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Alyssa Nahmias is an Emmy-winning filmmaker and founder of the Los Angeles-based production company AJNA. Alice’s directing credits include Cookie Queenswhich recently premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and won the SXSW Festival Favorite Audience Award; 2022 Emmy winner Art and crime with crimes (2021) for MTV Docs/Paramount+; and Unfinished spaces (2011), which won the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award, was distributed by Netflix and PBS and is on permanent display at MoMA New York. His producer and executive producer credits include wild cat (2022); Domestic (2025), a mess (2017); I didn’t see you there (2021); There is no light and no light anywhere (2016), among others. Nahmias is a 2026 Independent Film Award winner and a 2019 Sundance Momentum Fellow. He is a frequent advisor to Sundance Catalyst, Film Independent Labs, and Global Media Makers, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Television Academy, and co-founder of FWD-Doc. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner, two children, and a kitten.
IDA: Can you share a little about your background and the experiences that have shaped you as a storyteller?
Alisa Nahmias: I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, in a multicultural family that valued creativity, storytelling, and a diversity of perspectives. I loved drawing and painting and I loved watching movies. I knew I was an artist since I was a child, but I didn’t try to be a professional artist or filmmaker. In college, I took studio art classes in addition to my academics because it took me a while to realize that being an artist was more than just a hobby for me.
IDA: You studied art and architecture. How did that background lead you to the documentary?
AN: My interest in architecture came together with filmmaking. The initial spark came in 2001 during a research trip to Cuba. I was studying architecture in Havana when I met an architect who asked me to help him tell his story in a documentary. This film became my debut feature film. Unfinished spacesA story about the Cuban National School of Art, which I directed with Benjamin Murray. While making that film, I fell in love with both architecture and cinema. I decided to pursue a master’s degree in architecture, which I did during the summers while filming in Cuba. When I finished the film ten years later, the feeling of sharing it with the audience was exhilarating and I decided to quit my job in architecture and continue making films. With visual storytelling, I especially felt the foundation of art and design.
IDA: Unfinished spaces It took about ten years to make and went on to win an Independent Spirit Award and a place in MoMA’s permanent collection. Looking back, what did that long, uncertain process teach you that has shaped how you’ve approached every project since?
AN: I would never have started my first film if I had known how much time it would take and how much it would demand of me. But I’m glad I didn’t know enough to stop because I wouldn’t take any of those trips back now. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I enjoy the ambiguity of the documentary creative process. When we start, we don’t know how this story might end. At the same time, I always feel an unwavering clarity why I am telling a story. It’s like a north star to follow along the way. North Star to make Unfinished spaces There has been a question of whether Utopia is worth continuing, even though it is impossible, or perhaps because it is impossible. I wanted to explore this question, no matter where the journey took me. I wanted to go on this adventure with the people I worked with. He sees how Unfinished spaces has lived on and influenced the world for the past fifteen years since its premiere. Clearly, finding and following the North Star can create a lasting work of art that transcends trends.
IDA: You alternate between directing your own films and those for other directors, including Jennifer Brea. a mess (2017) and Reid Davenport on I didn’t see you there (2022). Whether you’re directing your own film or producing someone else’s, is there something about your approach that remains the same regardless of the role you’re playing?
AN: Whether I’m a director or a producer, I want to keep in mind that it’s a joy and honor to be a storyteller. Most days I wake up wanting to do the work I get to do, and that work helps connect and inspire others. I also like to remind myself that the best idea can – and often does – come from anyone in the room – and often from where I least expect it. Whether I’m a director or a producer, I work to make sure I don’t miss it. It could be coming from my mind. It could be from someone else on my team or even someone he meets. So it’s welcoming, open and inclusive, no matter what role I play on the team. I try to respect everyone in the team, be true to myself and share my ideas freely.
IDA: Your new movie, Cookie QueensIt premiered at Sundance and will hit theaters this August. What drew you to Girl Scout Cookie Season as a subject, and what did you find in the world that surprised you?
