MEET LUCILA MOCTEZUMA
“I love the creative process and the quiet unfolding of a filmmaker’s vision as it takes shape. It is a space that can feel fragile and unsteady, full of uncertainty and discovery, yet also deeply transformative when it is met with the right care and support.“
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Disciplines: Documentary film, experimental film/video art
Lucila Moctezuma (she/her) is founding producer at Azul Turquesa Films and a consultant supporting documentary filmmakers and media organizations in the U.S. and internationally. Originally from Mexico City and based in Brooklyn, NY, she has built a career championing nonfiction directors through leadership roles at renowned organizations such as Chicken & Egg Films, UnionDocs, Women Make Movies, Tribeca Film Institute, and the Rockefeller Foundation Media Arts Fellowships, where she led programs supporting hundreds of award-winning filmmakers through grants, labs, and mentorship, fostering professional careers in the field. She has also programmed for international festivals including Hot Docs in Canada and the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico, and is currently Senior Consultant for Artist Programs at Points North Institute, where she co-leads the Diane Weyermann Fellowship. She is a 2019 JustFilms Ford Foundation / Rockwood Leadership Institute Fellow, a 2025 EAVE Producers Workshop alumna, and a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Work
mentor profile
What interests you about mentoring?
“I love the creative process and the quiet unfolding of a filmmaker’s vision as it takes shape. It is a space that can feel fragile and unsteady, full of uncertainty and discovery, yet also deeply transformative when it is met with the right care and support. I am drawn to being present with artists in this in between place, where stories are still forming and everything is in motion. My work as mentor is about helping hold that process steady enough for clarity to emerge, while staying close to the original impulse that sparked it. I aim to support filmmakers in trusting their instincts, strengthening their voice, and finding their way toward the work they are trying to make with confidence and intention.”
Given your experience and interests, what kind of emerging artist do you feel best positioned to support?
“I am interested in working with nonfiction filmmakers working on a project of any length, at any stage of development. They can be at any stage of their career, from emerging to advanced, including advanced career in another discipline expanding their practice to nonfiction. I meet filmmakers where they are and we take it from there.”
As a mentor, what would you like to offer an emerging artist? What would you like to receive?
“I am really very open and can talk about any aspect of the process in nonfiction filmmaking. I can work with filmmakers deeply exploring the form and finding innovative ways of telling a story, or with others where the subject matter is driving story. I enjoy the creative process the most, finding the story and structure of the film, at any stage, from development and early production to close to completion, but can also advise on fundraising strategy, pitching markets and forums, festival strategy, career development in the field.”
Have you had mentors of your own? Who have they been?
“Yes, many, many along the way. A couple of times they were my bosses at the organizations where I worked, but also people I have met in life, who supported me and cared and saw something in me that I hadn't seen, and they encouraged me to thrive and flourish, and not give up :)”
This Mentor is open to working with Fellows either remotely or in-person!