PBS Digital Studios & PBS Creative Voices Ignite Filmmakers Program Launch New Anthology Series, “THE STORY IN US”

PBS Digital Studios today announced the launch of “THE STORY IN US,” a new anthology series premiering on PBS VOICES, the documentary-focused YouTube channel. Produced in collaboration with the PBS Creative Voices Ignite Filmmakers Program, the eight-part series examines how culture, history, and identity are preserved through the universal art of storytelling. The first film premiered last Thursday, January 8, with new episodes streaming weekly through February.

“THE STORY IN US” weaves together a vibrant tapestry of global traditions, ranging from Navajo (Diné) weaving and West African griots to the visual eloquence of Deaf theatre. Each 10–15-minute, character-driven film offers an in-depth look at a culture’s storytelling tradition, authentically told by members of that community. This approach provides an intimate perspective on stories of culture and heritage. By highlighting these diverse narratives, the docuseries illustrates how the stories we share—and the ways we share them—help shape collective resilience and hope.

“THE STORY IN US represents the power of public media,” said Maribel Lopez, Head of PBS Digital Studios. “We are extremely proud to support emerging filmmakers through the PBS Creative Voices Initiative and bring these important yet underrepresented stories to new audiences. By showcasing these films on PBS Voices, we’re inviting viewers to experience the world, and each other, through an intimate and authentic lens.”

Descriptions of the episodes are listed below: 

Episode 1: Navajo Weavings by Isabel Guayasamin 

Premieres: January 8, 2026

Location: Filmed on the ancestral lands of the Navajo Nation, sites in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Tucson, Arizona.  

Navajo (Diné) Weavings explores weaving as a living storytelling tradition among Navajo women. More than a craft, weaving is a cultural archive that carries histories of survival, identity, and resilience through thread and pattern. Rooted in ancestral knowledge yet continuously evolving, the film weaves together scenes of creation, mentorship, and innovation across generations. Traditional techniques meet contemporary expression as the loom becomes a sacred space where prayers are heard, stories are preserved, transformed, and carried forward. Through intimate visuals and Indigenous-centered narration, the film shows how weaving serves not just as a reflection of the past, but as a dynamic language of healing and hope in the present.

Episode 2: From Front Porches to Feeds: Southern Storytelling in the Digital Age 

by Ciara Ingram

Premieres: January 15, 2026

Location: Westminster, South Carolina, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Memphis, Tennessee.

In a region rooted in rhythm, memory, and myth, three Southern creators use digital tools to preserve fading traditions, reclaim erased histories, and rebuild community, one story at a time. From Front Porches to Feeds is a vérité-style short documentary that explores how a new generation of Southern creators is preserving the region’s oral storytelling traditions while reshaping them for the digital world. Long before smartphones and social media, Southern Black, Creole, and Appalachian communities passed down history, values, and identity through sound, rhythm, and spoken word: on porches, in church basements, and around kitchen tables. But in an era when stories are often reduced to quick hits and viral moments, what does it mean to hold onto that cultural depth and speak with your own voice?

Episode 3: Chicano Theatre: The Act of Resistance by Eugenia Renteria 

Premieres: January 22, 2026

Location: Filmed in San Jose, California at The Mexican Heritage Plaza

The Act of Resistance is a lyrical, character-driven documentary exploring the rich legacy and continued urgency of Chicano theatre. Set inside Teatro Vision, through intimate interviews with cultural pioneers and current voices, alongside evocative archival footage and behind-the-scenes moments, we trace the evolution of Chicano theatre—from grassroots protest performance to a dynamic, living artform that continues to center stories of migration, labor, identity, and resilience. The film culminates in a haunting table read of No Llegamos Aquí Solos by Yosimar Reyes—a modern work interwoven with Spanish, Spanglish, and English—that bridges past and future, memory and movement.

Episode 4: Puerto Rico and the Trova by Fernando Rocha

Premieres: January 29, 2026

Location: University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, and Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus.

In Puerto Rico, a family of musicians passes down Trova, an improvised, verse-based form of storytelling, across three generations. This film explores how the two century old tradition continues to connect people through music, and what its future might look (or sound) like on the rapidly changing island. At its heart is the Trovador, a singer-poet who responds to the world around them with wit, emotion, and craft. But as Puerto Rico changes, so too does this tradition, and the question now is: what will remain?

