AFI Announces Participants For The 2026 AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop
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- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Wednesday, 18 March 2026 11:58
- Written by A&E Contributing Editor
The American Film Institute (AFI) announced the participants for the 2026 edition of AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop presented by Panavision. The four-day intensive, spearheaded by AFI Conservatory Cinematography Discipline Head Stephen Lighthill, ASC, begins Wednesday, March 18.
The selected filmmakers for 2026 are Alice Boucherie, Alexandria Jones, Karson Kane, Amanda Kowalski, Julie Nhem, Emma Penrose, Shauna Presto, Melina Anastasia Psarros, Cat Rider, Tania Romero, Kimani Schumann and Carman Spoto.
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"The Cinematography Intensive Workshop is designed to open doors for artists that have historically been excluded from careers in cinematography," said Lighthill. "Through lectures, hands-on exercises and screenings, the program explores the art and craft of cinematography while encouraging a new generation of storytellers to pursue the field."
Designed for aspiring cinematographers, CIW is a tuition-free, four-day workshop that brings together emerging cinematographers committed to their journey toward a professional career as cinematographers, who have some on-set experience working in the field and are looking for additional training to help them advance in their education, craft and career. CIW classes will be taught by industry leaders and AFI Conservatory Faculty and Alumni, including Conci Althouse (THE PERFECT 10), Academy Award® winner Autumn Durald Arkapaw (SINNERS), Hana Kitasei (SALVATION), AFI Cinematography Discipline Head Stephen Lighthill, Valentina Martinico (ALLEN V. FARROW), Senior Vice President of Optical Engineering at Panavision Dan Sasaki and Amy Vincent (SONG SUNG BLUE).
The Cinematography Intensive Workshop is presented by Panavision.
"Panavision is proud to continue our support of the AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop," said Panavision President and CEO Kim Snyder. "This initiative plays a vital role in empowering up-and-coming cinematographers, offering a space to sharpen their craft, create meaningful connections, and build momentum at a pivotal moment in their careers. We're inspired by the passion and artistry of this year's participants, and we're honored to be part of their journey and help champion their growth."
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CIW is one of the American Film Institute's pioneering, tuition-free efforts to elevate diverse voices within the AFI Conservatory's Department of Innovative Programs, which also includes the landmark AFI DWW+ program. Learn more about CIW and the AFI Conservatory MFA program at AFI.edu.
About the 2026 CIW Participants
Alice Boucherie:
Alice Boucherie is a French cinematographer based in New York City. Raised in the French countryside, her early background in dance, music, and the visual arts shapes her sensitivity to rhythm, movement, and light. After graduating in cinematography from a Parisian film university, she began her career in New York and now works internationally across fashion, documentary, and narrative film. Her clients include Chanel, Hulu, Neon, and Universal. She contributed to the Emmy Award-winning campaign IT'S TIME FOR NYC and the feature documentary BRATS. Her work has screened at Cannes, Tribeca, TIFF, Sundance, and SXSW, and she received the Best Cinematography Award at the Cortesina Festival in 2023. Boucherie is a recipient of the ASC Vision Mentorship and a member of UCO.
Alexandria Jones:
Alexandria Jones is a filmmaker based in Richmond, Virginia. She is a member of IATSE Local 487 as a Grip, as well as the International Cinematographers Guild where she serves primarily as a Camera Assistant across film, television, and commercials. In 2018, Jones graduated with a B.A. in Cinema and Minors in Art History and Creative Writing from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she has occasionally returned as an adjunct faculty member for the Cinema and Photography & Film Departments. Creating images rooted in relationships and identity is at the heart of Jones' practice as a cinematographer.
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Karson Kane:
Based in Los Angeles, Karson Kane is a cinematographer who studied at DePaul University. In her junior year, she shot her first commercial for 7-Eleven and Lyrical Lemonade. After graduating in 2024, she moved to Los Angeles to continue learning from filmmakers she admires. This year, her work as a gaffer was featured at Sundance on the feature NIGHT NURSE and the short BIRDIE. Now prepping for her first feature as DP, Kane prioritizes collaboration across all departments to elevate the collective vision. Her work is informed by a distinct lived perspective that brings unique emotional honesty and care to her storytelling.
Amanda Kowalski:
Amanda Kowalski is a cinematographer and director whose work explores rural issues and climate change. Films she has shot have won multiple Boston/New England Emmys and screened at festivals worldwide, including Raindance, Gasparilla, and Telluride Mountainfilm. In her directing work, her short CREST OF THE HILL was featured on NPR.org and aired on NY Public Media, where it won the Reel 13 competition. In 2024, Kowalski directed her first feature documentary, THE ALLIANCE, which premiered at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and earned Best Documentary at the Raw Science Film Festival.
Julie Nhem:
Julie Nhem is an Oregon–based cinematographer and IATSE Local 600 member who came to filmmaking through still photography and a deep curiosity about people and place. After stepping onto her first narrative set in 2017, she found her footing in the collaborative rhythm of production and built her career through hands-on experience across professional sets. She now serves as Director of Photography on narrative, documentary and commercial projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. A single mother who spent years living abroad, Nhem brings adaptability and global perspective to her work, crafting images that reveal the humanity at the heart of every story.
