MEET THE MENTORS
SDF’s next round of mentors will be announced in February.
Please contact our Program Manager, Christopher Everett at chris@southerndocumentaryfund.
SDF’s next round of mentors will be announced in February.
Please contact our Program Manager, Christopher Everett at chris@southerndocumentaryfund.
The SDF Mentorship Program is designed to pair established filmmakers and industry experts with emerging and new filmmakers. We provide support, which includes one-on-one mentorship, roundtable discussions, and feedback on work samples.
Jota Mun (they/them) is the director and producer of Between Goodbyes, winner of over 12 film festival awards including best emerging filmmaker from South Korea’s DMZ International Film Festival. The film was selected to screen at DOC NYC, SIFF, and many others. As an editor, Jota’s credits include the Emmy-nominated Netflix series “Who Killed Malcolm X?”
Mark Williams (he/him/his) is an award-winning Choctaw filmmaker from Shawnee, Oklahoma and a 2023 Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame for Media inductee. Since his 2006 debut, he has evolved from narrative shorts like The Dare to acclaimed features such as Violet. In 2016, Mark founded Digital Feather Media, pivoting his lens toward the untold stories of Native American athletes. His documentary work—including the Amazon Prime hit Shiloh, the multi-award-winning stickball epic The Journey of Tiak Hikiya Ohoyo, Lady Red Warriors and the 2025 standout Carly Buckets—has solidified his reputation as a premier chronicler of Indigenous sports. Currently, Mark is in post-production on There’s No Crying in Stickball, a documentary following the high-stakes world of the Stickball World Series. Through every frame, Mark continues his mission: ensuring that the stories of Indigenous athletes and Tribal traditions are honored with the prestige they deserve.
ilar Timpane (she) is the lead filmmaker and producer at Teacup Productions. Her documentary storytelling blends intimacy with advocacy, often focusing on women’s lives and community-based change. She produced The Last Partera (2025, dir. Victoria Bouloubasis & Ned Phillips), a feature about a 100-year-old midwife in Costa Rica, and recently co-directed A House for My Mother (w/ Benjamin Nero), winner of Best Documentary Short at the 2025 Oxford Film Festival. She also co-directed Santuario (2019, w/ Christine Delp; PBS/Al Jazeera), which won Best Documentary Short at the New Orleans Film Festival and other honors. She is currently directing her first feature film about the role of women in the Catholic Church. Pilar is an alumna of the ITVS/NEH Humanities Fellowship, Working Films, Tribeca Film Institute, Logan Nonfiction Program, and the Southern Producers Lab. She holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and a master’s from Duke Divinity School. She lives with her family in Durham, NC.
Check out our upcoming opportunities to hear from our awesome mentors! We invite you to take a quick break with us to learn more about documentary world.
One-on-one mentorship sessions and mentorship roundtables are only available to SDF supported makers at this time. An SDF supported maker is someone who has received a grant through SDF, or is fiscally sponsored by SDF. We will be hosting a limited number of mentorship webinars in the future that will be open to all.
Get ready for another 3 days of learning, networking and good genuine Southern community fun!
This Giving Tuesday, join Southern Documentary Fund in reaching our $5,000 goal to support Southern filmmakers. Your gift amplifies diverse voices, fuels powerful storytelling, and ensures Southern stories continue to be told.
