Disabled Producers Apprenticeship
Presented by FWD-Doc, Multitude Films and the UNTITLED PENNHURST FILM team
About the Program
This nine-month program offers four disabled filmmakers with holistic producing support, creative project incubation, and tailored professional development. During the program, these nonfiction producers will connect with the Pennhurst team, receive one-on-one coaching, training and workshops from Multitude Films, and get support on their own independent nonfiction projects, all informed by FWD-Doc’s industry-leading work centered on disability, accessibility and storytelling. IndieVISIBLE Entertainment, led by FWD-Doc member Kiah Amara, is serving as access coordinator for the program facilitated by Abby Burton.
We need a pathway for disabled producers to be in leadership and decision-making roles across the field and at every stage of production. Persistent barriers across our industry — systemic ableism, inaccessible practices, lack of paid training pipelines, and more — continue to deprive disabled producers of growing their careers and honing their skills. It also deprives the field of stories by, for and about people with disabilities. We must move beyond basic accessibility toward a full celebration of the unique creative, cultural, and political contributions of disabled filmmakers — and we hope this program will offer a replicable model to do just that.
“When disabled producers are given resources, mentorship, and creative authority, they don’t just gain access to the industry — they transform it.”
— Nathan Stenberg, co-director of UNTITLED PENNHURST FILM
“Producers shape which stories get told and how teams, budgets, and creative visions come together — yet disabled talent too often lacks access to mentorship and career pathways.”
— Cassidy Dimon, Executive Director of FWD-Doc
Meet the Producers
Andie Madsen
Andie Madsen is a documentary filmmaker and artist based in Bozeman, Montana. She graduated from the MFA program in Science & Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University in 2025, and now works independently as a director, producer, and editor.
Project: PARANORMAL SOCIETY
Paranormal Society is a short observational film on the Bozeman Paranormal Society in Bozeman, MT. The group is headed by Elies Adams — a natural community-builder who both founded and runs the Society with the help of the other members. The group conducts ghost hunts and tours, holds a conference for paranormal enthusiasts each year, reviews their evidence together, and even conducts the occasional séance. The Society functions as a safe place for people with uncommon beliefs and experiences–a place where those beliefs are not so uncommon at all. The film focuses on the relationships between the members of the Society and their personal experiences with the unknown, as well as between the members and the camera over time.
Gabriel “Gabo” Ponte Fleary
Gabriel “Gabo” Ponte Fleary is a Deaf, award-winning multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Venezuela, now based in Rochester, NY. He moved from Venezuela to NYC in 2012 with just two suitcases. His artistic practice spans photography, graphic design, and filmmaking. Gabriel holds a BFA in Photographic and Imaging Arts with a focus on Visual Media from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Currently, he is both a staff member and an MFA student in Film Production at RIT, where he is honing his skills in cinematography and directing. Gabriel’s diverse identities as a Latino, immigrant, Deaf, and Christian enrich his visual storytelling, allowing him to create work that emphasizes emotional impact.
Project: #FREEDEAFRICO
#FreeDeafRico is a raw and unvarnished documentary that tells the story of Rico, an African American Deaf man who has been wrongfully incarcerated in Georgia since 2013. Despite evidence of his innocence, Rico's case has been mishandled, and he has been denied justice for over a decade. Through extensive interviews in his native language, the documentary captures Rico's perspective and realities, shedding light on the intersection of incarceration, disability, and race. The film aims to educate the public about the challenges faced by people with disabilities, particularly those who are Black, within the criminal justice system
Maya Wise
Maya Wise is a film and impact producer with an extensive communications background, whose work aims to empower diverse communities through storytelling. As a queer disabled creator, Maya is committed to disability justice and queer liberation in all aspects of life. At ITVS, they built strategic partnerships with filmmakers and public media stations across the country to implement community engagement campaigns for the documentary series Independent Lens. Maya also produced arts and culture videos for KQED, while working to optimize performance on social platforms and advance digital workflows. They assistant directed on the feature film IDALIA AND THE NIÑO SANTO, which won first place at MIC Género (Mexico City’s International Film Festival of Gender), and led fundraising as co-producer for a feature documentary in-progress. Before filmmaking, Maya worked in health communications with a focus on translating information for patient and consumer audiences.
Project: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? (Working Title)
In this intimate short film, director Maya Wise brings intergenerational Jewish voices into conversation to grapple with the violent results of Zionism and to envision a new path forward. Led by Maya’s own longing for answers, the film asks: How can the roots of this ancient religion guide us in healing the wounds of our past, to join the fight for liberation of all people?
Vega Darling
Vega Darling is a queer, trans, and chronically ill documentary filmmaker committed to preserving overlooked histories of resistance. His films (GRRRL, LOST GRRRLS: RIOT GRRRL IN LOS ANGELES) weave archival research with collaborative storytelling to amplify underrepresented voices and cultural memory. With an MFA in Social Documentation from UC Santa Cruz, Darling grounds his practice in ethics of care, accountability, and community-centered production. His current project is a feature documentary on the legendary feminist punk band Frightwig, tracing their radical legacy and continued influence.
Project: FRIGHTWIG!
Frightwig! is the untold story of the feminist punk band that helped spark riot grrrl and grunge — and they're still shaking the stage. Raw, rebellious, and decades ahead of their time, Frightwig is a fierce reminder that real change always makes noise.
About the Film
An institution for disabled people, notorious for decades of abuse, was finally shuttered in 1987 — only to reopen 30 years later as a haunted house attraction. Here, disabled actors become “haunters,” navigating the shadowy corridors where performance and reality bleed together over one season at the Pennhurst Asylum.
The documentary is co-directed and co-produced by Nathan Stenberg, Katarina Poljak, and Mike Attie, and produced by Daniel J. Chalfen.