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Emma Penrose:
Emma Penrose is a Director of Photography with a focus on narrative and analog experimental filmmaking. She works professionally as a cinematographer, shooting narrative short films, music videos, commercials, fashion films and experimental cinema, as well as teaches community eco-processing & analog film classes at Mono No Aware, a cinema arts nonprofit located in Brooklyn. In 2022 she completed a residency at the Casa do Xisto in analog 16mm eco-processing in Barcelos, Portugal and returned in 2023 as an assistant teacher. Penrose is the recipient of the 2024 Brooklyn Arts Fund Grant and has screened her work at warehouses, shipping containers, Spectacle Theater, Anthology Film Archives, Curtas International Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Soho International Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival and Wexner Center for the Arts.
Shauna Presto:
Shauna Presto is a Los Angeles–based cinematographer whose path to film began in music. She earned a degree in Music Business from SUNY Fredonia before working in concert venues, music promotion, and visual design in Buffalo, NY. In 2017, she left her full-time job to pursue freelance photography and videography. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2022, Presto has contributed to a number of projects as a DP, operator and AC, building a background primarily in narrative work. Through cinematography, she aims to capture raw, human moments that invite audiences to find meaning in the mundane.
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Melina Psarros:
Melina Anastasia Psarros is a Los Angeles-based Greek-American cinematographer from Rochester, New York. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, along with minors in Art History, and French. Psarros's experimental visual style is influenced by her background in dance and the fine arts, while her technical knowledge is strengthened by her experience as a prep technician and camera assistant. Currently, Psarros works in narrative shorts, commercials, and music videos. She is passionate about shooting on film, an avid reader, and inspired by small moments in daily life.
Cat Rider:
Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, Rider actively lives out her life as an artist, filmmaker and photographer. Drawing on her experience in the film industry, she has recently dedicated her artistry to independent work, ranging from dance films to documentaries. She believes that the art should dictate the visual, directorial, and editorial style of the work, and therefore leaves her personal "style" open to "whatever the art needs" from her. While her style in these areas changes per project, her ability to create something visceral regardless of genre or role is her biggest strength.
Tania Romero:
Born and raised in Nicaragua, Tania Romero is a freelance cinematographer and camera operator based in Philadelphia and New York. As a world traveler and multilingual artist, she commits to stories that explore border cultures, immigration, the work of women in society, and human rights issues affecting marginalized communities. Romero is an associate member of SOC and the Television Academy.
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Kimani Schumann:
Kimani Schumann is a cinematographer and filmmaker from Los Angeles. He studied Film at Cal State University, Fullerton, then worked at Panavision Hollywood, supporting cinematographers and camera teams across a range of productions. He later relocated to Berlin, where he was the in-house cinematographer at ColorsxStudios before moving into freelance. As a freelance cinematographer, Schumann shoots a variety of narrative, commercial, music video and documentary work. He strives to create textured, emotionally grounded imagery rooted in collaboration and an instinct for finding beauty in everyday moments. He is currently based between Berlin and Los Angeles.
Carman Spoto:
Carman Spoto is a filmmaker and film theorist from the Philadelphia area. She has spent more than a decade working in the camera department on feature films and major television shows in Los Angeles. As a cinematographer, she strives to push the medium to its furthest extents, where narrative cinema and experimental cinema intersect, and to create visual representations of time and memory outside traditional storytelling processes. Spoto's main focus is to merge philosophical and ideological themes with ontological practices around image-making. To date, she has shot five independent features, two micro-features, and several short films and music videos.
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About the American Film Institute (AFI)
The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked one of the top film schools in America. AFI's enduring traditions include the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the test of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the creative ensembles of the most outstanding screen stories of the year; and scholarly efforts such as the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive that preserve film history for future generations. AFI exhibition programs include AFI FEST and year-round exhibition at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Maryland. AFI Movie Club is a destination for movie lovers from around the world to celebrate and engage with the art form every day. Other pioneering programs include workshops aimed at elevating emerging storytellers and technology, including AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop.
Read about all of these programs and more at AFI.com and follow us on social media at Facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, YouTube.com/AFI, X.com/AmericanFilm,
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About the AFI Conservatory
The AFI Conservatory opened its doors in 1969 to an inaugural class that included Terrence Malick, Caleb Deschanel and Paul Schrader. Today, the Conservatory offers a two-year MFA degree in six filmmaking disciplines: Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting. In a collaborative production environment, AFI Fellows learn to master the art of storytelling, collectively creating up to 175 films a year. Fellows actively participate in the entire life cycle of a film, from development through production and exhibition.
Alumni of this elite program, ranging from modern masters to bold new voices defining the state of the art form, include Andrea Arnold, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Aster, Deniese Davis, Sam Esmail, Brad Falchuk, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Liz Hannah, Patty Jenkins, Janusz Kamiński, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas, Polly Morgan, Rachel Morrison and Wally Pfister, among others.
About Panavision
Panavision is the world-class provider of unparalleled optics, proprietary camera and lighting systems, and state-of-the-art production solutions that power the creative vision of filmmakers. Driven by a passion for collaborative innovation, Panavision supports filmmakers and creators with the highest standard of quality and service. Panavision's portfolio includes the renowned brands Panalux, LEE Filters, Direct Digital, and Island Studios. For more information and locations worldwide, visit Panavision.com.
