Announcing the 2025 Dear Producer Mentees

By Rebecca Green

One of the most elusive quests of any professional life is finding a mentor. You can admire someone’s work from afar, but finding an entry point to get their attention can feel impossible. And even if you do meet that perfect person, the relationship is often informal and you hold back all your questions to not be a bother.

However, having the right mentor can be life changing. It can lead to career advancement, expanding your network, feeling less alone, and can help you build confidence, which is why I’m excited to continue the Dear Producer Mentorship program for a fourth year.

For 2025, we selected four esteemed producers and asked them to choose an emerging producer and commit to providing consistent and reliable mentorship for 6 months. In exchange for their time and expertise, each mentor will receive a $5,000 stipend.

The mentors for this year include:

• Rachael Fung: FREMONT, LITTLE WOODS, THE GIANT

• Amanda Marshall: SWISS ARMY MAN, GOD’S COUNTRY, DON’T THINK TWICE

• Darcy McKinnon: NATCHEZ, A KING LIKE ME, THE NEUTRAL GROUND

• Alisa Payne: THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR, HARLEM ICE, STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING

The Dear Producer mentorship is generously sponsored by Facet, founded by Maida Lynn, whose work has looked for and embraced ways to contribute to risk-taking, free-thinking, and diverse filmmaking, particularly supporting individuals and organizations operating outside of the mainstream.

I am thrilled to shine a light on the talented producers who were chosen for this year’s mentorship program. Below you can read more about them and get a glimpse of why their mentor felt drawn to them for this opportunity.

EMILY FRIEDMAN is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. She’s a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Film & TV Production and minors in Business of Entertainment and Art History. Her commercial clients include The Obama Foundation, Visa, WNBA, Enfamil, Google, Harlem Perfume Co, Match, H&R Block, Jones Road, and Popeyes.

Her work has been featured in BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival, Academy Award-qualifying HollyShorts, NOWNESS Asia, Inside Out's Finance Forum, image+nation Montreal, the Berlin Music Video Awards, NYWIFT’s Annual Creative Showcase, Film Shortage, and Beyond the Short.

Recent projects include producing a hype video for the Chicago Sky basketball team for Emmy-nominated director Rodney Lucas, as well as a narrative short film titled THEY’RE PACKING starring Jo Ellen Pellman (THE PROM), Leyna Bloom (POSE), and Tony-nominee John Ellison Conlee.

She is also a musician and founder of production and development company happytobehere.

Why Amanda Marshall chose Emily as her mentee…
Emily came highly recommended when I was seeking a line producer. Though we didn't collaborate on that project, our conversations revealed someone whose tenacity, creativity, and resourcefulness immediately impressed me. Her career aspirations echoed my own early producing journey—that familiar hunger to transform ideas into compelling stories while navigating the constant balance between creative passion and financial constraints.

The producers who shaped my career were mentors who challenged me and provided guidance during pivotal moments. This taught me that mentorship is essential for cultivating the next generation of storytellers. Emily represents the kind of emerging talent that deserves investment, and I'm genuinely excited to support her development into the producer I believe she can become.

ANNIE HUANG is a first-generation Asian American who grew up in Vietnam, Taiwan, and Hong Kong before immigrating to the U.S. at age 11, where she learned English as her 4th language with the help of subtitled films. She has over 7 years of experience working in creative development, film production, and marketing strategy at Warner Bros. Studios, Universal Pictures, Searchlight Pictures, CBS Studios, and Sony Pictures. In her current senior manager role at Sony Pictures, she helps foster filmmaker and talent relationships, as well as secure new project acquisitions for the studio.

Annie has produced over 10 short films with filmmakers from around the world, in collaboration with organizations like Film Independent, Netflix, the Latino Film Institute, the Alliance of Women Directors, and Satellite Collective. Her most recent work includes a proof-of-concept short featuring Randall Park, a Honolulu-based film with Moana 2 writer Bryson Chun, and a 30-minute pilot following the career of a female culinary chef. Her goal is to empower emerging filmmakers and help them break into the studio realm. Annie is a member of the inaugural class of the Academy of Motion Pictures GOLD program, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, a Women In Film Independent Producing Fellow, a Soho House x Creative Futures Fellow, and an APIA NBCUniversal Award recipient. Her work can be found at Annie-huang.com.

Why Rachael Fung chose Annie as her mentee…
I have been so impressed with everything Annie has accomplished so far in her career. She has shown incredible tenacity, determination and intelligence in the numerous short films she has successfully brought to fruition while balancing her professional roles. I am honoured to have the opportunity to be her mentor and champion as she takes steps towards full-time Producing this year and am excited to witness her growth and development.

IMANI JOHNSON is a journalist and documentary film producer committed to preserving and amplifying the global Black experience. A modern-day griot, she blends truth and artistry to tell stories that resonate across generations. Since earning degrees in Journalism, Africana Studies, and Documentary Film from NYU in 2019, she has worked across TV, radio, and film. Imani is an NAACP Image Award-winning producer of Netflix’s HIGH ON THE HOG, and her credits include Emmy-nominated projects like Peacock’s LOWNDES COUNTY AND THE ROAD TO BLACK POWER and Hulu’s TASTE THE NATION. Most recently, she worked as an Associate Producer for an upcoming documentary series about Hurricane Katrina directed by Spike Lee, Geeta Gandbhir, and Samantha Knowles, and produced by Alisa Payne. Imani is now producing for a PBS series called WEATHERED and continues to create short and feature-length documentaries rooted in history, innovation, and immersive storytelling.

Why Alisa Payne chose Imani as her mentee…
My directing partner recommended Imani for an Associate Producer position on our forthcoming project KATRINA: COME HELL AND HIGH WATER. I was immediately struck by Imani's wide range of gifts: her adept research, poetic writing and empathy for participants. Imani is a skilful storyteller who crafts narratives of loss and resilience, with such honesty and compassion, a clear point of view and new revelations - all which was invaluable to a team revisiting a disaster that so many feel they know all there is to know about. I am thrilled to work closely with Imani again and feel honored to be one supporter in a career that will undoubtedly be extremely long and accomplished.

ÁI VUONG is a Vietnamese-born, Texas-raised filmmaker drawn to stories that explore the tenderness, fragility, and compassion of life. She has produced commissioned documentaries across five continents through TÁPI Story, the production company she co-founded, and has led filmmaking workshops with the School of Slow Media. Her recent short films include LA COSECHA (SXSW 2023), BOCA CHICA (PBS/Reel South 2023), and FLOODPLAIN (2024). She is currently developing AZULE, a short documentary supported by the New Orleans Film Society, and WHERE THE SUN SETS, a feature project backed by the Austin Film Society. Ái is a 2023 Tory Burch Entrepreneur Fellow. Before turning to filmmaking, she served as Executive Director of a children’s shelter in Vietnam and later earned a master’s in NGO Management and Public Policy from NYU.

Why Darcy McKinnon chose Ái as her mentee…
I met Ái through various film festivals in the South, and then through the Southern Producers Lab hosted by the New Orleans Film Society. When you meet Ái, you'll be struck by her unique combination of wit and warmth. She has that combination of keen intelligence and empathy that make her an excellent problem solver and steward of film projects. I'm also specifically drawn to her vision of the work she wants to make, that connects human stories across borders, relying on her own and her creative partner's lived experiences. She also has a foot in the commercial world, and a clear affinity for the business of making films. I'm excited for all the projects ahead for her.