2025 BTTL ACTION GRANT - FINALISTS
THE FOLLOWING feature PROJECTS ARE SEEKING FINANCE to COMPLETE PRODUCTION IN the next year, and will be pitching for investment at the cannes film festival in may 2025.
Hover over images to reveal DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER BIOS
FINANCE PLAN, BUDGET AND SCRIPT AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
JOHN TONER | Producer (he/him)
John Toner is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Lemon Tree Productions, a Baltimore-based production company using film and strategic storytelling to drive social change. With a background in equity-based policy and a deep understanding of the American South, John has led community innovations to combat racial injustice through the United Nations and spearheaded youth diversion and homelessness initiatives in Charleston and Kentucky. He has contributed to acclaimed films for Frontline and The New Yorker, and works at the intersection of advocacy and artistry to help individuals, nonprofits, and companies turn audiences into champions for a more just future using visual storytelling. Over the past 15 years, he has built global impact campaigns, launched sustainability startups, taught communications strategies at New York University, and shaped narratives that have transformed industries and advanced human rights.
NICOLE DOCTA | Producer (she/her)
Nicole Docta is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has focused her career on producing socially provoking BIPOC stories and managing their impact campaigns. She offers her unique viewpoint as a transracial Korean-American adoptee raised in the Midwest. Nicole last worked as a producer on the Emmy Award-winning BELLY OF THE BEAST (HRWFF 2020) and duPont Award-winner THROUGH THE NIGHT (Tribeca 2020) which aired on PBS’ Independent Lens and POV. Not only does Nicole work to improve outcomes for the communities in her films, she strives to enhance the documentary industry. Nicole served as the Special Initiatives Producer at Firelight Media co-curating the Beyond Resilience Series and helping to implement new artist programs to support BIPOC filmmakers. She currently volunteers for A-Doc and is on the DPA’s Equity and Inclusion committee. Nicole is also a USC CPD NextGen Creative Fellow, one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40, a PGA Create alum, Sundance Producer Fellow, and Impact Partners Producer Fellow.
THE DEAD ZONE
DOCUMENTARY | USA
Amidst a nation polarized between “lock’em up” and “abolish” politics, four daring insiders race against time to end a deadly pretrial system in pursuit of a blueprint for change. Their reforms offer hope for those trapped by a failing system.
PRODUCERs:
Nicole Docta
john toner
DIRECTOR / PRODUCER:
Emily Thomas
EMILY THOMAS | Director, Producer (she/her)
Emily Thomas is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and founder of Lemon Tree Productions. Her work is rooted in intimately documenting the human experience to bring light to pressing social justice and environmental issues with nuance, visual evidence, emotion and hope. Her award-winning films have been featured on PBS, the New Yorker, Vimeo Staff Picks and screened at SF Film Fest, Big Sky, Hot Springs, and D.C. Environmental Film Fest. She recently directed LAST DAYS AT PARADISE HIGH which premiered with The New Yorker and aired on PBS and VOA. It screened at SFFilm, Hot Docs and several other festivals. She recently produced THE GREAT THIRST: WILLIAM MULHOLLAND for PBS and directed Betty Kilby’s story for the docuseries, STORIES OF A GENERATION on Netflix. As a DP, she has worked on films for VICE, The New Yorker, CBS, The Guardian, PBS, VOA, and Frontline. Prior to Lemon Tree she was a journalist reporting on crime, politics and breaking news for VICE and The Huffington Post, and was a human rights investigator at the Human Rights Center and Storyful. She is winner of Fast Company's World Changing Idea Awards and a PGA Create Fellow. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and lives in Baltimore, MD.
GABRIEL MAYERS | Producer (she/her)
Gabriel is a producer and a firm believer in developing and sharing local narratives with global audiences. Previously serving as the Head of Film at Killer Films, she works with early career filmmakers as well as veterans to support and usher original and unique stories to production. Gabriel feels by producing narratives while keeping local audiences in mind, stories can be amplified to greater communities. She is drawn to this work because she feels storytelling helps audiences build social empathy and develops the inroads toward societal change. She now uses her financial knowledge and production and development experience to further the renaissance of the most original and diverse narratives in cinema. Her features, A DIFFERENT MAN and MAD BILLS TO PAY were both featured in the 2024 and 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Berlinale, New Directors/New Films, and the Karlovy Vary Film Festival respectively. A DIFFERENT MAN won the 2024 Gotham Award for Best Feature and Sebastian Stan won the Berlinale Silver Bear and Golden Globe for his performance.
IN CASE OF APOCALYPSE
SCI-FI, FANTASY | USA
This is a creation myth set during a very psychedelic looking apocalypse. In Detroit. With gays. And a techno soundtrack.
PRODUCER:
Gabriel Mayers
WRITER / DIRECTOR:
Olivia Peace
OLIVIA PEACE | Writer, Director (they/them)
Olivia Peace is a non-binary director from Detroit, Michigan living in Los Angeles. Their series, "Against Reality," is a surreal psychedelic autobiography about learning to lucid dream. Part 1 of “Against Reality” premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win Gold at the 2022 student Academy Awards.