Episode 5: Griot Storytelling by Theo Moore II

Premieres: February 5, 2026 

Location: ArtfullWalls Gallery (Harlem) New York, NY

Griot Storytelling provides a glimpse into the life of modern-day West African griot, Yacouba Sissoko, as he navigates the responsibility of passing centuries of knowledge to his young son, his students, and the African community in Harlem. This documentary uses natural sound to carry the audience through each scene, creating an immersive experience. The historical context visually connects the West African griot tradition to African American traditions, showing how this centuries-old practice has influenced African American art.

Episode 6: This Fabric Knows by Mariana Gongora

Premieres: February 12, 2026

Location: Chihuahua, Mexico

When families from Coloradas de la Virgen, a community in the Sierra Tarahumara region of Chihuahua, Mexico, were forcibly displaced by territorial violence, they turned to what they knew: telling stories together with thread. This Fabric Knows is a poetic meditation on narrative embroidery exploring how, in the face of violence and displacement, storytelling becomes a form of memory, resistance, and survival. This Fabric Knows doesn’t just expose what happened, but it asks: how do you tell a story when your land is taken, your people displaced, and your voice threatened? 

Episode 7: Female Warriors in Chinese Opera by Siyi Chen

Premieres: February 19, 2026

Location: Chinese Theatre Works, Long Island City, New York

Feminist roles with a not so feminist history -- Chinese opera is one of the world’s oldest theatrical storytelling traditions. It’s a dazzling mix of music, acrobatics, martial arts, and poetry. But here’s the twist: for most of Chinese opera’s history, women weren’t allowed to perform on stage or even watch from the audience. So these iconic female warriors were played by men, and their costumes — from ornate headdresses to tiny shoes inspired by foot-binding — reflected men’s ideas of femininity, not women’s own voices. The history and evolution of Wudan and Daomadan tells a bigger story about who gets to play the hero in the stories we tell and who controls the stories we tell about women.

Episode 8: Deaf Theatre by Benita Ozoude

Premieres: February 26, 2026

Location: Dallas, Texas

For the Deaf community, storytelling doesn’t reside in speech, but in movement, expression, and the rich visual language of sign language. This film explores Deaf theatre as a dynamic storytelling tradition, where Sign Language serves as the core of artistic expression, cultural preservation, and resistance. This film will spotlight North Texas Performing Arts Deaf Theatre in Dallas, under the direction of Daymond Sands—a Deaf performer, ASL consultant, and visionary program leader. We will hear from actors across cultural backgrounds, revealing the emotional depth of this tradition and how it continues to nurture pride, connection, and cultural empowerment within Deaf identity.

About the Producers 

Lynne Robinson is an award-winning producer, director, and founder of Black Robin Media, a television, museum, and digital media production company. In addition to the 2025 PBS documentary Chautauqua at 150: Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise, Black Robin Media’s recent productions include the 2024 Audible Original series On the Line with Daymond John; Maryland Public Television’s Emmy-nominated 2024 documentary Ben’s Ten: Chattel Slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore; and the 2021 Smithsonian Channel documentary Reclaiming History: Our Native Daughters on Amazon Prime. Robinson’s recent works also include directing the 2023 BET documentary BLACK+ICONIC: Style Gods hosted by Billy Porter, and the 2021 Audible Originals Daymond John: Founding FUBU; as well as executive producing the 2022 Maryland Public Television and Firelight Films documentaries Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom and Becoming Frederick Douglass, which both aired on PBS. 

The Ignite Filmmakers Program, is one of two programs under the PBS Creative Voices Initiative. Ignite is a hybrid 12-month program for early-career filmmakers who have experienced barriers to entering the media industry. Filmmakers have been credited as a producer or director on at least two short or feature documentary films, or unscripted/non-fiction films that have been distributed publicly through a third party (accepted at a film festival, streaming/television broadcast or public event). It is an opportunity for filmmakers to spend a year developing their career path and exploring the process of content production for public media. Whether the filmmakers have a current project underway or are looking to start a new one, the PBS Ignite Filmmakers Program provides tools that help support participants on their professional journey. 

