality when she first shared her controversial award winning play, The Vagina Monologues, in 1996. Witnessing the effect this had on her audience, a global movement was born out of the powerful accounts of women whose experiences make up the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women will be sexually assaulted, raped or violated in their lifetime. With over 7 billion people on the planet today, that is over one billion women. Filmmaker: Deborah Anderson
A film about an obsessed conductor, Benjamin Zander, trying to unravel the mystery behind Ludwig van Beethoven’s ground-breaking symphony, known to the world as Beethoven’s 9th. Filmmakers: Christer Gaardmann Zall, Mikkel Gaardmann Zall, Sigrid Dyekjær
A feature film about Maria, a single mother in Connecticut who leaves her child in the car for a short period of time on a cool day. Someone calls the police and Maria is arrested, plunging her into a legal and emotional journey where she has to fight to regain custody of her children, while grappling with her own complex internal experience of “good” versus “bad” motherhood, judgement, and forgiveness. Filmmaker: Lana Wilson
A film that will reveal how our trauma history impacts all of our relationships. Filmmaker: Michelle Esrick
A special project of the Artemis Rising Foundation and produced by Red Light Films, “Breakfast at Green’s” follows an eclectic group of lovable octogenarians who gather most mornings at Green’s Pharmacy in Palm Beach, Florida, to connect, tell stories and find joy. Filmmakers: Robin Honan & Ross Kauffman
Hamza Walker is a man on a mission that will force us all to confront our feelings about America’s long history of racism. He intends to stage a high profile at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art to be used as a prism through which to explore what America should do with its 800 or more Confederate monuments, which stand as symbols of its long history of racism and segregation. The MONUMENTS exhibition will feature a dozen or more actual Confederate monuments with new works of art commissioned by contemporary artists. Filmmaker: Debi Wisch
A feel-good sitcom format film to address the devastating absurdity of life in the mid-19th Century American South. Filmmaker: RaMell Ross
A documentary that focuses on a groundbreaking approach in which judges, doctors, police, and family members urge, and at times compel, people with serious mental illness into effective, humane, outpatient care. Set in the rust-belt city of Akron, its protagonists are the participants in two court programs supporting people with debilitating illnesses — those who take the meds, appear before the judges, and struggle for both their dignity and their sanity. Filmmakers: Ken Rosenberg and Peter Miller
A six-part documentary series, guided by author and researcher Mark Gober, that investigates the frontier of human awareness. The purpose of the project is to explore research and personal accounts that challenge the notion that the brain produces consciousness, pointing instead to consciousness as a basic element of reality. Filmmakers: Beth Kojima, Crystal McCrary, Annie Sundberg
A film exposing the hidden origins of the Christian Nationalist movement that seeks to radically dismantle US democracy. A bullet through the heart of a beloved doctor in Upstate New York opens this psychological thriller tracing America’s the demolition of abortion rights to a hippie evangelical commune high in the Swiss Alps. Director/Producer: Laura Dawn, Daron Murphy, Jehane Noujaim
A three-part sci-fi epic series set in the Dome Age 2102 – one hundred years after the 2002 true story movie, “Dare to be Wild”. The goal of “Dare to Breathe” is to make a thrilling commercial film based on GAIA theory which illuminates solutions to save our small planet for humanity by preserving and restoring nature and our inter-related place in it. Filmmaker: Vivienne de Courcy / Crow’s Nest Productions
Dear Everything is a musical uprising for the Earth—a theatrical movement that fuses art and activism to confront the climate crisis through the power of story and song. Blending galvanizing pop and folk music, the piece captures the tension of our times: adults striving to survive the present as youth fight for a livable future. With empathy, urgency, and hope, Dear Everything seeks to awaken hearts, spark dialogue, and inspire collective action for our planet.
