American Film Institute and Panavision have announced the participants for the 2026 Cinematography Intensive, which will be held March 18-22 at the AFI campus in Los Angeles.
The selected filmmakers are Alice Boucherie, Alexandria Jones, Carson Cain, Amanda Kowalski, Julie Name, Emma Penrose, Shauna Presto, Melina Anastasia Psaros, Kat Ryder, Tania Romero, Kimani Shuman, and Carman Spott.
“The Cinematography Intensive Workshop is designed to open doors for artists who have historically been excluded from careers in cinematography,” said Stephen Lighthill, ASC, AFI Conservatory of Cinematography Discipline Director. “Through lectures, hands-on exercises, and screenings, this program explores the art and craft of cinematography while encouraging a new generation of storytellers to pursue this field.”
CIW classes are taught by industry leaders and AFI Conservatory faculty and alumni, including Oscar winner Autumn Duraldo Arkapaw, Lighthill, Valentina Martinico, and Dan Sasaki, Panavision’s senior vice president of optical engineering.
Kim Snyder, President and CEO of Panavision, said: “This initiative plays a critical role in empowering up-and-coming cinematographers, providing a space to hone their craft, make meaningful connections, and build momentum at key moments in their careers. We are inspired by the passion and artistry of this year’s participants and are honored to join them on their journey and support their growth.”
See the Class of 2026 below.
alice boucherie
Boucherie is a French film director based in New York City. Her early background in dance, music, and visual arts growing up in the French countryside shaped her sensitivity to rhythm, movement, and light. She started her career in New York after graduating in Cinematography from the Film Institute of Paris, and now works internationally in the fields of fashion, documentary, and feature films. Her clients include Chanel, Hulu, Neon, and Universal. She contributed to the Emmy Award-winning campaign “It’s Time for NYC” and the feature-length documentary “Brats.” Her work has screened at Cannes, Tribeca, TIFF, Sundance, SXSW, and won Best Cinematography at the 2023 Cortesina Festival. Boucherie is an ASC Vision Mentorship recipient and a member of UCO.
alexandria jones
Jones is a filmmaker based in Richmond, Virginia. She is a member of IATSE Local 487 as a grip and also works with the International Cinematographers Guild as a camera assistant, primarily in film, television, and commercials. Jones graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in film and minors in art history and creative writing, and has returned from time to time as an adjunct faculty member in the university’s film and photography and film departments. Creating images rooted in relationships and identity is central to Jones’ practice as a filmmaker.
carson cain
Based in Los Angeles, Kane is a cinematographer who studied at DePaul University. In third grade, she filmed her first commercial for 7-Eleven and Lyrical Lemonade. After graduating in 2024, she moved to Los Angeles to continue learning from filmmakers she admired. This year, her work as a gaffer was featured at Sundance in the feature “Night Nurse” and the short “Birdie.” Currently preparing for his first feature as a cinematographer, Kane prioritizes collaboration across all departments to enhance the overall vision. Her work is shaped by a unique lived perspective that brings a unique emotional honesty and consideration to her storytelling.
Amanda Kowalski
Kowalski is a filmmaker and director whose work focuses on rural issues and climate change. Her films have won multiple Boston/New England Emmy Awards and have been screened at festivals around the world including Raindance, Gasparilla, and Telluride Mountain Film. Among her directorial works, the short “Crest of the Hill” was featured on NPR.org, aired on NY Public Media, and won the Reel 13 competition. In 2024, Kowalski directed his first feature documentary, “The Alliance,” which premiered at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the Law Science Film Festival.
julie nem
Nhem is an Oregon-based cinematographer and member of IATSE Local 600 who got into filmmaking through still photography and a deep curiosity about people and places. After stepping onto her first narrative set in 2017, she found her footing in the rhythm of collaboration and built her career through hands-on experience across professional sets. She currently works as a cinematographer for narrative, documentary, and commercial projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. A single mother who has lived abroad for years, Nae brings adaptability and a global perspective to her work, crafting images that reveal the humanity at the heart of every story.
emma penrose
Penrose is a cinematographer with a focus on narrative and analog experimental filmmaking. She is a professional filmmaker who shoots short narrative films, music videos, commercials, fashion films, experimental films, and teaches community eco-processing and analog film classes at Mono No Aware, a film arts nonprofit in Brooklyn. In 2022 she completed her training at Analog 16mm Ecoprocessing’s Casa do Xisto in Barcelos, Portugal and returned in 2023 as an assistant teacher. Penrose is a 2024 Brooklyn Arts Foundation grant recipient and has had her work shown at Warehouse, Shipping Container, Spectacle Theater, Anthology Film Archives, Cartus International Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Soho International Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival, and Wexner Center for the Arts.
Shauna Presto
Presto is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker whose path to film began with music. She earned a degree in music business from the State University of New York at Fredonia before working in concert venues, music promotion, and visual design in Buffalo, New York. In 2017, she quit her full-time job and pursued freelance photography and videography. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2022, Presto has contributed to many projects as a DP, operator, and AC, building a background primarily in narrative work. Through her cinematography, she aims to capture raw human moments that encourage viewers to find meaning in the everyday.
Melina Psaros
Psaros is a Greek-American cinematographer originally from Rochester, New York and based in Los Angeles. She earned a BA in Film from Syracuse University’s SI Newhouse School of Public Communications with minors in Art History and French. Psaros’ experimental visual style is influenced by her background in dance and fine art, while her technical knowledge is enhanced by her experience as a prep technician and camera assistant. Currently, Psarros appears in short stories, commercials, and music videos. She has a passion for shooting with film, is an avid reader and finds inspiration in the small moments of everyday life.
cat rider
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Ryder leads an active life as an artist, filmmaker, and photographer. With her experience in the film industry, she has recently dedicated her artistry to independent productions, from dance films to documentaries. She believes that art should dictate the visual, production, and editing style of a piece, so she leaves her personal “style” free to “whatever the art requires.” Her style in these areas changes from project to project, but her greatest strength is her ability to create something intuitive, regardless of genre or role.
Tania Romero
Born and raised in Nicaragua, Romero is a freelance film director and camera operator based in Philadelphia and New York. As a world traveler and multilingual artist, she works on stories that explore border cultures, immigration, women’s labor in society, and human rights issues affecting marginalized communities. Romero is an associate member of SOC and the Television Academy.
Kimani Shuman
Schuman is a film director and filmmaker from Los Angeles. He studied film at California State University, Fullerton, and then worked at Panavision Hollywood, supporting cinematographers and camera teams across a variety of productions. He then moved to Berlin and worked as an in-house cinematographer for ColorsxStudios before going freelance. As a freelance cinematographer, Schumann shoots a variety of narratives, commercials, music videos, and documentaries. He strives to create textured, emotionally rooted images rooted in collaboration and an instinct to find beauty in everyday moments. He is currently based between Berlin and Los Angeles.
Carman Spoto
Spoto is a filmmaker and film theorist from the Philadelphia area. She has spent over 10 years working in the camera department in Los Angeles on feature films and major television productions. As a filmmaker, she strives to push the intersection of narrative and experimental film to its limits, creating visual representations of time and memory outside of traditional storytelling processes. Spoto’s main focus is on merging philosophical and ideological themes with ontological practices of image making. So far, she has shot five independent features, two micro-features, and several short films and music videos.