Olivia's debut feature film, TAHARA, premiered to rave reviews at the 2020 Slamdance Film festival and went on screen at TIFF Next Fest and won awards around the world. TAHARA was acquired by Film Movement and opened in theaters June 2022, becoming a New York Times Critic’s Pick and topping Best Movies of 2022 Lists.
Their work has been championed by grants and fellowships from the Sundance Institute, SFFilm, Adobe, The Academy, and GLAAD. Their upcoming film, In Case of Apocalypse, is a creation myth set in the city of Detroit.
Their work has been supported by fellowships at the Sundance Institute, Adobe, The Academy, and GLAAD.
CAMILLA HALL | Executive Producer (she/her)
Camilla Hall is an award-winning documentary film Director and Executive Producer. She is a co-founder of the Los Angeles and London-based Lady & Bird Films, alongside Rita Baghdadi and Jennifer Tiexiera. Camilla has directed award-winning independent films as well as commissioned films/series with Discovery, HBO Max Europe, Sky, BBC, and Arte. She has produced alongside Ryan Murphy, Maya Rudolph, and Natasha Lyonne and shown films at festivals around the world including Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW. The latest film she executive produced is Black Barbie: A Documentary, which premiered at SXSW and sold to Netflix.
SIDELINES (Working title) ★ 2025 ACTION GRANT WINNER
DOCUMENTARY | UK
On the outskirts of Paris, 25 year-old Founé and a team of young Muslim women fight for their right to play football in their hijabs. As “Les Hijabeuses vs. France” becomes a landmark case at the European Court of Human Rights, the collective must decide what sacrifices they are willing to make, in a fight that becomes so much bigger than football.
CO-DIRECTOR / PRODUCER:
Erin Sayder
CO-DIRECTOR / PRODUCER:
Rita Baghdadi
Executive producer: camilla hall
ERIN SAYDER | Co-Director, Producer, Cinematographer (she/her)
Erin Sayder is a Turkish-American-British filmmaker, born and based in London. She is the Co-Producer of the feature documentary SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (Sundance 2024), and has worked on acclaimed documentaries like BAFTA-nominated QUEENS OF RAP, ERIC CLAPTON: A LIFE IN 12 BARS (TIFF 2017) and CHASING CHAPLIN (Telluride 2021). She has produced 5 short films on the topics of family relationships, the immigration crisis and modern slavery. She is currently in production on her directorial debut feature documentary.
RITA BAGHDADI | Co-Director / Producer / Cinematographer (she/her)
Rita Baghdadi is an Emmy award-winning Moroccan-American director known for the intimacy of her cinematic, character-driven films. Her film SIRENS premiered at Sundance in 2022 and won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest. It was praised as “smartly crafted,” “deeply moving” and “a bold rebellion.” Recently, her film FINDING THE LIGHT premiered on Disney+. Rita’s previous films include MY COUNTRY NO MORE (Independent Lens, winner of Best Feature at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival) and CITY RISING (Emmy award for Best Social Issue Film). Rita is a 2024 Concordia Fellow, a 2023 Sundance Momentum Fellow and DOC NYC’s ‘40 under 40’ class of 2022.
JAVIER SEPULVEDA | Producer
Javier Sepúlveda is a producer and actor, co-founder of Maligno Gorehouse, a production company dedicated to developing, producing, and financing horror films with global appeal. He played a pivotal role in the success of projects like Huesera, which earned multiple awards at prestigious festivals such as Tribeca and Sitges, and won four Ariel Awards following its 2023 release. Javier also produced Párvulos, showcased at renowned festivals including Fantasia Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and Sitges. Currently, he has two films in post-production, No Me Sigas and Tus Dos Muertos, both set for world premieres and commercial releases in 2025. Additionally, he served as executive producer for Todos los Incendios, which garnered recognition at festivals like Locarno and Morelia.
EDUARDO LECUONA | Producer
Eduardo Lecuona, Mexican-American producer and director from Mexico City, co-founded the production company Maligno Gorehouse – dedicated to creating a new generation of horror cinema by fostering the new voices of the genre. He's executive producer of the award-winning Mexican horror film Huesera (Dir. Michelle Garza Cervera) and producer of the zombie film Párvulos. As a director, 2025 will see the release of his new short film Lucrecia & the Witches, a musical based in the drag queen scene of Guadalajara, which won the 2024 FOCINE short film regional grant; and his paranormal directorial feature debut No Me Sigas, which he co-directed with his sister, Ximena Garcia Lecuona.
