NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator

The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) proudly announces the fifth cohort of its acclaimed Director Incubator (formerly known as the Women of Color Incubator). Supported by Netflix, the program continues to amplify global voices in film and serve as a powerful entry point for emerging storytellers whose visions challenge convention and reshape the narrative landscape.

This year’s Director Incubator class includes Alejandra Vazquez, Natalie Jasmine Harris, April Maxey, Valeria Contreras, and Lindsey Villarreal. They were selected from hundreds of submissions for their daring narratives and distinctive cinematic voices. Each filmmaker receives a $35,000 production grant and tailored mentorship from leading NALIP and Netflix executives, guiding them through all stages of short film production, from idea to impact.

“The partnership between NALIP and Netflix continues to open doors for bold, world-class filmmakers whose stories transcend borders,” said Diana Luna, Executive Director of NALIP. “Many of our alumni have gone on to premiere at Cannes, Sundance, and Tribeca, and to secure major studio deals. This year’s cohort reflects the same creative fire––women and gender-expansive directors poised for breakthrough moments.”

The Director Incubator films will be showcased during the NALIP Media Summit 2026.

Alumni from the program have played their short films at American Black Film Festival, LALIFF, New York Latino Film Festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, and other notable film festivals across the country. Alumni Frida Perez is credited as co-creating and writing the Apple TV+ series The Studio, Michelle Salcedo premiered her action feature Switch and Bait, Carolina Costa was a director of photography on Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Jackie! Zhou directed Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” music video and Lorena Durán was the director of photography on Netflix’s Selena y Los Dinos. Additionally, four short films from the 2021 NALIP program are now available to stream globally on Netflix.

Read more about the directors and their projects below.

Valeria Contreras

Valeria Contreras is an award-winning filmmaker from El Paso, Texas. She is a Producers Guild of America Create Fellow, Film Independent Producing Fellow, Cine Qua Non Storylines Lab Fellow, and El Paso Community Foundation Border Art Resident. Valeria’s work focuses on amplifying narratives from the U.S.-Mexico border region. Her short film Homesick screened at festivals globally including the Oscar-qualifying Atlanta Film Festival. In addition to a feature screenplay called Oranges, based on the short film of the same name, Valeria is in development on the Untitled Texas Latina Project, an anthology feature film exploring Latine identity in Texas through the lens of five award-winning Latina directors and writers. The Texas project has received support from the Austin Film Society, SFFilm, WarnerMedia, and The Gotham. Valeria holds degrees from the University of Chicago and Columbia University, where she earned an MFA and received the Michael Hausman Foundation Award and 3Pas Studios Award. She has served on the Young Mezcal Jury at the Guadalajara International Film Festival.

Oranges: As free-spirited Lucia prepares to leave her bordertown home for Mexico City in 1972, her responsible, older sister Griselda struggles to hold it together until a final moment at a streetcar stop cracks open the silence between them.

Natalie Jasmine Harris

Natalie Jasmine Harris is an award-winning Black queer filmmaker from Maryland whose work is rooted in coming-of-age experiences, showcasing Black joy, and imagining pathways to liberation for marginalized communities. Her filmmaking spans narrative, documentary, and commercial work. Natalie’s latest short film, Grace, had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and has since screened at dozens of film festivals. In 2025, the film was awarded a Vimeo Staff Pick and acquired to stream on The Criterion Channel. Her NYU thesis film, Pure, won the 2020 Directors Guild of America's Student Film Award and was acquired by HBOMax. She is currently developing a feature adaptation with support from SFFILM, Film Independent, Outfest, and The Gotham. Natalie has directed commercial and documentary work for Hyundai, TIME, YouTube, and Breakwater Studios. She is currently a Sundance Ignite & PBS Creative Voices Fellow and has participated in artist programs with Outfest, Film at Lincoln Center, GLAAD, and more.

Gone Fishin’: Following her grandmother’s death, a young woman journeys to the Blue Ridge Mountains with the man her grandmother loved late in life to honor her memory.

