Industry Standard Announces 2026 Experience Residencies Cohort

When access meets talent, opportunity follows — and the 2026 Experience Residents are ready to seize it. Designed to open doors to relationships, institutional knowledge, and hands-on experience that often take years to navigate, the Experience Residency compresses what can be a five-year career trajectory into nine focused months of mentorship, immersion, and real-world practice.

Now, in its third cycle, the program continues to grow in both scale and reach.  Residents placed across a wide range of host studios learn not only from industry leaders, but from one another. Each studio brings its own culture, workflow, and expertise, expanding opportunities while strengthening the peer network that drives collaboration and innovation across the field.

This newest cohort of residents brings distinct voices, lived experiences, and creative ambition into some of the field’s most respected studios — deepening their own careers while contributing to a stronger, more connected creative ecosystem.

Introducing the 2026 Experience Residents‍

Meron Tebeje – Archival Research & Producing Resident at Archival Ninjas

Meron is an archival researcher, producer, and filmmaker who believes archives are living records that shape how stories are told and remembered. Her work spans documentary film, journalism, and community-based storytelling, with a focus on centering overlooked histories and personal narratives.

She has supported documentary projects with Firelight Media, Cortés Filmworks, and Ark Media, contributing research, fact-checking, and archival sourcing to films including Caregiving and Sun Ra: Do The Impossible, as well as helping steward oral history collections at Weeksville Heritage Center.

Meron also directed and edited the short documentary Always Tracy, which premiered at DOC NYC in 2025—further reflecting her commitment to elevating intimate, character-driven stories. She holds an MA in Journalism from CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an Ida B. Wells Fellow.

As an Archival Researcher and Producer at Archival Ninjas, Meron looks forward to growing within the company’s collaborative model, gaining mentorship and hands-on experience alongside leading archival professionals.

Rita Carmona – Sound Post Resident at Vaudeville Post and Mezzanine

Rita is a passionate sound professional whose path into film began with a love of documentary storytelling. After earning her MFA in Social Documentary from UC Santa Cruz, she worked on independent projects as a sound designer and mixer, contributing to films that have screened internationally and at festivals including NFFTY and SF Doc Fest. She has built experience across multiple sound roles, from production mixer to studio tech, developing a holistic understanding of the sound process. Constantly gathering sounds, recording foley, and experimenting with mixing techniques and new workflows, Rita approaches sound with curiosity and playfulness.

She joins Vaudeville Post and Mezzanine as the first Experience Resident to split time across multiple companies—an opportunity to expand her network and gain exposure to a range of sound post practices. Through the residency, Rita aims to refine her craft at a professional level, deepen her creative voice, and build meaningful collaborations across the filmmaking community.

Landon Bost – Editorial Resident at Ark Media

Landon is driven by a clear ambition: to deepen his craft and build a lasting career in documentary storytelling. Building his career outside a major market has strengthened his resilience, adaptability, and belief in the power of creative community. A graduate of the Handy Foundation Assistant Editor Training Program, Landon has refined his technical and collaborative skills across both documentary and fast-moving brand work for clients like W Hotels, Levi’s, and Amazon — environments where precision, rhythm, and bold creative choices sharpened his editorial instincts.

Through his work with the Post in Black podcast team, editing conversations with leading Black post-production professionals, he also expanded his understanding of craft, career growth, and representation.

Landon sees editing as both a technical discipline and an act of empathy — shaping narrative with intention and care. As an Editorial Resident at Ark Media, he is eager to contribute meaningfully to documentary projects, expand his studio-level experience, and grow within a community committed to powerful storytelling.

Zaki Farooqui – Editorial Resident at Union Editorial

Zaki is a Pakistani Muslim American filmmaker driven by a clear purpose: to challenge stereotypes and tell culturally resonant stories. Growing up in the aftermath of 9/11, he watched his father navigate misrepresentation, inspiring Zaki’s commitment to portraying marginalized communities with honesty and empathy.

Joining Union Editorial as an Editorial Resident, Zaki is excited to dive deeper into documentary storytelling, exploring story structure, editorial choices, and how studios decide which stories to bring to life. He’s especially interested in understanding what editors choose to highlight, what they leave out, and why—turning complex lives and events into compelling narratives.