Created by Tony Award-winning playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler), Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus, and Grammy and Golden Globe-nominated songwriter Justin Tranter, with collaborators Caroline Pennell, Eren Cannata, Daniel Crean, and contributions by Idina Menzel
A film about social media and mental health with a focus on youth perspectives.Filmmakers: Crystal McCrary, Beth Kojima, and Annie Sundberg
If you look at the world’s worst problems they all lead back to a single cause; individuals with inhumane pathologies (malignant narcissism, sociopathy, anti-social behavior etc.). People with good intentions are often blind to these strategies because they cannot imagine behaving the way a narcissist does. But, with education we can understand how narcissists think and operate, and learn to spot them before they get to incur more damage.Filmmakers: Mark Vicente/ Scott Altomare/Lyn Lear
Ebony Magazine chronicled a 70-year period of time when almost no one else was paying attention to African Americans. During that time, it told stories of black struggle; it told the story of the civil rights movement; and it told of a changing America. But Ebony also told inspirational stories of black success, showed the burgeoning arrival of a black middle class, and chronicled black cultural as well. Most important, it was a magazine where black people could see themselves—not just in the articles and photo spreads, but in the advertisements, as well. Filmmaker: Lisa Cortes
A documentary is a potent reminder of the transformative power of arts education. While the film documents the ups and downs of a senior class, it is also a time capsule and through their stories, we are subtly exposed to social justice issues such as the difficulties of immigration, racism, class differences, equality and more. Filmmakers: Till Schauder / Sara Nodjoumi
A film about Petra Costa’s father, Manoel, a former revolutionary who used his governmental position to distribute thousands of land titles to poor Brazilian farmers, is abruptly accused of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar land-grabbing scheme. What begins as an investigation into Manoel’s past to understand the reasons behind his arrest evolves into a Latin American Western, exposing Brazil’s open wounds: land grabbing, legacy of enslavement, corruption, and the ongoing exploitation of smallholders and natural resources — through extractivist industries that devastate both communities and ecosystems. Filmmaker: Rémi Grellety
So many attempts to tell Omar Sharif’s story have been made. So many people have tried to understand who this man really was. For the past 2 years we have been documenting his story, sitting down with those closest to him and unpacking this historical figure. At a time where tensions between east and west are at an all time high, the story of Omar Sharif is more poignant than ever, as it reminds us how history does in fact repeat itself, and how the only way to understand how to get through this moment we are in now, is to remember how we got through it before. Omar Sharif was so much more than just another Hollywood star, he reminds us of the transcendent power of art in not only bringing people together, but quite literally being the quintessential force that helps broker peace.
Filmmaker: Jia Chen
A journey of South Sudan’s National Basketball Team and the transformative power of sport in unifying a nation. Filmmakers: Beth Hubbard, Anteneh Addisu
This film uses the daring escape of outspoken human rights activist and North Korean defector, Hyeonseo Lee, as a jumping-off-point to penetrate the reality of life inside the most mysterious country in the world, and to reveal the broader psychological tolls of defection. At the tender age of 17, Hysenseo crossed the frozen Yalu River on the northern border into China. Intending to go only for a short, rebellious stay, she never returned to her country. Almost sold into prostitution and at one point arrested and interrogated, Hyeonseo hid her identity for over ten years as an illegal in China. Her tale of bravery and daring is also one of loneliness and disconnection. Filmmakers: Madeleine Gavin / Jana Edelbaum / Rachel Cohen
Heartbreak is a docuseries, examining the social and biological impact of heartbreaking loss through the cinema verité lens of five subjects who are in the process of writing themselves through therapy, cutting edge science and alternative forms of healing. Filmmakers: Nadine Schiff-Rosen; Maria Shriver
A film about seven young amputee veterans who attempt to climb the world’s tallest mountains on every continent as a journey of recovery and transformation. Filmmaker: Frieda Mock
This film depicts the current state of women’s health which aims to shed light on how women’s health has been misunderstood, underfunded, and overlooked for decades and explores what it will take to change that. A few striking facts illustrate the urgency: women are diagnosed with diseases an average of four years later than men, and while two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women, only 12% of related research funding focuses on them. Through intimate stories and expert insights, Hormonal aims to reframe the national conversation around women’s health and inspire lasting change. Filmmakers: Dawn Porter and Katie Couric
During her childhood, Hunter Austin was enamored with the character Cindy Prescott from the popular kids’ show, Thunder. After turning 50, Austin finally got to meet the woman behind that role — Melora Hardin. Hardin was fascinated by her fan’s life. Days filled by animal actors in an enchanting home, it all seemed so magical. But things weren’t as they appeared. The course of Austin’s life had been changed after she was raped at the age of 7. This film follows Austin’s journey to face the traumas of her path and start her path to healing. Director: Melora Hardin; Producer: James Younger.
