NEXT DOC PROGRAM TEAM
The need for diversity in film and media is not new, but in recent years, calls to address this issue have intensified. The stories being told, and as equally important, the people telling them need to reflect the world we live in. A program of Youth FX, co-directed by Bhawin Suchak and Darian Henry, NeXt Doc is a year-long Fellowship program on the leading edge of this movement, cultivating and amplifying the voices of bold young non-fiction filmmakers of color ages 21-25 years old. The Fellowship provides these emerging talents access to mentorship from established documentarians in the field, while providing a safe space for deep conversations about aesthetics, artistry along with critical explorations of power and representation in non-fiction storytelling.
BHAWIN SUCHAK
NeXt Doc Co-Director
Bhawin is an educator, filmmaker, and founding member/co-executive director of Youth FX, a media arts organization focused on empowering young people of color in Albany, NY and around the world by teaching them creative and technical skills in film and digital media while supporting self-determined communities of emerging artists. Bhawin also co-directs NeXt Doc, a year-round fellowship program that exists to amplify the voices of documentary filmmakers of color between the ages of 20-24 years old. Bhawin is the co-director, producer, cinematographer and editor of Outta The Muck (2022), a feature length documentary supported by ITVS, JustFilms, Sundance, and Southern Documentary Fund. He previously co-directed, The Throwaways (2014) with Ira Mckinley, and Free To Learn (2004).
DARIAN HENRY
NeXt Doc Co-Director
Darian Henry is a filmmaker, digital-media educator, founding member, and co-executive director of the nationally known film and digital media organization Youth FX. She has shot, directed, and produced over 50 short documentary, narrative, and experimental films. In 2016 Darian co-founded NeXt Doc, a year-long documentary fellowship designed to bring together emerging documentary storytellers between the ages of 20-24 from diverse backgrounds across the country with award-winning documentary filmmakers to learn, share, and build their skills as they move into the next stage of their careers. As an educator, Darian uses film and digital media as a means to empower and inspire black and brown youth in a wide range of Youth FX programs that arm them with the skills, techniques and access needed to create films based on their own realities and imagination. Darian is currently working as a producer on Ira McKinley and Bhawin Suchak’s feature-length documentary film Outta the Muck which is supported by Sundance Institute and iTVS. She is also co-founder of Rogue FX, a full-service production company powered by alumni of Youth FX. Darian Henry was born in Hanover, Jamaica. She currently lives in New York.