AN: When my last film Art and crime with crimes It premiered, my kids watched it, even though it wasn’t intended for a young audience. They said they liked it, and then asked me to make my next film a film that they would really want to share with their friends. It was a difficult challenge for me as a director and as a parent!
Soon after that, I heard a story about a precocious young top seller of girl cookies. I was immediately struck by the idea that this could be an entertaining, highly visual world and an exploration of the intersection of girlhood and capitalism. I wondered how Girl Scouts don’t just rehearse to participate in economics; They generate $800 million in annual cookie sales. I decided to observe how young Girl Scouts learn the rules of the economic “game” and understand their value in it.
I was really surprised at how many women were scouts. I wasn’t a Girl Scout, but every third American woman was, including my mother. It’s not something people talk about all the time, but after I do it Cookie QueensOf course, friends told me their Girl Scout stories. Even though they were kicked out of their army for some ridiculous reason, if it was the most meaningful and safe space they experienced as children, it seems to be something everyone remembers. I was also impressed by many of the troop leaders I met. These people are mostly women (and some men) who spend an incredible amount of time volunteering and care deeply about creating real community for the young people in their lives. And it’s something young people can experience not just through Girl Scouting, but through sports, music or other activities — that make history. Cookie Queens There is a wider resonance because most of the film is focused not on sales, but on the coming-of-age stories of each girl in the context of their family and community.
IDA: What was it? Cookie Queens acceptance? Does it resonate with the impact you hoped the film would inspire?
AN: The impact has been amazing in many different ways since its world premiere at Sundance in January. Women and girls see themselves as multifaceted, complex characters on screen. Men – and not just dads – really appreciate the special vision of girlhood they see on screen Cookie Queens. Men in the audience say it helps them understand the challenges girls face as children, as well as the hard work Girl Scouts do to sell the cookies they love to eat. My brother even heard the movie being talked about on the Fantasy Football podcast! It makes perfect sense, because cookie season is no different than sports season for these girls, who train hard to succeed.
It was interesting for me to see how many young people come to the theaters to watch this non-fiction film. I don’t think I saw my first documentary in a theater until college. It feels the impact Cookie Queens Bringing multi-generational audiences to theaters at festivals and soon to hundreds of theaters across the country. I enjoy hearing children laugh or turning to a parent to whisper something in the theater. I love it when kids ask me during the Q&A if there are kids in the movie real. I’ve had great conversations with kids about truth, nonfiction, and media literacy after watching this film through programs like SFFILM Festival educational screenings and at the Girl Scout National Convention where I watched it. Cookie Queens this past week. The film also sparks important conversations about labor rights and how Girl Scouts can get more money per box of cookies they sell. I look forward to these conversations when the film is in wider release.
IDA: For our members who want to watch Cookie Queens And stay connected with your work, what’s the best way to watch a movie and keep an eye on your upcoming projects?
AN: Cookie Queens It will open in about 500 cinemas across the country on August 7. This is the wide release of any indie film, and especially a documentary. I hope people will want to watch it with their family and friends. Ticket information is available at cookiequeensfilm.com and on Instagram @cookiequeensfilm. My production company AJNA Films is at ajnafilms.com and on Instagram @ajna.films.
IDA: Looking ahead, what lies ahead? Are there any upcoming projects you can share with us?
AN: I don’t like doing the same thing twice. However, I still enjoy working with good people. I have a new directorial project in active development with a wonderful team that I’m excited to share. Some of the new production projects on my slate at AJNA Films are collaborating with directors and producers I have worked with on past films. I’m producing a new feature documentary with a team I’ve been working with wild cat and producer Mridhu Chandra, which is currently shooting in India. Another feature produced with director Todd Chandler and producers Keith Wilson, Nora Wilkinson and Heidi Flescher who I met while working on Reed Davenport’s film. I didn’t see you there and Jennifer Brea a mess. I am also developing an immersive film project Planetarium with artist Janani Balasubramanian and theater producer Alyssa Simmons. I do quite a bit of production and consulting work for other directors on story and strategy, including a recent Tribeca premiere. kids like me Directed by Cynthia Lowen and John Kors with my friend and FWD-Doc co-founder Jim Lebrecht.
