Founded in 2009, Filmshop is a nonprofit collective of independent filmmakers dedicated to developing new work through peer support and collaboration, with chapters in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.

I was honored to be accepted as a member for fall/winter 2025, joining the DocShop Virtual cohort. This season, I shared an assembly of the first half of INTERMEDIACY, received thoughtful, constructive feedback, and connected with an inspiring group of filmmakers. I look forward to continuing as an active member of the community.

The Fulbright community came together in Miami, FL from October 24th – 26th for the Fulbright Association’s 48th Annual Conference at Florida International University. With the theme “United We Stand,” alumni, students, chapter leaders, and partners explored how international exchange can meet this moment by engaging Fulbright’s pillars: Advocate, Learn, Engage, and Grow. Attendees examined navigating advocacy in polarized times, advancing local impact, imagining the future of work, elevating youth leadership, shaping responsible AI, and more.

INTERMEDIACY director, Alex Yakacki, led a roundtable titled “Lessons from Weimar Germany: Resisting Erasure and Defending LGBTQIA+ Rights,” drawing on research from their Fulbright year in Germany to share historical insights, contemporary parallels, and lessons for today’s fight against rising threats to queer communities.

Out on Film celebrated its 38th anniversary as one of the leading LGBTQ+ film festivals in the country. From September 25th – October 5th, 2025, it once again brought powerful queer cinema to Atlanta. This year’s theme was Queer Propaganda – a bold reclamation of a term often used to silence and shame.

Director Alex Yakacki attended an inspiring lineup of films, workshops, and community gatherings while serving as the festival’s Outreach Coordinator.

As part of the festival’s week-long Queer Film Summit, in the distribution-focused panel, Yakacki was selected to pitch INTERMEDIACY! They received live feedback from Stephen Brown (FOX), Elijah McKinnon (Open Television), Natalie Metzger (Vanishing Angle), and Jeffrey Winter (The Film Collaborative).

^{B/W photo credit: @jelijahphotos}

Congratulations to the 12 Gotham Members who recently completed this year’s Accountability Sprint: Elevator Pitches!

Mian Mian Lu, Kyvon Edwin, Zoey Sidwell, Katyayani Kumar, Alex Yakacki, Janelle Engle, Derrick Owens, Abigail Hing Wen, John Washburn, Emily Cohan, Nikki Reen, Joti Rekhi

The participants were selected from a number of applicants on the strength of their pitches to develop their elevator pitches with their partners over two weeks, culminating in a Mentor Feedback Session, where they pitched their projects to two industry mentors: Christine Yi of Gold House and producer Rebecca Wyzan (Janet Planet).

While in Berlin, we had the pleasure of filming three additional, powerful interviews:

Tarek Shukrallah (They/Them)
Political + Social Scientist/Author/Educator

Naeem Laith Wahid Callisto Salifu (He/Him)
Founder | The Brown Boi Collectif

Dr. Finn Ballard (He/Him)
Historian/Museum Curator/Tour Guide

Berlin held its second official commemoration of Magnus Hirschfeld Day (May 14, 2025), revisiting his legacy amid contemporary queer debates. The event, organized by the Mitte Museum in collaboration with the Schwules Museum, connected Hirschfeld’s groundbreaking work to queer life today.

The program featured Rafael Nasemann’s QR-code-based project mapping queer history across the city.

The highlight of the evening was a preview of INTERMEDIACY followed by a panel discussion reflecting on Hirschfeld’s enduring influence. Specifically, the need to critically examine which parts of his legacy still serve us, and which require rethinking — underscoring that queer history remains a living, evolving conversation.

Our project has been to chosen to receive support from The Facialteam Foundation as part of their Trans Legacy Fund. This initiative connects us to a vibrant network of trans and gender-diverse artists and provides meaningful financial support, mentorship, and resources. We’re honored to be part of their commitment to storytelling and social change!

INTERMEDIACY has officially reached its crowdfunding goal, raising $22,600 on Seed&Spark against a target of $22,000. The campaign brought together 200+ supporters and 250+ project followers, reflecting strong enthusiasm for the project and its mission. This milestone provides meaningful momentum as the film continues into its next phase of production and outreach.

INTERMEDIACY was featured in DOC NYC’s Monday Memo, a weekly newsletter by Jordan M. Smith highlighting the latest news and events in documentary filmmaking. The film was recognized as a “promising new project” as we neared our crowdfunding goal.