For over two decades, Marjan Safinia has worked to transform both documentary storytelling and the community that creates it. The Iranian filmmaker's latest series, And She Could Be Next (co-directed with Grace Lee), embodies this dual mission - following women of color reshaping American democracy while breaking ground as POV's first series and earning an NAACP Image Award nomination. Her journey began with Seeds, an AFI Docs opening night film chronicling ten teenagers from conflict zones finding common ground during one remarkable summer in Maine. Her sharp-witted short But You Should Speak Such Good English brought an insider's perspective to the Iranian immigrant experience, launching a career that would span continents.

Her work, backed by Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Sundance Institute, has reached audiences through over 100 international festivals and broadcasts worldwide. Beyond traditional documentary, she's created influential work for change-makers including Google founder Sergey Brin and the Obama administration. As the International Documentary Association's first woman of color president and longest-serving board leader, Safinia helped reshape the field from within. Today, she continues this vision through leadership at Chicken & Egg Films and Color Congress, while fostering global connections as co-host of The D-Word. A Sundance Catalyst Fellow and Academy member, she remains what she calls a "good troublemaker" - creating films that examine identity and justice while building pathways for emerging voices in documentary.