10 to Watch

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016: Damon Davis and Sabaah Folayan

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016: Damon Davis and Sabaah Folayan

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Whose Streets, a documentary from filmmakers Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis currently in post-production, chronicles the lives of activists in Ferguson, Missouri and the surrounding St. Louis area following the controversial killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014. Folayan and Davis focus on the aftermath of the incident and the evolving social movement surrounding it. Their hope is to bring awareness and clarity to this racially-charged, constantly unfolding narrative. The directing duo make our 10 filmmakers to watch list for 2016.

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016: Paisley Smith

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016: Paisley Smith

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Paisley Smith first found her niche in Virtual Reality working with the “Godmother of VR” Nonny de la Peña and the Emblematic Group. Smith now makes The Independent’s 10 to Watch list for her most recent project, an animated Virtual Reality documentary Taro’s World based on the story of Taro, an exchange student from Japan who lived with Smith and her family for his teenage years, but at age 17, took his own life.

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016

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The Independent‘s 10 to Filmmakers Watch is our annual shout out to filmmakers, working in documentary, narrative, new media and virtual reality, whose work we think you should see. Now in its 8th year, our list celebrates filmmakers who are taking risks, promoting change, and speaking their minds. And their work, all which will be out this year, shows it.

10 Filmmakers to Watch: Andrew Ahn

10 Filmmakers to Watch: Andrew Ahn

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In each of his short films, Andrew Ahn explores the dynamics of an Asian American family living in the United States and the very nature of family itself. Now, he makes our 10 Filmmakers to Watch list for his debut feature film, Spa Night, a film that continues to explore these themes and recently premiered at Sundance 2016 in US Dramatic Competition.

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2015: Navid Khonsari and Vassiliki Khonsari
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10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2015: Navid Khonsari and Vassiliki Khonsari

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Game developer Navid Khonsari and filmmaker Bessie Khonsari join our 10 to Watch list with a genre-merging project, 1979 Revolution, a video game that aims to evoke the empathy of film. Navid and Bessie Khonsari participated in the New Frontier Story Lab at the Sundance Institute in 2014 and 1979 Revolution appeared as an exhibit in Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier and at SXSW in 2015.