In December 2019 on the eve of the International Documentary Association Awards, the Undocumented Filmmakers Collective released a piece called “An Open Letter from Undocumented Filmmakers to the Producers of Living Undocumented and the Broader Media Industry” that illustrated how a Netflix series’ exclusion of undocumented filmmakers is a symptom of larger issues in the media industry when it comes to telling the stories of undocumented immigrants. Having been viewed over 5,000 times, the letter has served as a catalyst for media makers to bring undocumented creatives into their projects, and as an invitation for other undocumented media creators in this country to join the collective.

In January 2020, the Collective reached another milestone by presenting a historic panel at the Sundance Film Festival, only made possible because of the generous support of Firelight Media. Titled “Undocumented and Unerasable: Reclaiming Undocumented Narratives and Storytelling,” the conversation led to a series of brainstorming to make the field more inclusive of undocumented creators. Now, the Collective continues to advance systemic changes in the fields of documentary, screenwriting, editing, producing, and beyond, for all filmmakers regardless of their immigration status.

It must be noted however that the work of our Collective is nothing new. We stand on the shoulders of undocumented media justice organizers who have paved the way for our communities’ stories to be told by us and for us. We look at the work of Tam Tran and the original UndocuMedia program created by Nancy Meza, Jesús Iñiguez, and Julio Salgado.

Solis-Sison specifically leads the following initiatives: The Pay Transparency Project with Brown Girls Doc Mafia, The Creativity is Boundless: An Inclusive Guide with Define American and The Copyright Alliance Partnership.