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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.

Meet the Team

Darcy McKinnon
Producer, Principal

  • Darcy McKinnon is a documentary filmmaker based in New Orleans, whose work focuses on the American South and the Caribbean. Most recently she premiered Suzannah Herbert’s Natchez, which won Best Documentary at Tribeca 2025, along with special jury mentions for cinematography and editing. Having been awarded 17 festival awards and named one of the National Board of Review’s best documentaries of 2025, Natchez will be theatrically released by Oscilloscope in 2025, and scheduled for broadcast on Independent Lens in 2026. Other recently released projects include Turnaround, which premiered at NOFF 2025,  A King Like Me (Netflix) and Roleplay (Reel South), premiering at 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, CJ Hunt’s Unlearned,  Brian Becker’s Untitled Swamp Documentary, Zac Manuel’s The Instrument, Alyse Shorland’s The People’s Network, and Nicole Craine’s Kinfolk.  Her work has been on World Channel, AfroPop, POV, Reel South, LPB 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, a member of the Documentary Producer’s Alliance,  a recipient of American Documentary’s Creative Visionary Award in 2023, and the 2025 Lumière Award, granted by the New Orleans Film Society to champions of Southern filmmaking.

  • darcy@gustomovingpictures.com

Rachel Witwer
Producer

  • 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 line produces Gusto projects, and handles the company’s business operations. An operations professional proficient in spinning many plates, she also finds time to support the international health organization LearnToLive and operations for the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC). Born in DC and based in New Orleans, she’s also a non-fiction podcast fangirl.

  • rachel@gustomovingpictures.com

Alena Cover
Assistant Editor

  • Alena Cover is from Iowa and based in New Orleans. She is an assistant editor on The First Plantation (dir. Jason Fitzroy Jeffers), Unlearned (dir. CJ Hunt), Turnaround (dir. Abe Felix), and Kinfolk (dir. Nicole Craine). She edited the documentary short The Buzz of St. Roch (dir. Patrice Jones, Carl Harrison), and is currently editing Nick Corrao’s American Monkey. Previous experience includes assistant editing on Emeril Cooks and Miss Universe.

Katie Pham
Co-Producer +

  • Katie Pham produces documentary and narrative films.  A native New Orleanian, she connects the dots as a Co-Producer at Gusto Moving Pictures, supporting development, field producing, archival research and impact distribution.  Her documentary credits include Associate Producer on Suzannah Herbert’s Natchez (Tribeca Best Documentary 2026), Co-Producer on Katie Mathews’ Roleplay (SXSW 2024, Reel South 2026), A King Like Me (dir. Matthew O. Henderson, Netflix 2025) Commuted (dir. Nailah Jefferson, PBS 2024), Under G-d (dir. Paula Eiselt, Sundance 2023), and The Neutral Ground (dir. CJ Hunt, Tribeca 2021).  Current projects in production include The Gardeners (dir. Crystal Kayiza), Talking Tiki (dir. Casey Beck and Asali Echols), Chinatown Down South (dir. Nancy Lauland),  The First Plantation (dir. Jason Jeffers), Kinfolk (dir. Nicole Craine) and more.  Her narrative film work includes Arielle Knight’s And Counting, and Just Say Yes (Christine Hoang), alongside commercials and music videos.  Her background also includes film festival operations and creative direction, including recently being a juror for Documentaries for the 2026 Atlanta Film Festival.

  • katie@gustomovingpictures.com

Equipment Rentals

    • Fuji T2.9 MK 18-55mm lens

    • Fuji T2.9 MK 50-135mm lens

    • Sony BP Batteries (U90, U70, U35)

    • Sony XQD Cards, card readers

    • Sachtler Flowtech 75 MS Carbon Fiber Tripod

    • SONY FE 24mm f/1.4 GM Lens

    • RS3 Pro Gimbal Stabilizer Combo

Reserve Equipment