>> The Image of the Black in Western Art
Development of the Book Series The Image of the Black in Western Art into a documentary series. The iconic art book series is foundational to understanding race as it pertains to every aspect of global art history. It begins as an examination of the concepts of ‘black’ and ‘white’ during the formation of the “Western” world, then pivots to explore and illustrate the function of race in artistic endeavor on every continent and in every culture. The final volume of the series examines the European image from the African gaze. The mission of the series is our mission as well: to use art, the DNA of our global humanity, to reframe the cultural conversation about race and culture past the colonial era. With jaw-dropping visuals and the humor and high style of our host, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., we will reach back to antiquity to tell the breathtaking true stories of our common origins, and catapult audiences into the future – where we will hopefully land on common ground. Filmmakers: Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Dyllan McGee, Geralyn Dreyfous, Alison Taylor
Artemis is supporting the 2025-26 season of the award-winning PBS series INDEPENDENT LENS, which for 24 years has set the standard as America’s premiere independent documentary series focused on U.S. storytellers. Presenting more than 500 films like I Am Not Your Negro, The Invisible War, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor, INDEPENDENT LENS delivers powerful stories to every American–stories that explore complex issues with nuance, care and depth; stories that move us, introducing us to new experiences and bringing us closer together; stories that matter.
INDEPENDENT LENS reflects the struggles, hopes and triumphs of people across the nation and the world–whether they live next door or thousands of miles away. The 20+ documentaries we present each year stream on PBS and beyond, reaching 25M+ viewers and strengthening civic life in every corner of the county. With the largest community engagement program in public media, we have real, measurable impact. INDEPENDENT LENS inspires, challenges and unites people across backgrounds and perspectives–sparking dialogue, connection and action. Lois Vossen Executive Producer, Independent Lens
Infused explores the hidden landscapes of tea with Henrietta Lovell, “The Tea Lady,” venturing into the lives of the incredible people behind our tea. Offering the audience a glimpse into a sustainable future that can change both the tea world and our own lives for the better. Filmmaker: Jeremy Seifert
>>Inmate Corrections Television
A film about the Inmate Corrections Television (ICTV) that shows a first-person account of incarceration that follows Sam Ormes’ incredible effort to bring a sense of humanity to the long forgotten men of Miami’s Dade-County Jail. Producer: Trisha Koury; Directors: Myles Kane and Josh Koury
The INN Between is the only hospice and rehabilitation center for the homeless in the United States. This project strives to further humanize the homeless by looking at how we should treat the least fortunate in our society, in life and in death, and by telling their stories thus compelling all who watch it to connect with each character in some way. Filmmaker: Ondi Timoner
A film about the life and art of Judy Chicago and how the issues she tackled at the beginning of her career over sixty years ago still reverberate in culture today. Filmmaker: Lisa Remington
A feature film opera directed by Matt Copson with music by Oliver Leith. The film is an adaptation of Gus van Sant’s 2008 film that dramatizes the final period in the life of Blake, a successful reclusive musician – loosely based on a real life story of Kurt Cobain. Blake has just escaped rehab to return home, but the peace of his household is soon disrupted by a series of unwelcome visitors. Adding to the chaos are constant calls from his manager and the presence of a private investigator and a superfan stalking nearby. As the turmoil around him reaches its peak, the ghostly figure of a magician appears, offering him a way out. In the end, Blake is left alone, facing only what remains: himself. Filmmakers: Matt Copson, Director / Jordan Hawkins, Producer / Diana Bustamante, Producer / Joslyn Barnes, Executive Producer
Through the voices of its pioneers and evocative archival footage, Untitled NPR Documentary traces the unlikely rise of NPR—from its scrappy 1970s beginnings through near-bankruptcy in the 1980s—revealing how its founders transformed American media, redefined storytelling, and created a new way for a nation to hear itself. Filmmakers: Lindsay Utz, director; Miranda Sherman, producer
A film based on a unique and heart-warming conversation between Nelson Mandela and his grandchildren. It begins in Johannesburg in 2009, with Ndaba Mandela gently leading his grandfather into a room where his other grandkids eagerly await him. And it continues, following four of Mandela’s grandchildren today, reflecting on life with their larger-than-life Granddad and his legacy. It ends with Kweku at Mandela’s grave in Qunu on the day of his funeral. Directors: Kewku Mandela, Jens Meurer