About the Filmmakers  

Ciara Ingram is a New York City–based content strategist and visual storyteller with deep roots in Southern storytelling traditions. Her work lives at the intersection of culture, strategy, and storytelling, with a focus on creating culturally relevant, community-driven content. She is passionate about elevating underrepresented voices through digital media, community engagement, and intentional storytelling —building platforms and sharing stories that inform, inspire, and resonate.

Eugenia Renteria is an award-winning Mexican filmmaker whose work explores identity, culture, and social justice. She was selected as a fellow for the PBS Creative Voices Ignite Program and as an inaugural fellow of the Cine Se Puede Fellowship, and received the 2024 Nexties Award for Visual Artist of the Year. Her directing credits include Amor en Cuarentena, Strawberry Picker, Tierra Fértil, and a PBS Sound Field episode on Sierreño music, nominated for the 36th Imagen Awards. Her films have screened at the Mill Valley, NY Latino, San Diego Latino, and ShortsMexico film festivals. Eugenia is the founder of Inspira Studios and a proud alumna of Cal State Monterey Bay.

Fernando Rocha is a Mexican-American Cinematographer and Documentary Director based out of Queens, NY, whose work spans both scripted and unscripted genres. He is a 2023 PBS Ignite X Creative Voices Fellow, a 2022 Sundance X Adobe Ignite Fellow, a 2022 Southern Exposure Film Fellow and a 2021 Fulbright Scholar. He graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. and was a member of the school’s Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars program. He also supplemented his studies at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts as well as the FAMU Conservatory in Prague. 

Isabel Guayasamin is a globe-trotting visual artist who was born in Ecuador and is based in New York City. She is a documentary filmmaker with Norway company Filmavdelingen to develop adventure sports, nonfiction feature films, and series. She also produced and directed with PBS and Atlas Obscura on the Digital Studios episode, "This Sacred Canyon Is Alive. And It's Changing Shape." She earned her Fine Arts degree from the University of Madison-Wisconsin and her master's degree in documentary filmmaking from Goldsmiths, University of London. 

Mariana Gongora is a Chihuahuan-American documentarian and video producer from the U.S./Mexico borderland. Mariana's most recent work as a producer and director was for PBS Terra, “Why Is NASA Interested In This Upside Down Cave?” And La Bi-vencia which has been recognized with seven awards for best short documentary. She is a 2023 fellow recipient for the PBS Creative Voices Ignite Program and a 2022 fellow recipient for Femme Frontera’s x Sundance Institute documentary fund. In addition, Mariana worked as a field and story producer for the podcast documentary “Deliver Us From Ervil”, named one of the best podcasts of 2022 by Vulture. She is working on an MA in Documentary Filmmaking in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Siyi Chen is a documentary director and editor based in New York City. She studied World History and Chinese Literature at Peking University before earning an MA in News and Documentary from NYU. In 2023, she was selected as a fellow for the PBS Creative Voices Ignite Program. Her recent editing work Made in Ethiopia (2024) premiered at Tribeca. Siyi’s films often explore themes of migration, identity, and family, with a poetic approach to portraying women in the diaspora. When not making films, she writes poetry in both Mandarin and English.

Benita Ozoude is a Nigerian documentary filmmaker who gives underrepresented communities a platform to share their stories. Benita has worked for 2x Oscar Award-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple and other media companies such as NFL Network, PBS, NPR, and The Hollywood Reporter. She also received the 2018 Horizon Award presented by The Sundance Film Festival and the 2021 Short Documentary Jury Award at the Austin Film Festival. Benita is a Journalism and Radio-Television, and Film graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Theo Moore II is a dedicated filmmaker, historian, and documentarian from Alabama, known for his impactful work in highlighting the rich, often overlooked history of African Americans in the American South. He is the Founding Executive Director of Historical Vision Productions, where he produces, directs, and serves as an archival producer for historical short-film documentaries. Theo has created several acclaimed short documentaries, including Afrikan By Way of American, This Weather Trend Is Overpowering Global Warming – Storm of the Century on PBS Terra, and How did this rural town become a stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit? on PBS Origins.  

THE STORY IN US will be available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS app. Audiences are encouraged to engage with PBS VOICES by subscribing to the PBS VOICES YouTube channel. Keep up with all of your favorite PBS Digital Studios shows by following the PBS Digital Studios accounts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.