WXF August 2025 Newsletter
WXF’s Visual Storytelling Workshop in Michigan
Our pilot “Visual Storytelling and Filmmaking Workshop” lit up Grand Rapids, Michigan, last week! Over three days, participants from across the state honed practical filmmaking skills while exploring Indigenous perspectives, led by industry pros Valerie Redhorse Mohl (Cherokee) and Dawn Jackson (Saginaw Chippewa) of Redhorse Native Productions. With support from Without Exception Films and the Reissa Foundation, our teaching team—including Charlotte Lubert, Wei Dai, Cori Fordham, and Charles Kennedy—covered everything from character development and camera tricks to using film as a tool for advocacy.
Attendees left with short films in hand, fresh creative energy, and new ideas for sparking change through storytelling.
Huge thanks to everyone involved—this is just the beginning!
📩 For workshop inquiries or future opportunities, please reach us at info@withoutx.com.
First Package-Style Screening for UNMUTED!
On July 26th, the Pakistan Film Society of Islamabad hosted the first package-style screening for UNMUTED! The event featured the episodes “Child Marriage” and “Unveiling the Scars.” Hanifa Nakiryowa, a central voice in “Unveiling the Scars,” and WXF’s Executive Producer Charlotte Lubert joined the virtual event and participated in a post-screening Q&A session, engaging in meaningful dialogue with attendees.
In May, we officially launched the UNMUTED grassroots screening tour, inviting organizations, universities, and communities around the world to host private and exclusive screenings. Each screening is accompanied by a discussion guide, promotional toolkit, and opportunities for deeper engagement with the content and its themes.
We look forward to participating in several upcoming screenings in the weeks ahead. There is still time to register and get involved with this powerful movement to end gender-based violence. We encourage you to be a part of this important initiative!
Sign up to host a screening here or email unmuted@picturemotion.com with any questions!
First Indigenous Woman to Attend Oxford Awarded Posthumous Degree
Original Article from St. Anne’s College
Born in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1873, Mākereti Papakura is believed to have been the first Indigenous woman to enroll at the University of Oxford, beginning her studies in 1927. During her time at Oxford, she conducted pioneering research that explored the customs of the Te Arawa people through a female perspective. Her work focused on the lived experiences of Māori women, covering topics such as menstruation, childbirth, and domestic life. Her work garnered the attention and respect of Oxford academics and was also honored by members of Māori communities.
Receiving a bicultural upbringing, which was uncommon at the time, Mākereti was able to integrate her Māori knowledge with a Western education. She learned English through private tutoring and gained international fame by becoming a tour guide for Western visitors to the Whakarewarewa thermal village in Rotorua. She later established the Rotorua Māori Choir, which showcased several aspects of Māori culture through music and performance, and published the book Guide to the Hot Lakes District and Some Māori Legends. Additionally, she provided care for soldiers from Aotearoa New Zealand who were treated in military hospitals in the United Kingdom during World War I.
She was widely accepted by the anthropological community at Oxford and delivered a lecture to the Anthropological Society titled “The Māori as He Was,” which attracted 142 members in attendance — a remarkable number for this event, which typically draws 20 people. Mākereti used her bicultural upbringing and drew heavily from her childhood experiences learning about Māori customs from her elders to inform her research at Oxford. Tragically, Mākereti passed away in 1930, weeks before she was scheduled to present her thesis. With her family’s permission, her work was published in a book titled The Old-Time Māori and became the first ethnographic study published by a Māori author. Now, nearly 100 years after she began her studies, Mākereti will be awarded a posthumous Master’s in Philosophy degree from the University.
DID YOU KNOW
Women were granted the right to enroll at Oxford only a few years prior to Mākereti’s admission. Not only was she the first Indigenous Māori student at Oxford, but also one of the earliest women to pursue academic study at the university.
Support us by donating to our impact campaign.
If you’ve enjoyed our newsletters, please consider contributing to our UNMUTED docuseries impact campaign to help us further our mission.
We aim to take UNMUTED on the road in 2025 by hosting screenings, panels, and policy workshops with our impact partners to put an end on the harmful practices on women and girls featured in the series. With your help, we are one step closer to stopping child marriage, stopping FGM/C and preventing acid violence by changing laws and minds.
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