Toni Bell is the creator and host of the What’s Up with Docs Podcast. She has worked in the documentary field for close to 10 years. Her foray into documentary film began when she started writing and editing the newsletter for the Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers – West. 

This led to her first gig as a production assistant then an archival researcher for the film Bridging the Divide: Tom Bradley and the Politics of Race which was aired nationally on PBS. Since then, she has conducted archival research for several films and television shows, including Centric’s Being. She is the Impact Strategist for Looky Looky Pictures, where she has worked on films such as Building the American Dream, Councilwoman, Through the Night, and And She Can Be Next. She has been a speaker, panelist, mentor, and juror at documentary film festivals and labs such as NALIP, DOK Leipzig, HotDocs, IFPWeek, Outfest, Docs by the Sea, and the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. She serves on the advisory board of the Southeast European Film Festival. 

Toni is also part of the inaugural cohort of Art Equity’s BIPOC Leadership Circle is designed to center, support, and address experiences of BIPOC leaders of cultural institutions. She is the former Filmmaker Services Manager at the International Documentary Association, where she was responsible for handling the day-to-day operations of the fiscal sponsorship program. She curated the IDA’s DocuClub work-in-progress screening series, of which many of the films have premiered at film festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca, and CPH:DOX. She holds a MAT-TESOL and an M.A. in Visual Anthropology from USC, an M.F.A in Creative Writing from Naropa University, and a certificate in professional screenwriting from UCLA.

Ranell Shubert is the Producer of the What’s Up with Docs podcast and provides consultation to documentary filmmakers in all phases of production. She is also a fierce co-conspirator in the disabled filmmaking community and advises nonprofits and other film organizations on how to host accessible events for everyone. She is the former Educational Programs Manager and IDA Awards Competition Manager at the International Documentary Association. Ranell programmed and managed IDA’s signature Conversation Series, as well as masterclasses and workshops that enhance filmmakers’ knowledge of the craft, spotlight nonfiction leaders in the entertainment industry, and hosted filmmaker-only “behind the scenes” conversations as well as skill-building in new media and technology. She was also the lead programmer for the IDA’s biennial Getting Real Documentary Conference.

Jihan El Tahri is a multi- award-winning film director, writer, visual artist and producer. She currently serves as the General Director of the Berlin based documentary support institution DOX BOX. El Tahri has been a member of The Academy (Oscars) since 2017 and is currently on the selection committee of the Locarno International Film Festival. She has directed more than 15 films and her visual art exhibitions have travelled to renowned museums and several Biennales around the world. Her writings include “Les Sept Vies de Yasser Arafat” (Grasset) and “Israel and the Arabs, The 50 Years war” (Penguin). She continues to mentor and direct various documentary and filmmaking labs. El Tahri has served on the boards of several African film organisations including the Federation of Pan African Cinema and The Guild of African Filmmakers in the Diaspora.