American Documentary

Overview

New York, N.Y. – September 26, 2023 – In the midst of an exciting year for American Documentary (AmDoc), the organization has announced Cecilia R. Mejia has been hired as Vice President of External Affairs. She will be stepping into a senior position to lead strategy and implementation of AmDoc's development, marketing, and communication efforts.

Mejia’s long standing work in the documentary field intersects with AmDoc’s own vision to amplify new voices and new narratives and to connect stories to the communities most in need. Her dynamic experiences across documentary film production extends to creative development, partnership building, as well as being a seasoned fundraiser. Her team building, leadership, and managerial skills were built over years of work with NGOs and non-profit organizations such as Scenarios USA and the Art of Me.

Throughout her career, Mejia has focused on telling and amplifying authentic stories about Asian American experiences that lead to community dialogue, social action, or have helped to enact policy change. At Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc), she became the organization’s first Impact Director, fundamentally changing the way in which impact strategy worked, shifting it from a marketing tool, to a process that builds sustainable relationships with social justice organizations and communities they serve. Recognizing the need for bridging both communities and organizations around film, Mejia also brings experience fomenting critical partnerships and grounds her work in the belief that “for an organization to thrive, one has to continue to build these long-lasting relationships, and keep responding to their needs.”

In 2016 Mejia founded Remedias Productions, focused on social impact storytelling. Her producing credits include Lingua Franca (2019), Yellow Rose (2019), Who We Become (2023), and producer and social impact producer credits for the POV film Call Her Ganda (2019) and the hybrid documentary Asog (2023) among many other projects.

Concurrent with her impact and production work, Mejia is an adjunct professor at New York University teaching courses designed for the next generation of social impact producers and filmmakers, a position she’s held since 2019. Her previous engagement with POV films include developing lesson plans for the Emmy® nominated climate justice documentary Delikado (Season 35) and as an impact advisor for this season’s critically acclaimed Liquor Store Dreams.

Cecilia R. Mejia is a second-generation Filipino American born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Her documentary and narrative film work have been screened at festivals including Tribeca Festival, Cannes Film Festival and CAAMFest; she has been featured in numerous profiles and has published widely about the impact producer profession. She was one of the 2022-2023 recipients awarded NYU’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award which acknowledges outstanding faculty who exemplify the spirit of Dr. King through scholarship, justice work and who promote his principles in their research, teaching, leadership, and community-building efforts.

"We are thrilled to welcome Cecilia to our organization. Her stellar track record in documentary, education and development along with her ongoing commitment to amplifying diverse voices aligns with what we are most passionate about at AmDoc: telling bold, authentic stories with unique perspectives. Her care for filmmakers, for their vision and skill in community building is evident in her years of professional work. We know she’ll bring the same level of enthusiasm for our filmmakers.” said Erika Dilday, executive director of American Documentary.

"I'm a firm believer in the power of film as a tool to challenge the current narratives and to create change. I've built my career around it. I'm really excited to be joining the talented and passionate team at AmDoc, especially under the leadership of Erika Dilday. This is a pivotal time for nonfiction films and filmmakers to shine, I feel honored to be a part of that. And to be part of the family,” says Mejia.

In her new position, Mejia will join the AmDoc’s leadership team of Erika Dilday, Executive Director, Executive Producer, Chris White, and Asadullah Muhammad, VP of Impact & Engagement and work closely with the board of directors, funders as well as the community of AmDoc filmmakers. As she develops and implements strategic growth priorities, she will collaborate with Jessica Brown, Development Director, and Anna Graizbord, Director of Marketing & Communications, on strategies to broaden programmatic reach and deepen impact. She will report to Erika Dilday.

About

About American Documentary, Inc.

American Documentary, Inc. (AmDoc) is a multimedia company dedicated to creating, identifying and presenting contemporary stories that express opinions and perspectives rarely featured in mainstream media outlets. AmDoc is a catalyst for public culture, developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online and in community settings. These activities are designed to trigger action, from dialogue and feedback to educational opportunities and community participation.

Major funding for POV is provided by PBS, the Open Society Foundations, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, Reva & David Logan Foundation, Park Foundation, and Perspective Fund. Additional funding comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Chasing the Dream and Peril and Promise public media initiatives of The WNET Group, Chris and Nancy Plaut, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee and public television viewers. POV is presented by a consortium of public television stations, including KQED San Francisco, WGBH Boston and THIRTEEN in association with WNET.ORG.

About POV

Produced by American Documentary, POV is the longest-running independent documentary showcase on American television. Since 1988, POV has presented films on PBS that capture the full spectrum of the human experience, with a long commitment to centering women and people of color in front of, and behind, the camera. The series is known for introducing generations of viewers to groundbreaking works like Tongues Untied, American Promise, Minding The Gap and Not Going Quietly, and innovative filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, Laura Poitras and Nanfu Wang. In 2018, POV Shorts launched as one of the first PBS series dedicated to bold and timely short-form documentaries. All POV programs are available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

POV goes “beyond the broadcast” to bring powerful nonfiction storytelling to viewers wherever they are. Free educational resources accompany every film and a community network of thousands of partners nationwide work with POV to spark dialogue around today’s most pressing issues. POV continues to explore the future of documentary through innovative productions with partners such as The New York Times and The National Film Board of Canada and on platforms including Snapchat and Instagram.

POV films and projects have won 46 Emmy® Awards, 27 George Foster Peabody Awards, 15 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the first-ever George Polk Documentary Film Award. Learn more at pbs.org/pov and follow @povdocs on social media.

About America ReFramed

America ReFramed is a co-production of WORLD and American Documentary, Inc. The series curates a diverse selection of independent documentaries that brings to national audiences compelling stories which illuminate the changing contours of our ever-evolving country. Viewers will be immersed in stories that span the spectrum of American life, from the streets of towns big and small to its exurbs and country roads. The documentary series presents an array of personal voices and experiences through which we learn from our past, understand our present and are challenged to seek new frameworks for America’s future.

America ReFramed received a Peabody Award for Deej and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for Class of ‘27. The series has earned several Christopher, GRACIE, Telly and Cine Golden Eagle Awards, as well as multiple nominations for Emmy, Independent Documentary Association and Imagen Awards.