A documentary film about the life and inspirational leadership of Mario Cuomo, the former New York Governor. Filmmakers: George, Teddy, and Peter Kunhardt
It’s been over ten years since The Mask You Live In exposed the boy crisis in America. Today, the situation is worse: Boys are falling behind girls academically, and many Gen Z men feel left behind socially and economically. This is a film that examines the role of technology in ushering in a new era of American patriarchy through the rise of the “manosphere.” The film investigates how these forces operate, their impact on boys’ mental health, and the broader societal consequences.Filmmaker: Jennifer Siebel Newsom
>> Mike Henderson: Here I Stand
This film explores Henderson’s roots and traces his unique path to becoming an acclaimed artist and renowned blues musician. Through a series of interviews, archival photos, and footage of current musical and art events, Henderson will tell us in his own words about his wide-ranging exploration of the arts—from his early days in the 1960s at the San Francisco Art Institute, painting and making experimental films, to playing music with rock and blues greats such as Elvin Bishop, Sunnyland Slim, Mike Bloomfield and John Lee Hooker, who dubbed him “The Blues Professor.” Filmmakers: Ethan Wiley & Cheryl Haines
A NYC ensemble comedy in the style of Woody Allen centered around the neighbors living on one block on the upper east side at 74th and Park. Filmmakers: Rachel Isreal and Jill Kargman
A two-part film chronicling the story of New York City across the two decades of the 21st Century. Filmmaker: Ric Burns
The Story of Iboga and Ibogaine tells the astounding unknown story of what might be the scientific discovery of our generation. Back in 1962, a teenage psychonaut in New York City named Howard Lotsof experimented with an obscure psychedelic from the root bark of a West African shrub and recognized its unique therapeutic potential. Filmmakers: Julian Cautherley (Producer), Lucy Walker (Director & Producer)
Inspired by her sister’s complications with schizophrenia, filmmaker Sheila Ganz weaves their experiences with the heroic efforts of families determined to overcome inequities in the healthcare system to get treatment for loved ones living with serious mental illness. PIECE OF MIND explores the impact of barriers to care, involvement with law enforcement, and the urgent need for long-term humane solutions. Filmmaker: Sheila Ganz
The purpose of this project is to paint a portrait of rural America through the lens of one of its oldest institutions – the United States Postal Service. The USPS is a vital public infrastructure,
This tells the extraordinary true story of Judit Polgár, the Hungarian chess prodigy who defied decades of gender barriers to become the strongest female chess player in history.Filmmakers: Rory Kennedy, Producer & Julie Lilleby, Line Producer
A follow-up to MissRepresentation, Rising is about how a steady dose of disparaging portrayals in streaming and social media on top of persistent cultural norms degrade and dehumanize girls and women. Filmmaker: Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Exploring the life, legacy, and enduring influence of one of America’s most celebrated artists, Romare Bearden. This film captures Bearden’s extraordinary journey—from his formative years in Harlem and the Jim Crow South to his pivotal role as an artist, activist, and architect of Black cultural memory and aesthetic. Filmmaker: Deborah Riley Draper
This is fundamentally a film about healing mind, body and spirit through offering new perspectives and practices related to modern dentistry. Filmmakers: Ross Kauffman and Robin Honan
This documentary tells the poignant story of a father and son who learn to collaborate in order to build a relationship that transcends the boundaries of prison walls. It follows Sam Bader, a former film producer, and his estranged son, Omar. Sam was the first person to entrust me (Nadav Kurtz, director) with editing a feature. But in 2006, just weeks before we debuted our film Street Thief at the Tribeca Film Festival, he was arrested for armed robbery. Omar was eight years old when the police came looking for Sam and, during questioning, he gave them his father’s phone number to help them find him. Sam was sentenced to 24 years and Omar has been wracked with guilt ever since. Today, thirteen years later, Sam is still in prison and Omar is an aspiring filmmaker himself (as well as writer, actor and musician). Filmmakers: Nadav Kurtz/Diane Quon
Amid the melting glaciers of Bhutan, a young highlander girl and legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma embark on a journey into the myth and music of Bhutanese culture, where human and nature are inseparable, and where the ancient wisdom of interdependence offers a path to survival in a world threatened by climate change. Filmmakers: Pawo Choyning Dorji / Charlie Clark
