Producers Guild of America Announces Documentary Producers and Producing Teams for the 2023 PGA Create Program

PGA Create is sponsored by Google

LOS ANGELES — Following the continued success of the PGA Create program, the Producers Guild of America announced the six documentary producers and producing teams invited to take part in the PGA Create lab for emerging and mid-career producers. Now entering its third year, the program’s focus is on supporting producers from underrepresented backgrounds. PGA Create is sponsored by Google, the lead underwriter of the program.

PGA Create’s documentary cycle will be held December 4-7. The program is an immersive lab for documentary producers and producing teams actively developing, financing and packaging nonfiction projects. Participants will have opportunities to hone their project pitches, attend master classes with experienced producers and build their network of fellow producers.

PGA Create is designed to provide touch points over the span of one year, including an invitation for participants of its Scripted and Documentary cycles to re-convene during the PGA Create Forum, a day-long event held during the Guild’s signature Produced By Conference in June.

“We are thrilled to continue championing PGA Create and the producers supported through the program,” said Producers Guild members Tonya Lewis Lee, Lori McCreary and Shelby Stone. “As Chairs of the One Guild initiative which supports inclusive membership, employment, content and authentic depictions, it is critical that the Producers Guild build on the program’s commitment to elevate diverse voices and stories through mentorship and guidance to the next generation of producers.”

Google’s support of PGA Create was negotiated by UTA Entertainment & Culture Marketing, which represents Google.

Producers and producing teams invited to participate in the PGA Create documentary cycle include:

Documentary Features

G. (Giovanna) Chesler, Producer, Intersex Justice
As an intersex activist repeatedly revisits personal traumas during their fight for intersex rights, they learn more than strategies for changing laws and public opinions: they discover how to care for their heart in the process.

Nicole Docta, Producer and Emily Thomas, Producer/Director, The Dead Zone
Innocent people die in jail and can be held for years in The Dead Zone because of flaws in the pretrial detention system, between arrest and conviction. But four extraordinary people are creating a blueprint to reduce jail populations.

Prerana Thakurdesai, Producer, The Last Resort
The Last Resort explores the shifting cultural and familial dynamics of aging, and how immigrant seniors navigate home, belonging, death and dying through the residents of Shanti Niketan, the first Indian American retirement community in the United States.

Krystal Tingle, Director & Producer and Niema Jordan, Producer, Oh Happy Day
A documentary about the origin and impact of the best-selling gospel song 'Oh Happy Day!' Behind the rise of the record, is the Hawkins family, musical geniuses from Oakland, CA who shattered walls of racism and religion transforming gospel music.

Din Blakenship, Director & Producer and Elizabeth Lodge Stepp, Producer, Love, Your Birth Mom
‘Love, Your Birth Mom’ is an intimate portrayal of the experience of placing a child for adoption. The feature-length documentary follows several women who are pregnant and questioning whether they have the support, resources, or ability to raise their children.

Documentary Series

Eboni Johnson-Kaba, Director & Producer and Barry Thornburg, Producer, Blerd Nation
Blerd Nation is a short-form docuseries exploring the fantastic, revolutionary world of Black Nerd Culture in America.

Applications for the Scripted cycle of PGA Create will open on Monday, December 11. The program will be held Summer 2024. For more information: https://producersguild.org/pgacreate/