Assistant professor selected for Southern Producers Lab Fellows 2020
Georgia Southern assistant professor, Abbey Hoekzema was selected as 1 out of 10 Fellows for Southern Producers Lab. Hoekzema is a documentary producer and the director of DOC Savannah.
The Southern Producers Lab is produced and presented by the New Orleans Film Society. The program is designed to bring new producers from around the south together for intensive workshops, discussion panels, mentoring sessions and community building. “It allows us to get critical feedback on our specific films as we continue to develop the projects,” said Professor Hoekzema.
Due to COVID-19, the first meeting will be a virtual gathering sometime in mid-April. “In the age of COVID, having a support network like this is important for navigating uncharted waters,” said Professor Hoekzema. “Every project in the lab has been affected by current events and we can talk with each other about challenges we’re facing with our work.”
The topics to be discussed with industry leaders and established producers include funding and finance, story development, festival strategy, and other aspects of producing.
Selected fellows will receive travel support, for both the New Orleans Lab and the New York Lab. They also receive a $2,000 project support grant. The other Fellows are from all across the southern United States, from Texas to Kentucky.
Hoekzema’s projects explore social justice, small communities, women and youth. She has had her films screened as a part of the Reel South Series and at international film festivals. She is currently producing her first feature documentary, The Caregivers. The documentary shares the intimate stories of caregiving youth living in the South as they tackle supporting an ill or disabled family member, during their own transition from childhood to adulthood.
Posted in Communication Arts