April Maxey

April Maxey is a writer/director from San Antonio, Texas, based in Los Angeles. Her short film, WORK, was made in AFI’s DWW+ program and played at Sundance, Tribeca, Palm Springs Shortfest, Inside Out, and Outfest, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and is distributed by OTV. Her feature screenplay for WORK was selected for the WIF x Sundance Financing Intensive, the NALIP Feature Media Accelerator, Film Independent’s Fast Track, Gotham Week Project Market, and was awarded a development grant from One House x Sundance. April is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, the Sundance Uprise Fellowship, the Warner Bros Discovery Directors Access Program, and the Adobe x Sundance Women to Watch Fellowship. Her short films have played at over 75 festivals across 18 countries and won 10 awards. As a queer Chicana filmmaker, April is passionate about stories that center underrepresented perspectives and explore the complexities of intimacy, grief, and healing. April’s directing approach is informed by a decade of experience working as a director of photography and editor.

Texas Daughter: A Chinese actress retreats to a Texas ranch to prepare for a role in a neo-Western, but when she falls for the tough Tejana cowgirl who’s training, she’s forced to confront the fears holding her back.

Alejandra Vazquez

Alejandra Vasquez is a Mexican-American filmmaker raised between rural Texas and the San Francisco Bay Area. Her feature directorial debut, GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI, co-directed with Sam Osborn, premiered at Sundance 2023, won the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award in the U.S. Documentary Competition, and is now streaming on Netflix.

Her short films include xi (Independent Lens), winner of Best Texas Short at SXSW; Baca (LA Times Short Docs), commissioned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); and When It’s Good, It’s Good (POV Shorts), a co-production with Latino Public Broadcasting currently streaming on the Criterion Channel.

Alejandra began her career as a producer at Hard Working Movies, working alongside Lori Cheatle. She has contributed to acclaimed documentaries such as Matangi/Maya/M.I.A (2018), Us Kids (2020), Plan C (2023), and most recently co-produced Nanfu Wang’s HBO Original Documentary, Night is Not Eternal (2024).

Now based in Los Angeles, Alejandra co-founded Masa Films with Sam Osborn, where they are developing, producing, and directing nonfiction and narrative projects. She is currently writing her first feature script, Half Orange, with support from the SFFILM Rainin Fellowship.

Crystal City: When a Chicana cheerleader is denied the chance to try out for the Crystal City High School squad, she leads a student walkout that transforms her town – and the future of Chicano civil rights.

Lindsey Villarreal

Lindsey Villarreal is a television writer and independent feature writer and director. Her television credits include La Máquina (Hulu), The Mayfair Witches and Tales of the Walking Dead (AMC), George and Tammy (Showtime), Resident Evil (Netflix), Vida (Starz) and The Purge (USA).

Her recent recognitions include The Gotham's 2025 Series Creators to Watch and The Gotham Week's 2025 U.S. Features in Development. Lindsey is a 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Intensive Fellow and recipient of the 2024 Sundance Horror Fellowship. 

She currently has original pilots in development with FX Networks, Onyx Collective, 20th Television and is a recent graduate of the WGA’s 2025 Showrunner Training Program. On the feature side, Lindsey is developing several projects including collaborations with directors Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, Morrisa Maltz and Josephine Decker as well as actress Noomi Rapace.  

Lindsey is an alumnus of the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Austin. She is originally from San Antonio, Texas, an avid marathon runner and before her writing career, she worked as a caricature artist in theme parks across the country.

Organized Parts: A surrealist body-horror about a daughter cataloging her father’s dismembered body parts only to discover she’s unraveling too.

About NALIP The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) is a nonprofit organization that addresses the professional needs of Latino content creators and industry professionals. For over twenty years, NALIP has been devoted to the advancement of Latino creatives across all media platforms. Today, we stand as the premier organization leading the support and advocacy of Latino content creators. NALIP’s programs and events aim to propel the careers of creatives through connections, resources, mentorship, and valuable insight about the state of media and entertainment. Standing at the forefront of systemic change within the industry, our organization works with industry leaders towards cultivating a more inclusive future both on and off screen.

Media Contact:  Johanna Calderon-Dakin johannadakin@gmail.com 

Nicole Marostica  nmarostica@truenorthmediamanagement.com