STATESBORO — Alongside nine other producers, Georgia Southern University’s Assistant Professor of Multimedia Film and Production Abbey Hoekzema has been selected as a fellow for the 2020 Southern Producers Lab.

Presented by the New Orleans Film Society and focused on uniting producers across the South for a variety of projects and events, including discussion panels mentoring sessions, the program provides each fellow with travel support to New Orleans and New York, as well as a $2,000 support grant for any of their projects. Fellows are also expected to meet with industry leaders and more established producers to discuss topics such as festival strategy, funding, and story development.

Hoekzema, a documentary producer, is also the director of DOC Savannah, an organization that assists nonfiction filmmakers and communities across the South with the help of documentary film. The other fellows selected for the program hail from across the South, their places of origin ranging from Texas to Kentucky.

Though the lab typically meets in person, with the advent of the coronavirus outbreak, the program has been forced to go online. Mid-April marked the first meeting of the group with a virtual conference.

“In the age of COVID, having a support network like this is important for navigating uncharted waters,” Hoekzema said. “Every project in the lab has been affected by current events, and we can talk with each other about challenges we’re facing with our work.”

Davis Cobb, The George-Anne News Reporter, wc02248@georgiasouthern.edu