Protecting Producers with Carrie Lozano, Summer Shelton (MAINE) and Avril Speaks (JINN) | Co-presented by Sundance Institute and WIF Los Angeles

Carrie Lozano is the Director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film and Artist Programs, and is an award winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. Prior to Sundance, she was director of the International Documentary Association's Enterprise Documentary and Pare Lorentz funds, where she supported more than 60 diverse films and filmmakers at the intersection of documentary and journalism. She is on the advisory board of U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, where she is an alumnus and has been a lecturer and editor in its documentary film and investigative reporting programs. Lozano was previously an executive at Al Jazeera America and a senior producer of the network’s investigative series FAULT LINES. Her recent film credits include THE BALLAD OF FRED HERSCH and PROGNOSIS: NOTES ON LIVING.

Summer Shelton was the recipient of the 2018 Independent Spirit Producers Award.

In 2023, her directorial debut You & I which she also wrote, produced and co-starred opposite veteran actor Clayne Crawford screened as an Official Selection at the Nashville Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, River Run International Film Festival and debuted internationally at the American Film Festival. The film was released in 2024 by Slated.

Feature works she produced included Maine (Orion Classics, 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) and Keep the Change (KINO LORBER, 2017 Tribeca Film Festival Best Narrative Feature; FIPRESCI Critics’ Prize at the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival).

She was Executive Producer of People Places Things which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, produced Icarus (short) which premiered at the 2015 New Directors/New Films Festival and produced Little Accidents, which had its World Premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

She worked alongside critically acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani as Associate Producer of Goodbye Solo (2008), an official selection of the Venice Film Festival; Co-Producer of Plastic Bag (2009), opening night short film of the Corto Cortissimo at the Venice Film Festival and Associate Producer of At Any Price (2012), which premiered in main competition at the Venice Film Festival and most recently as Co-Producer of short documentary If Dreams Were Lighting, Rural Health Crisis (2023), which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.

She was the recipient of the inaugural Bingham Ray Creative Producing Fellowship, awarded by the Sundance Institute (2012), a Rotterdam Producing Fellowship (2013), Film Independent Sloan Producing Fellowship (2014) and Cannes Producing Fellowship (2021) awarded by the Gotham.

Prior to her filmmaking career, Shelton was a former high school English teacher, she remains connected to the classroom as a University Lecturer, Adjunct Professor and provides educational consulting services to arts non-profits. You can find more on her website: summershelton.com

Avril Speaks has been carving out her path as a bold, innovative content creator for several years, not only as a producer and director but also during her former days as a professor at Howard University. Avril produced the award-winning film Jinn, which premiered in Narrative Competition at SXSW and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. Jinn gained distribution through MGM/Orion Classics and continues to be seen throughout the world. Avril has also produced several films including Hosea and the upcoming comedy Dotty & Soul, starring Leslie Uggams, Gary Owen, David Koechner and Margot Bingham. Her latest projects include the South African film African America, which premiered at the Pan African Film Festival, and will make its worldwide debut on Netflix this summer, and the docu-series Black America Is…, which has received support from The Blackhouse Producer’s Lab, the CNN/Film Independent Docu-Series Intensive, and the Kettering Foundation.