Emmy-winning filmmaker Alexandria Stapleton, whose recent films include Sean Combs: The Reckoning and The Brittney Griner Story, is headlining the fourth annual Houston Media Conference.
The four-day event unites filmmakers, producers, crew members, podcasters, actors, journalists, marketers, educators, students and more to discuss the future of Houston’s media industry.
The event builds on the momentum of the rising film hub, which recently joined the top 10 big cities on our annual list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker. The event, running from Thursday through the weekend, has the theme “Breaking Silos. Building Stories.”
It will explore how Houston creators can tap into the unique complexity, humor, contradictions and cultural richness of the largest city in Texas, and fourth-largest city in America. You can find the full schedule here.
Stapleton, a 2017 Emmy winner for SoCal Connected, was also up for two Emmys this year for her phenomenal docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning. Her keynote at this year’s conference, presented by the Houston Cinema Arts Society and Southwest Alternate Media Project, is entitled “The Advantage of Here: Houston Stories Told With Authenticity.”
“Alex’s work shows what becomes possible when a filmmaker treats Houston not as a backdrop, but as a source of history, contradiction and creative power,” said Katie Creeggan-Ríos, executive director of Houston Cinema Arts Society. “That is exactly the spirit of this year’s conference: bringing people out of their lanes, giving them access to one another and building an industry that recognizes the value of stories made from here.”
“Breaking silos only matters if people leave with something they can use,” said Randee Ramsey, executive director of SWAMP, as the organization celebrates its 50th year. “We have built these four days around the realities media makers face now: how to strengthen the work, finance it, find an audience, use new tools responsibly and build the relationships that keep a creative career moving.”
Other confirmed featured speakers also include Stephanie Wittels-Wachs, Houston-born author, co-founder and CEO of Lemonada Media and host of Last Day; producer and executive producer Jared Ian Goldman, whose credits include the Academy Award-nominated Loving, Ingrid Goes West, The Skeleton Twins, Russian Doll, and the new Ponies; Houston-raised, Rice University-educated producer Elizabeth Avellán, whose credits include El Mariachi, Spy Kids and Sin City; and Houston-trained director, writer, producer and actor Nell Teare, writer-director of the feature film Bolivar.
Stapleton discussed the importance of authenticity in a recent MovieMaker interview, in which she noted: “One thing that I know to be true is that all you have is your name. … As documentarians, our names and our reputations are really important. Even in gaining the trust of people to sit down with me for this film, they went to past films that I had done to be able to judge, ‘Well, what does she do? What kind of stuff does she put out there?’”
Her other documentaries include 2011’s Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel, the 2023 Reggie Jackson film Reggie, and her latest, The Brittney Griner Story.
The conference’s vendor floor will showcase production tools, services and organizations including Other World Computing (OWC), Godox Photo Equipment, the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA), Suite Bread and Captiv Studios/Captiv Creative. The 2026 conference is supported by industry partners including the Houston Film Commission, Texas Film Commission and Houston Association of Producers.
More Highlights of the Houston Media Conference
Here are more planned events, courtesy of the conference.
“Building Worlds: What Film and Television Can Teach Us About Creative Careers, Regional Ecosystems, and the Future of Media” – Producer Jared Ian Goldman uses worldbuilding as a practical framework for creative careers, companies and regional media ecosystems, asking attendees to help articulate the media world Houston wants to build.
“When Home Isn’t Home – From Texas to the Screen: The Wrong Paris” – Executive producer Kelly Frazier and screenwriter Nicole Henrich examine the creative, financial and logistical decisions that determine where a project is made, using a Texas-developed film ultimately produced elsewhere as a candid industry case study.
“Film Finance 101: Building Your Finance Plan Before You Shoot” – VYRE.tv co-founder and CEO David Hill leads a four-hour, hands-on workshop in which filmmakers can build a working finance plan and examine funding sources, incentives and the practical decisions that must happen before production begins.
“Good Brand, Goode Company: A Conversation on Building Story Into the Menu” – Jessie Dickerson, Executive Director of Brand at Goode Company, offers a candid look at stewarding the voice and next chapter of a nearly five-decade Houston institution.
Hands-on craft, business and technology programming – The schedule spans virtual production demonstrations, screenwriting and directing intensives, film financing, casting, production accounting, podcasting, music supervision and sync, audience development, marketing, AI workflows and ethics, personal branding, Texas production resources and the changing distribution landscape.
The Houston Cinema Arts Society describes itself as engaging, enriching and empowering Houston’s diverse cultures and communities through film and arts programming. “HCAS connects audiences and artists through public, educational and career-advancing programs; supports regional and underrepresented filmmakers; and works to strengthen a sustainable film culture in Houston. Its year-round work includes the Houston Cinema Arts Festival, Houston Media Conference, CineSpace, Houston Filmmaker Showcase, Borders | No Borders and community partnerships across the city,” according to the conference.
The Southwest Alternate Media Project, meanwhile, is a Houston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit “dedicated to promoting the creation and appreciation of film and media arts. Through professional development workshops, screenings, works-in-progress programs, networking and community engagement, SWAMP nurtures independent filmmakers, celebrates diverse voices and supports the future of film culture across the region.”
Conference badges and vendor booth registration are available at cinemahtx.org/hmc, and more information is available at hmc26.eventive.org. Schedule and participants are subject to change.
Main image: A panel at last year’s Houston Media Conference. Photo by MG Gillis-Gambrell / Houston Media Conference.