Half of all films ever made have been documentaries, which means that there are an estimated two million of them. What is their story? Which are the most compelling and revealing? As we scroll nightly through Netflix, we can feel numbed by choice. And in the era of fake news, image manipulation, AI and TikTok, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and confused by reality imagery. And yet, for the last thirteen decades, documentary at its best, its most inventive and dedicated, has told us more about our times than anything else. That’s why its story matters. The Story of Documentary Film is a portrait of our lives, our societies, our wars, our families, journeys, creativity, relationships and struggles as well as the things we make, and the planet itself. Filmmakers: Mark Cousins, Director / John Archer, Producer Hopscotch Films UK / Joslyn Barnes, Executive Producer Louverture Films US
A story of an elderly couple surviving the near-isolation in rural Ireland. Filmmaker: Ron Harrison
A dreamlike 1950s town square built inside a warehouse near San Diego is the site of a unique experiment where a memory-care staff works with aging people to recreate solacing scenes from their youth. The caregivers who work in Glenner Town Square will harness the complex power of nostalgia through participants with dementia and their families. Filmmaker: Robert Greene
A film that revisits five personal accounts who previously shared their lives to highlight the lifelong medical, psychological and generational impact of child sexual assault. Filmmakers: Alexandra Dickson Gray, Vanessa Roth, Colin Nash
W.E.B. Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He believed the intellectual and cultural potential of Black Americans was hampered by America’s racially biased social, economic, and political systems. Gradually, he comes to abandon his academic career, leaving social science for more mainstream and artistic means of fighting for racial equality. Du Bois fought for empowerment through education, the urgency of the right to vote and for a leadership class devoted to ‘the race.’ His remarkable life spans nearly a century — from his birth just five years after the Emancipation Proclamation to his death on the eve of the 1963 March on Washington. The film will weave his biography through time, from the collapse of Reconstruction through two World Wars to the rise of the Civil Rights Movement. Using contemporary and archival media, art, graphic design, music and a mix of contributor voices including, artists, celebrities and scholars. Filmmaker: Rita Coburn
Based on a true story of Jewish survivors placed in displacement camps after WWII some while waiting to get to America. It follows the lives of a young couple who fall in love and get married in one of the camps. The wedding polarizes the camp which sees it as a symbol of hope and others who take it as an affront to the memory of all those who had recently perished along with their own dreams. The couple manage to put together an unforgettable ceremony that unifies the camp ultimately reigniting hope. And in the end over 20 brides, all survivors of the Holocaust, would borrow the same wedding dress that was used for the young couple. The dress is currently on display at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. Filmmaker: Edoardo Ponti
A film about an unregulated wilderness rehabilitation camp where a sickening truth is uncovered about the camp’s leader. This story encapsulates a whole generation of teenagers that have lost the most pivotal years of their lives to various wilderness therapy rehabilitation camps across the nation. Filmmakers: Spencer King and Ali Edwards
A 60-minute documentary about three women who run the longest ultramarathons, of 120 miles or more, in the highest mountain ranges and three female entrepreneurs who carve out a livelihood in those mountains. The women profiled in the film refuse to be defined by gender, culture, age or the parameters society sets for them: Aparna and Thenlis defy culturally-acceptable roles for women by traversing the Himalayas, a former Olympic cross-country skier fights against her age to compete in a 125-mile race, a mother of five children competes alongside the director in a 200-mile ultramarathon in California’s Sierra Nevada, and a local Native American strives to preserve her tribe’s ancient culture in the mountains they’ve called home for thousands of years. Director/Producer: Rebecca Byerly
This film follows renowned Princeton scholar Dr. Elaine Pagels as she concludes her academic career and releases her latest book, Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus. Best known for The Gnostic Gospels, which brought hidden ancient Christian texts to light, Elaine invites readers to explore faith with intellectual honesty and spiritual curiosity. At the heart of the film is Elaine’s deeply personal journey through profound grief—the loss of her young son, followed by the sudden death of her husband—and how these tragedies shaped her journey of healing. Filmmaker: Jenny Mackenzie