Christopher Stoudt

In 2016, the League of American Orchestras conducted a study that revealed a shocking statistic: only 1.8% of the professional orchestra workforce in the US is Black. From an old church rec room in the inner city of Los Angeles, former lawyer-turned-conductor Chuck Dickerson is on a mission to change that.

With his majority Black and Latino youth orchestra — the largest of its kind in the country — Chuck is creating opportunities for his community that did not previously exist. The Orchestra Chuck Built is a loving portrait of a tireless mentor and the orchestra members whose lives have been transformed by music.

• Audience Award, MountainFilm

• Screened at over 75+ film festivals

• Releasing 2024 on The New Yorker

• Part of the American Film Showcase, 2025

"Four Seasons Total Documentary” takes us back to November 7th, 2020, when Rudy Giuliani gave an infamous press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping just as the presidential election was being called for Joe Biden.

Premiered on MSNBC. Now streaming on Peacock.

Nestled in the woods of Michigan, Camp ALEC is a literacy-focused summer camp for non-speaking kids who use electronic AAC devices to communicate.

Co-produced by The Kennedy/Marshall Company.

Premiering on Disney+ in Fall 2022 for the “People & Places” series revival.

One Buck Won’t Hurt follows four Black teenagers from New Orleans who support themselves by tap dancing for tips in the French Quarter. Following them from adolescence to adulthood, this coming-of-age story explores the reckless joys of youth and the bitter pains of growing up fast in the incarceration capital of the world.

New Orleans Film Festival, Washington West Film Festival, BendFilm, Reading Film Festival.

"Lost L.A.: Descanso Gardens" explores the history of one of Southern California's most beloved public gardens. From its pre-colonial origins as an oak woodland to its contemporary role as a living museum, the film examines how the Descanso Gardens reflects the social, political, and cultural evolution of Los Angeles.

Aired on KCET in July 2017. Garnered a Los Angeles Emmy nomination for Outstanding Director.

Single dad Christopher “Tattoo” Fontes is enmeshed in drugs and petty crime when his son Damian is born. Now, he must confront a lifetime of trauma to become the father he never had––and the father Damian deserves.

Premiered at Sarasota Film Festival, 2022.

Patron Saint of Jazz Fest is a loving look at the colorful fans, vibrant culture, and soulful music that make up the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The film follows three Jazz Fest “die-hards” who experience the festival with such joy and obsessive fervor that attending Jazz Fest has become not just a fun annual tradition, but a soul-nourishing act bordering on religious devotion.

Screened at the DTLA Film Festival (2018), Cinema on the Bayou Festival (2019), and the American Documentary Film Fest (2019).

Produced for Vid.me as a pilot for their web “Maker” series.

On November 15th, 2017, Wilbert Jones walked free after 46 years of being wrongfully incarcerated. In 1971, he was imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit, and his legal team at IPNO has been fighting for his freedom since 2003.

Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) is a non-profit law office that represents innocent prisoners serving life sentences in Louisiana and Mississippi. Working with various members of the judicial system IPNO has freed over 30 innocent prisoners and assisted with their transition into the free world. IPNO uses its cases to explain how wrongful convictions happen, and what we can all do to prevent them.

A short film produced in collaboration with the New Orleans lifestyle brand DNO and the New Orleans Boxing Club.

dno.la

In the vibrant city of New Orleans, Mr. Okra is a man like no other. For the last 50 years, Arthur Robinson, aka Mr. Okra, has been delivering fresh produce in the back of his pickup truck to his community. It’s enough to make him quite the celebrity in his little pocket of the world, and one of the last singing vegetable vendors.

Produced for 60 Second Docs. Winner of the 2017 Louisiana Tourism video contest.

Jeffrey Briar trains members of the Laughter Yoga Institute, a laughing club in Laguna Beach, California that works on the principle that the body cannot differentiate between “real” and deliberate laughter. Science suggests that laughter of both kinds can promote health benefits like cardiovascular fitness and better mood. Most importantly, the laughter yoga class can help total strangers forge new friendships -- all to a lively laugh track.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

On the ten year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, areas of New Orleans are still devastated. In this video, locals explain how time doesn't heal all wounds - despite small signs of recovery - and how circumstances beyond their control have left them feeling trapped.

