A Documentary Marketing Initiative

Elev8Docs is a Color Congress learning initiative supporting research for over two dozen nonfiction films by directors of color, all nominated by our member organizations.

Through 8 distinct marketing experiments across 2025, we're tackling the barriers these filmmakers face—from cultural gaps in mainstream marketing to limited data on diverse audience preferences—to strengthen distribution infrastructures.

Each documentary receives specialized marketing support, custom assets, and expert partnerships to reach targeted audiences. The project will culminate in 2026 with comprehensive case studies offering actionable strategies for the broader documentary community.

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2025 Experimental Timeline

Experiment 1: Archival Films - Digital Ads

February - April 2025

This experiment supports the digital release of archival films that premiered over 15 years ago.

Featured Films

  • Person reading community notices with Chinese text against purple background with lime green raised fist symbol

    GRASSROOTS RISING

    Directed by Robert Winn
    Documentary | 56 minutes | 2005

    GRASSROOTS RISING explores the re-emergence of Asian Pacific American labor activism in Los Angeles, following workers from all walks of life - from laundries to sweatshops, from restaurants to grocery stores - as they unite across ethnic and cultural lines to fight for their rights and dignity.

    Watch
  • La Lupe performing passionately with a jazz band, featuring a pianist and saxophonist on stage, with decorative lightning bolts and stars on purple background

    LA LUPE QUEEN OF LATIN SOUL

    Directed by Ela Troyano
    Documentary | 53 minutes | 2007

    La Lupe was a force of nature - an Afro-Cuban singer whose electrifying performances revolutionized Latin music. Through intimate interviews and rare archival footage, this documentary reveals the story of a singular artist who refused to compromise her creative vision.

    Watch
  • Young Lords activists demonstrating in New York City streets with Puerto Rican flags, framed by purple and light blue graphic elements

    ¡PALANTE, SIEMPRE PALANTE!

    Directed and Produced by Iris Morales
    Documentary | 49 minutes | 1996

    In 1969, a group of young Puerto Ricans transformed their community through radical action and grassroots organizing. Palante, Siempre Palante! tells the untold story of the Young Lords Party - from their origins as community activists to their emergence as a powerful revolutionary force for change.

    Watch

Experiment 2:

Youth Shorts - Creators

Coming March 2025

Experiment 3:

Feature Premiere - Simultaneous Multi-City Campaign

March 2025

This experiment illustrates how a same-day multi-city premiere, paired with strong marketing and publicity support, can effectively build broad visibility & substantive press coverage. 

Featured Film:

DROWNED LAND

Dir: Colleen Thurston

DOCUMENTARY | 1 hour 26 mins | 2025

DROWNED LAND is the feature directorial debut of Colleen Thurston (Choctaw). Drowned Land follows a community of people within the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and their fight to preserve water rights to the Kiamichi River through the filmmaker’s personal exploration of her tribe’s history. The film explores historical and ongoing struggles of the community as corporations and states actively pursue damming and diversion projects despite devastating consequences. Through the stories of local advocates — scientists and Choctaw culture-keepers — Drowned Land highlights a fight that is as much about protecting the river ecosystem as it is about breaking cycles of exploitation and displacement.

Experiment 4:

Coming April - June 2025

This experiment explores how to leverage our membership to collectively program and cross-promote a shorts program for wide dissemination. 

“Resistance & Joy” Shorts - Color Congress Members

Curated into two thematic blocks, the 11 short films offer distinct yet interconnected narratives of resistance, joy, healing, and power.

Featured Films

DOCUMENTARY | 1 hour 12 mins | 2025

Block 1: Reclaiming Identity: Stories of LGBTQ+ love and resilience, intergenerational healing, and communities reclaiming their spaces. These films center personal and collective journeys of self-discovery, healing, and belonging. Through intergenerational storytelling, bold artistic expression, and lived experiences, filmmakers reclaim narratives that have historically been erased or silenced.

DOCUMENTARY | 1 hour 10 mins | 2025

Block 2: Reclaiming Power: Explorations of activism, cultural preservation, and collective action in the face of systemic injustice. These films highlight activism, social justice movements, and the fight for equity across different communities. From cultural preservation to political resistance, these stories showcase the ways people organize, resist oppression, and work toward change.

Experiment X:

Public Broadcast Marketing Campaign

May - June 2025

This experiment documents how a national public media broadcast can lead the way with innovative and powerful approaches that broaden public media’s reach and power.

Featured Film
UNION| Dir: Brett Story & Steven Maing
DOCUMENTARY | 1 hour 40 mins | 2024

UNION chronicles an unlikely group of warehouse workers as they launch a grassroots union campaign at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. The odds are stacked against them, as they find themselves up against a tech industry giant with unlimited resources, without major support from national unions or politicians, and while navigating internal divisions within their own ranks.