Union Editorial’s work includes acclaimed documentaries such as Selena Gomez:  My Mind and Me, American Manhunt:  OJ Simpson + Osama Bin Laden, and Songs from the Hole, giving Zaki a chance to learn from some of the best in the field. With his energy, curiosity, and commitment to impactful storytelling, Zaki is eager to sharpen his voice and play a hands-on role in shaping stories that resonate worldwide.

Celi Mitidieri – Post Producing Resident at Union Editorial

Celi is a documentary filmmaker and emerging post producer whose journey from Brazil to Florida shaped her passion for storytelling. Drawn to documentaries for their intimacy and power to transform lived experiences into resonant narratives, she has developed a particular interest in post-production systems and workflows that turn raw material into compelling final forms.

An Academy Gold Rising Fellow, Celi has honed her technical skills, mentorship, and community-building, preparing her to contribute to larger-scale documentary projects. Navigating the industry as an immigrant and a woman, she has cultivated resilience, advocated for herself and others, and built networks with peers who share her values.

Joining Union Editorial as a Post Producer, Celi is eager to deepen her understanding of how top-tier documentary companies operate, collaborate with leading directors and producers, and gain the experience needed to thrive. She looks forward to contributing meaningfully while growing within a dynamic creative community.

Bridget Stevens – Post Producing Resident at Library Films

Bridget is a storyteller committed to culturally grounded narratives that reflect and connect diverse communities.  Having spent her early career in the fast-paced world of news, she built expertise across field production, scripting, post-production, archival research, sound selection, and rights clearance. Working on complex, time-sensitive projects taught her how to move quickly, think critically, and collaborate across teams to deliver compelling stories.

Joining Library Films as a Post Producer, Bridget is excited to deepen her expertise and learn from a studio known for ambitious, culturally resonant work, including the recently announced Andre Agassi docu-series for Apple TV+, the acclaimed series, Tiger King and Wham! for Netflix.

She is eager to continue developing her ability to take projects from start to finish, balancing creative vision with technical skill. With her energy, strategic thinking, and commitment to growth, Bridget looks forward to contributing meaningfully while building relationships within a vibrant documentary community.

Jason Peckham – Archival Research & Producing Resident at Campfire Studios

Jason has built extensive experience in documentary post-production, supporting teams as an assistant editor where they organized footage, assisted with story assembly, and collaborated closely with producers and editors to bring archival-driven projects to life. These hands-on experiences gave Jason a strong understanding of how archival material is selected, shaped, and integrated into compelling narratives.

While working on VISIBLE, Jason discovered a passion for archival producing and research, proactively taking on additional responsibilities to locate archival material and new storylines. On EQUAL, they continued to focus on archival work, organizing materials and accessing un-digitized documents at the NYPL Special Collections, providing detailed notes and transcriptions that supported producers and editors alike.

Joining Campfire Studios as an Archival Researcher and Producer, Jason is excited to learn within a studio recognized for its archive-driven work, including past projects like The Menendez Brothers and Unknown Number. They look forward to applying their post-production experience and growing through mentorship with leading archival professionals.

Victor Dias Rodrigues – Editorial Resident at RadicalMedia

Victor brings a global perspective and deep sense of purpose to his role as an Editorial Resident at RadicalMedia. Having moved between countries and cultures throughout his upbringing, he developed an early understanding of storytelling’s power to bridge divides and illuminate our shared humanity. That worldview shaped All Riders, the documentary he directed while at NYU Tisch, now streaming on PBS, which explores the fight for accessibility in New York City’s subway system. Through that process, Victor discovered the transformative power of editing and its ability to preserve memory, move audiences, and spark meaningful change. He also earned a New York Emmy for his work on the acclaimed documentary short Her Fight, His Name: The Story of Gwen Carr and Eric Garner.

At RadicalMedia—home to ambitious, culturally resonant projects including the upcoming Earth, Wind & Fire documentary—Victor looks forward to refining his craft, contributing to impactful stories, and continuing to grow within a dynamic creative community.

The Future, In Motion

The 2026 Experience Residents step into this journey with bold ideas, deep curiosity, and a commitment to shaping what comes next. We can’t wait to see how they transform access into advancement — and opportunity into impact.

‍Photography by Travis Emery Hackett