A short film produced for 60 Second Docs. Featured on Huffington Post.

Chuck McCarthy of Los Angeles, California, is a professional people walker. For $7 a mile, The People Walker will escort you wherever you need to go, acting as a chaperone/chauffeur hybrid who doubles as a therapist, a friend and whatever else you seek in a sidewalk stroll. What’s more, Chuck, who’s also an actor, benefits too: he’s lost weight, made new friends, and found new perspectives while running -- that is, walking -- his own business.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

Eight-year-old Sky Brown came to America from Japan with her parents and younger brother, Ocean, to skateboard…and she’s making plenty of waves in the process. Just this year, Sky became the youngest girl to compete against adults at the Vans' Open Pro Series. But shaking up the male-dominated sport is hardly a big deal. For Sky, if she can inspire future generations of girls to pursue their dreams, she’d be as happy.

Produced for 60 Second Docs. Went viral in November 2018, receiving over 25 million views.

When Ryan Hickman was just 3 years old, he went with his father to recycle for the first time. After sorting his bottles and cans, he became obsessed with recycling, and how it can help save the environment, and decided to start his own business – Ryan’s Recycling Company. Now 7, Ryan has disposed of more than 200,000 bottles and cans and earned about $21,000. It’s all in a hard day’s work.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

Performance artist and unlikely chef Tom Brown is bringing strangers together around the tiny kitchen, where he’s serving up tiny foods and words of wisdom. Along with his fully functional portable kitchen, Tom has made more than 300 utensils and tools that he uses to cook up real, edible miniature foods. He may be passing out free lunches, but the gifts he gets from his customers are worth all the work.

Produced for 60 Second Docs. Received over ten million views.

Reggie Brown never thought he’d be known for his looks, but that all changed around the time Barack Obama was hitting the national stage. With his uncanny resemblance to the 44th President of the United States, Reggie has become the most famous Barack Obama impersonator in the world. And with the new President Donald Trump's administration settling in, Reggie’s star continues to shine.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

48-year-old Christopher Dennis' life didn't go as planned. After some early success as an actor and model, Dennis struggled with drugs and eventually found himself on Hollywood Boulevard, working for tips from tourists as a Superman impersonator. Still, Dennis finds purpose in brightening other peoples' lives.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

32-year-old Ace Venom (his legal name) identifies as a Jedi realist. And like Jedi from Star Wars films, Ace relies upon a philosophy of righteousness and helping others to endure his day-to-day struggles in Portland, where rising rent prices have left him and his fiancée homeless.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

80-year-old Shirley Curry defies grandma stereotypes by becoming one of the oldest avid Skyrim players in the world. She believes video games keep her mind active and says other people her age could benefit greatly from slaying virtual dragons.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

The Sisters of the Valley is a medicinal cannabis company run by Christine Meeusen and Darcy Johnson in California's Central Valley. Their mission? To erase the negative stigma around weed, and end human suffering as best they can. Their iconic nun outfits aren't worn as part of any organized religion -- but rather as a sign of devotion to the plant.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

19-year-old Christopher from California overcomes his social anxiety by dressing up as a neon green fox named Kona. But it’s not just about making himself feel better, it’s about spreading the happiness as far as it will go.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

37-year-old Michael Medlin, known around Hollywood as "Red Bull," has turned autograph collecting into a bustling business. It's hard work and it gets messy, but for this movie fanatic, getting up close and personal with Hollywood's elite is enough to stomach the struggle.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

Some people have dogs, George Langworthy has bees. In Los Angeles, where it is now legal to keep hives in your backyard, George is one of a number of beekeepers helping to preserve bee species that have seen a severe drop in numbers over the last several years. And his work could not be any more important.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.

A self-described artist and teacher, 57-year-old Lionel Powell dresses up as a tree every day and roams the Venice Beach boardwalk, spreading his "smell the roses" philosophy as the Treeman of Venice. What to know the answers to life's biggest questions? Ask a tree. This is what keeps him going in a world that values money over happiness.

Produced for 60 Second Docs.