"A Banner Year" follows a year-long experiment that could save local journalism. Part Spotlight, part The Bear, this verité documentary captures the pursuit of truth by local reporters at one of the largest, new nonprofit journalism startups in the country. As the paper goes from scrappy startup to Pulitzer Prize winner, is the daily stress of journalism and working at a startup too high?
Emily schmoozes like a politician and swears like a sailor while constantly scooping the competition. She loves the Banner, but is the stress of covering a city election at a startup slowly pushing her out the door?
Everyone loves Julie. A mother of three, Julie quit reporting to focus on her family, but the Banner lured her back into journalism to break stories like a Spotlight-style investigation into an international megachurch covering up sexual
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Everyone loves Julie. A mother of three, Julie quit reporting to focus on her family, but the Banner lured her back into journalism to break stories like a Spotlight-style investigation into an international megachurch covering up sexual abuse.
Spending a year on that investigation, she had to balance her kids, conduct parking-lot interviews, and get to the truth.
Justin Fenton and Jess Calefati join Julie to round out the investigative team. Over the course of a year, cameras follow them as they dig into a sex abuse scandal within a cult-like megachurch—one with far-reaching, international implications. As
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Justin Fenton and Jess Calefati join Julie to round out the investigative team. Over the course of a year, cameras follow them as they dig into a sex abuse scandal within a cult-like megachurch—one with far-reaching, international implications. As they navigate the emotional toll of earning survivors’ trust, the frustrations of the editing process, and the constant pull of family life, the pressure mounts. Will their investigation ever see the light of day—and if it does, will anyone care enough to read it?
Josh Davidsburg is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and senior lecturer at the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park. His first feature-length documentary Queen of the Capital is available to watch on...
Josh Davidsburg is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and senior lecturer at the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park. His first feature-length documentary Queen of the Capital is available to watch on Starz, and screened at film festivals across the country, including Slamdance. Josh teaches documentary, broadcast journalism and the future of video. He is currently producing his second feature-length documentary.
Adam Evans is a British filmmaker and editor. His most recent work as an editor is David France and Jesse Short Bull’s ‘FREE LEONARD PELTIER’.
His other credits include Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill’s ‘CATCHING FIRE: THE STORY OF ANITA
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Adam Evans is a British filmmaker and editor. His most recent work as an editor is David France and Jesse Short Bull’s ‘FREE LEONARD PELTIER’.
His other credits include Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill’s ‘CATCHING FIRE: THE STORY OF ANITA PALLENBERG’ and David France’s ‘HOW TO SURVIVE A PANDEMIC’.
For his work on ‘HOW TO SURVIVE A PANDEMIC’, he was nominated for Outstanding Editing in Documentary/Nonfiction Theatrical Feature by the HPA and received a Cinema Eye Honors award nomination for Broadcast Editing. The film also won Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary at the 44th News and Documentary Emmys.
He has worked in the post-production world for 15 years on shorts, series and features for broadcasters such as HBO, BBC and Netflix. His work has played at festivals around the world, including the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, CPH:DOX, the BFI London Film Festival and DOC NYC.
He is currently the Editor-In-Residence at the Johns Hopkins University/Maryland Institute College of Art Film Center. He is a graduate of the School Of Visual Arts and The Edit Center.
With a background in journalism and documentary storytelling, Alex’s production company Cottage Creative tells human stories for businesses and nonprofits across the country. Alex has worked on documentaries that appeared on STARZ, Peacock and
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With a background in journalism and documentary storytelling, Alex’s production company Cottage Creative tells human stories for businesses and nonprofits across the country. Alex has worked on documentaries that appeared on STARZ, Peacock and film festivals across the country.
Keniera is a film and journalism student at Morgan State University. She’s got a thriving video production and photo business and is a musician. She wants to go into film and documentary when she graduates.
Imani Muleyyar is an Emmy Award-winning producer/editor with over 15 years of experience in the broadcast TV industry.
He began his career as a producer at the local Baltimore Fox affiliate station and has since produced and edited original broadcast
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Imani Muleyyar is an Emmy Award-winning producer/editor with over 15 years of experience in the broadcast TV industry.
He began his career as a producer at the local Baltimore Fox affiliate station and has since produced and edited original broadcast and commercial content for numerous public access stations, educational institutions, and major league sports teams.
Now Imani owns and operates the production company Imani Network while also teaching media production to students of all ages.
Alanna Delfino-Kopania is a professional visual storyteller and editor based in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. region. She’s a Baltimore native and is passionate about telling stories involving her community.
In 2022, Alanna became the full-time...
Alanna Delfino-Kopania is a professional visual storyteller and editor based in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. region. She’s a Baltimore native and is passionate about telling stories involving her community.
In 2022, Alanna became the full-time lead instructor for the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism’s News Videography courses. She’s a proud mentor to many students and is the faculty advisor for UMD’s Video Club.
Alanna has an extensive resume. She launched her career at WJLA ABC7 in 2015 as an editor in the nation's capital. She bounced back to Baltimore when she was offered an opportunity as a visual storyteller at WBFF. She quickly climbed the ladder and earned a couple of EMMYs along the way. Her solid reputation in the business garnered attention from National outlets, and, in 2020, she made the leap into national news as a multimedia photojournalist for Tegna’s National Verify team. Alanna produced long-form data-driven stories and was responsible for producing videos for their daily fact-checking national content. On a daily basis, Alanna was able to produce powerful stories on general news topics like crime, education, health, politics, societal concerns, and sports. Whether working solo or in a team setting, she was able to bring a voice to the community with stories containing strong natural sounds and powerful visuals.
Some of the work Alanna produced has earned her accolades on national platforms. In 2018, she and two colleagues produced an award-winning short documentary called “After Shock: Inside a Year of Violence.” In that same year, Alanna traveled to Puerto Rico, where she captured stories from the town of Yabucoa one year after the deadly Hurricane Maria. She was able to document stories of survivors as they received a new water infiltration system, which gave their entire neighborhood fresh water. Then, Alanna joined Sinclair’s Full Measure team as they traveled to Vietnam to produce stories in remembrance of the Vietnam War and was even there to witness first-hand, Vietnam turning over the remains of US troops missing in action.
Alanna's experience was recognized by news industry leaders, which gave her the platform to share her knowledge as a speaker at national conferences. She is a passionate speaker, a supportive team leader, and a mentor to storytellers across the country. She is also a faculty member of one of the most coveted journalism workshops in the country, with the National Press Photographers Association. The prestigious Workshop in Norman, Oklahoma is a week-long training seminar that brings in journalists from around the world. She’s also been on the speaker circuit for NPPA’s Education Committee and has been a guest speaker at events for NPPA, NATAS National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter, Kentucky News Photographers Association, NPPA’s Women in Visual Journalism Conference, Sound of Life Conference, and RTDNA’s National Conference.
Outside of news, Alanna helped co-produce a full-length documentary called “Queen of the Capital,” which appeared at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival and was eventually bought by Starz. Currently, she is a producer and cinematographer for another full-length documentary covering the creation and growth of The Baltimore Banner. The documentary is set to air by the end of 2025.
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