Four UNM alumni earn prestigious NMDIG grants for film projects

Four University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts alumni have been selected as 2026 grant recipients for the New Mexico Documentary Incubator Grant, placing them amongst a cohort of very promising and notable up-and-coming filmmakers in New Mexico.

This prestigious award is highly competitive. Sixty applications were submitted from across the state for the 2026 program. Each awardee was chosen through a rigorous review process by a panel of eight jurors.

"This year's pool of applicants clearly demonstrates the extraordinary filmmaking talent and storytelling talent in New Mexico," said Greg Polk, NMDIG's program director.

The four alumni winners are Joanna Keane Lopez (BFA in Studio Arts), Cesca-Maria Segarra (BFA in Film and Digital Arts), Anton Sage (BFA in Film and Digital Arts), and Roger "RJ" Torres (BFA in Film and Digital Arts). All are tackling challenging community issues, including homelessness, the healthcare availability crisis, downwinder communities and prison overcrowding.

"UNM's excellent film program is an important source of both talented filmmakers and applicants to NMDIG," Polk said. "Of the 19 total filmmakers who have been funded to date, 10 have been UNM alumni."

While working on their projects, each awardee will have access to supportive resources, such as studio space, technical training and a network of New Mexico film-related professionals and institutions that will help provide advice and guidance throughout their projects.

At the heart of NMDIG's mission is providing financial and technical support to emerging and early-career documentary filmmakers across New Mexico to develop their talent and raise awareness of community issues and challenges specific to New Mexico.

"From its inception, NMDIG has recognized and supported the work of UNM Film and Digital Arts students and faculty. We are very grateful to this important organization for their commitment to socially engaged moviemaking in New Mexico," said James Stone, the department chair of UNM's Film and Digital Arts department. "NMDIG is strengthening the state's documentary scene, enhancing undergraduate research, and bringing to light important stories that might otherwise go unnoticed."

Filmmakers and their projects:

Joanna Keane Lopez
Film title: A Raven Croaked Like a Witch from a Dead Pine

Keane Lopez is an Albuquerque-based artist who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from UNM, graduating summa cum laude in 2016. Today, she is a multidisciplinary artist whose work examines land, vernacular architecture and militarized landscapes of the American West. She has recently made film a central element of her practice.

In her film, she explores the history and living realities of ranching communities within and around White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico by speaking with families who still ranch there today. She will share their oral histories while examining archival research and landscape observations through the lens of how military expansion has transformed the region.

"The project is rooted in my own family's history, while bringing together personal narrative and regional history to explore the enduring relationship between people and place," she said.

Her film will be available to view at History Colorado's Fort Garland Museum. She has also exhibited at many national institutions, including the San Jose Art Museum, the Sarasota Art Museum, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum.

"While at UNM, I worked closely with Professors Ligia Bouton and Ray Hernández-Durán, whose mentorship encouraged me to integrate research into my artistic practice. The interdisciplinary perspective I developed at UNM continues to inform both my artwork and my documentary filmmaking."

Anton Sage
Film title: Care in Crisis: New Mexico's Healthcare Shortage

Sage is a New Mexico-based filmmaker and producer with more than a decade of experience in documentary storytelling. He has produced numerous short-form documentaries and community-focused films for local institutions, nonprofits and cultural organizations.

He recently earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Arts from UNM, and his professional background includes further formal education, teaching experience and hands-on production, all of which position him as an emerging filmmaker within New Mexico's creative and civic landscape.

His film Care in Crisis will explore the healthcare shortage in New Mexico by sharing the lived experiences of those most affected, from patients and frontline providers to community advocates.

Cesca-Maria Segarra
Film title: Pill

Segarra is an Albuquerque-based filmmaker and educator who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film & Digital Arts from UNM in 2022. She is the founder and director of Casa del Creativo, where she writes, directs and produces short films and music videos, while leading collaborative teams and managing projects from conception through post-production.

She attributes Assistant Professor Stephanie Becker as an inspiration during her program for her willingness to show and discuss controversial films and filmmakers, saying, "It's this type of teaching that gives students the bravery to be unique in their craft and understand there is a history of filmmakers before them who carved the path of unapologetic storytelling."

In her film, Segarra will explore and share her observations on how fentanyl use and the housing crisis in New Mexico are connected. Her film will delve into the broader effects of administrative policy, the lack of personnel to help address the problem and the gap in substance education. She hopes her documentary will help reduce stigma and uplift the community in ways that help prevent future deaths.

"As I have dug deeper into the fentanyl and housing crisis in New Mexico, I've uncovered layers I never expected," she said. "The depth of the issue is in grave need of a spotlight."

Roger "R.J." Torres
Film title: 1980 New Mexico State Penitentiary Riot

Torres graduated from UNM in 2025 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Arts and was immediately hired full-time at NMPBS as a production tech, following an internship with the company.

His documentary will look at the reasons behind the 1980 Santa Fe prison riot. It stands as the most gruesome riot in American history, from why it occurred to how the inmates treated each other in horrific ways throughout the duration of the riot.

"Receiving this award means the world to me," he said. "Knowing someone believes in you and your project is a special feeling, and it really motivates me to keep going. I hope to make a difference with this project and to impact local policies as well as society as a whole, so we don't repeat history."

He credits UNM's program with shaping him into the person and filmmaker he is today, specifically the documentary production class he took with Professor Sylvia Johnson; it was where he became passionate about the purpose and power of documentaries. It is where he learned that his camera is an educational tool for sharing impactful, important events that benefit society.