NICOLÁS CELIS | Producer
Nicolás Celis, founder of Pimienta Films, produces human stories with high artistic quality and social impact. With more than 17 years of experience in film and television production, Pimienta Films is recognized as one of the most important production companies in Mexico and Latin America. Over his career, Nicolás has produced more than 30 films, collaborating with renowned Mexican directors Amat Escalante, Alfonso Cuarón and Tatiana Huezo as well as on international co- productions with directors such as Jacques Audiard and Diego Lerman, among others. Among his projects is Roma, which received more than 200 awards, including the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, four BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globes, and three Academy Awards®. Nicolás also produced Tatiana Huezo’s first fiction film, Prayers for the Stolen, which received a special mention in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, and was shortlisted to represent Mexico in the Academy Awards®. Nicolás has served on the jury for International Film Festivals such as Shanghai, Tbilisi, Sofia, and Thessaloniki and is a member of the Mexican and American Academies of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producer’s Guild of America.
LUX NOCTIS
Drama, Horror, Magical Realism | mexico
In an isolated matriarchal community, facing the brutal coming-of-age rituals women must go through to ensure their survival, Lina develops a forbidden relationship with a man and burns the status quo to the ground, lighting the path for a new way of life.
PRODUCERS:
Eduardo Lecuona
Javier Sepulveda
Nicolás Celis
WRITER / DIRECTOR / producer:
DAMIANA ACUÑA
DAMIANA ACUÑA | Writer, Director (she/her)
Born and raised in the countryside in the state of Morelos, Mexico, Damiana holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory. Her short film Lux Noctis won the Oscar®-qualifying Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Florida Film Festival and was considered for the 2023 Academy Awards Best Live Action Short Film category. Her visual poem Aurum, shot with her phone during the pandemic, premiered on Pantaya and Dish Latino and her most recent short film Campos de Oro was commissioned by the National Basketball Association and won first place at the Films For Fans initiative against eight male directors.
She was selected by HBO and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for the Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today program and participated in Cine Qua Non’s Script Revision Lab and Storylines Lab in 2023 with the support of The Academy and Tribeca.
Damiana has also directed national and international commercials for major brands such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola and is represented in the US by Sharon Horgan's Merman.
She currently works as a mentor of the Youth Cinema Project teaching film to students from underrepresented communities in Los Angeles.
Lux Noctis will be her debut feature.
VERONIQUE ZERDOUN | Producer (she/her)
With a Master's degree in Cultural Management after a Master's degree in comparative literature, Veronique began her career at UGC in the marketing department of theatrical film distribution.
She became a producer at IMA Films and then created her own production company "Attention moteur" in 2000, where she produced, films such as “Nos enfants chéris” by Benoit Cohen which attracted more than 380,000 tickets in France. She then worked as a producer at Libris Films and later at the Alliance de Production Cinématographique (APC).
She joined the Tabo Tabo Films team in 2013 where she develops films and series projects. She has been running the company since 2020, and has produced four fictional films for cinema in the last three years. Most recently, she produced the film “La Voie Royale” by Frederic Mermoud which premiere at the Locarno International Film Fest in 2023 and was nominated for a Cesar Award.
GUILLAUME MALANDRIN | Producer (he/him)
Altitude 100 Production is a Brussels based production house founded by Guillaume Malandrin in 2012.
Dedicated to create auteur films with strong European potential, we are particularly interested in projects by directors with authentic, cinematographic and artistic vision.
Guillaume Malandrin produced several feature films such as, in 2004 Aaltra by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern, in 2010 Kill me please by Olias Barco.
He essentially produced feature, as In Syria in 2017 and The Wall in 2023 directed by Philippe Van Leeuw, and also in 2023 Bye Bye Tiberias a documentary by Lina Soualem
MAY YOU OUTLIVE US
DRAMA | Lebanon, France, Belgium
Six days in Beirut, four women caught in the whirlwind of life, between joy and melancholy, traditions and the hope of renewal. Four women living in the same house navigate a destroyed city and their own upended lives.
PRODUCER:
Veronique Zerdoun
Guillaume malandrin
WRITER / DIRECTOR / Producer:
Isabelle Mecattaf
ISABELLE MECATTAF | Writer, Director, Producer (she/her)
Isabelle is a French-Lebanese Filmmaker based in New York City. She studied English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, and holds an MFA in Filmmaking from NYU Tisch.
Isabelle has worked on projects in Beirut, New York, Paris and Los Angeles. Titles include Sweet Thing by Alexandre Rockwell (Crystal Bear at Berlinale 2020, Critics’ Choice at Tribeca Film Festival 2021), Plaisir by Molly Gillis (SXSW 2021 premiere, Aspen Shortsfest 2021 Youth Jury Award), Ebb & Flow by Nay Tabbara (Tribeca 2024 Winner, palm Springs, Nashville), and more.
Her most recent short film Beity (2021) was officially selected to TIFF, Aspen, and Hollyshorts (where it won an award) - among others. It was purchased by The New Yorker and is now streaming on their platform.
Isabelle is developing her first feature film titled May You Outlive Us. The script was selected to the TIFF Filmmaker's lab in 2022, where it won the Every Story People's Fellowship. It was a winner of the BlackList-inspired NYU purple List in 2023, an official selection of the NYU Production Lab Slate in 2023 and a Black Family Grant Finalist in 2023. The film is a French-Lebanese-Belgian co- production set to shoot in 2025 in Lebanon.