About

Gusto Moving Pictures is an independent documentary production company based in New Orleans. We specialize in films that are rooted in the places we call home. We believe in working with local filmmakers to tell local stories. We believe in cultivating local talent from emerging storytellers, artists and technicians. Our budgets and productions strive to have an authentic and ethical relationship with our collaborators.

Darcy McKinnon

Producer, Principal
darcy@gustomovingpictures.com

Darcy McKinnon is a documentary filmmaker based in New Orleans, whose work focuses on the American South and the Caribbean. Recently released projects include Roleplay (SXSW 2024), A King Like Me (SXSW 2024), Commuted (PBS, 2024), Algiers, America (Hulu, 2023), Under G-d (Sundance 2023), Look at Me! XXXTENTACION (SXSW, Hulu, 2022) and The Neutral Ground (Tribeca, POV, 2021), recipient of LEH Documentary of the Year 2022. Current projects in production include Jason Fitzroy Jeffers’ The First Plantation, A King Like Me, Abe Felix’s Turnaround, CJ Hunt’s Unlearned and Suzannah Herbert’s Natchez. Her work has been on POV, Reel South, LPB, Cinemax and Hulu, and has screened at Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, CPH:DOX and more. Darcy is an alum of the Impact Partners Producing Fellowship and the Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellowship, and a recipient of American Documentary’s Creative Visionary Award in 2023.

Rachel Witwer

Producer
rachel@gustomovingpictures.com

Rachel Witwer’s background is in arts management and public health. She is a producer on Jason Fitzroy Jeffers’ The First Plantation and Marion Hill’s short “Uncle at sea (Chú đi biển)” (New Orleans Film Festival, 2022). She has previously managed programs for the international health organization LearnToLive and operations for the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC), and now for Gusto Moving Pictures, as well as managing operations and line production. Based in New Orleans, she’s also a non-fiction podcast fangirl.

Katie Pham

Associate Producer
katie@gustomovingpictures.com

Katie Pham is a born-and-raised New Orleanian, and provides operational, producing and archival support at Gusto. She’s a Co-Producer on Roleplay and an Associate Producer on The Gardeners, The Neutral Ground, Commuted, Stayers, and The Souls Will Wander. She also has experience in film festival operations, at festivals including the New Orleans Film Festival and Overlook Film Festival. Katie is a graduate of Loyola University, with a double major in Criminology and Entertainment Industry Studies and a minor in Mass Communications.

Manuel Santos

Associate Post and Design

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Manuel Santos is a recent graduate of Loyola University New Orleans with a major in Graphic Design and a minor in Art History. Manuel wants to use design in a way that can help others and innovate change, and is interested in art across disciplines.