Geeta Gandbhir is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning director, producer, and editor. Her most recent film, “Apart,” co-directed with Rudy Valdez, is currently playing on HBO Max and her 2020 short film with Topic Studios, “Call Center Blues,” was shortlisted for a 2021 Academy Award. She recently directed an episode of the five-part series “Asian Americans” for PBS, which won a 2021 Peabody Award, and co-directed as well as co-produced the series “A Conversation on Race” with The New York Times Op-Docs. Her feature doc credits include HBO’s “I Am Evidence,” which won a 2019 Emmy, and PBS’ “Armed with Faith,” which won a 2019 News and Documentary Emmy. As an editor, she has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and won two. Her films have been nominated twice for Academy Awards, winning once, and have also won four Peabody Awards.

Samantha Knowles is a Brooklyn-based director. She partnered with Tribeca Studios to direct “Tangled Roots,” a short documentary that follows Attica Scott, the only Black woman in the Kentucky State legislature, as she fights to dismantle a system of discrimination against Black people for their hair. The film aired on BET, broadcasted on Showtime, and was an official selection in the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. She also directed “The Blue Line,” which examined the controversy that erupted when a small town painted a blue line on the street in support of police. It premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and is now part of the New York Times Op-Doc series. Knowles also directed the award-winning short documentary “Why Do You Have Black Dolls?” which focused on a small community of Black doll creators, curators, and collectors and examined the history and significance of the Black doll.

“Black and Missing” starts screening at the 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival on November 17. The fest runs from November 10-28.

“Black and Missing” premieres November 23 on HBO Max. Installments of the four-episode docuseries were also co-directed by Nadia Hallgren and Yoruba Richen.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

GG&SK: “Black and Missing” is a four-part documentary series that addresses an issue both at the heart of and yet often overlooked in the Black community: missing people: 40 percent of all people who go missing are African-American, though African-American people only make up 13 percent of the entire U.S. population.

The series tackles the issue by telling the stories of missing people through the eyes of two everyday women, former police officer Derrica Wilson and her sister-in-law, public relations executive Natalie Wilson. The sister-in-law duo, haunted by stories of missing POC, run the homegrown Black and Missing Foundation, a DC-based organization designed to help find missing people of color. It’s just the two of them and a handful of volunteers. But as they say, if they don’t do this work, who will?

W&H: What drew you to this story?

GG&SK: We’ve both been drawn to social justice issues throughout our careers, especially those that disproportionately affect Black people and people of color, so when Soledad O’Brien and her team approached us about a series on Derrica and Natalie, and how widespread and underreported this issue is for Black people especially, it was a no-brainer.

We knew that a documentary series on a platform like HBO would be a great way to generate attention for an issue that the mainstream media regularly ignores.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

GG&SK: Two of the central issues when it comes to missing people of color are the lack of attention from police — the result of a history of police abuse and neglect of Black communities — and the lack of attention from the media. What we want the everyday viewer to really think about are these disparities and how much they cripple the odds of finding Black people who go missing.

There are so many past examples of missing white women who go missing and get an enormous response from the media, and thus the police: Natalee Holloway, Chandra Levy, Elizabeth Smart, etc. Recently Gabby Petito went missing and we saw everything at the heart of our series play out in real time— a young, pretty white woman tragically vanishes, a media cycle that revolves around her disappearance, a nation obsessed with finding her, and both local and federal law enforcement rapidly mobilized to find her.

The result was the recovery of a body within weeks, which every missing person deserves. We just want the same kind of robust care when Black people and people of color go missing— that’s what we want the audience to reflect on after the watch.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

GG&SK: The pandemic hit six weeks into production, and we had to shut down for a while. Once we were allowed to film again, we had to navigate a world changed by COVID. Everyone was trying to adapt, and filming protocols were very different. We managed to get through. There were setbacks, for sure, but like everyone in the industry, we figured it out.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

GG&SK: The film was supported/financed by HBO throughout production and post-production. Soledad O’Brien’s SO’B Productions pitched the concept to them and they were amazing partners from start to finish.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker? 

SK: I was inspired to make films after I did my first internship at a documentary production company in college. I was adept at writing research papers at the time and making documentaries felt like a more creative adaptation of that skill. It just felt so accessible to me— like I could grab a camera and make a film the next day. And as a Black woman who grew up in a mostly white community where I frequently felt silenced, accessible documentary filmmaking also gave me an outlet for talking about race in a way I never imagined, so all of my work has addressed race in some way, shape, or form.

GG: I studied art and animation and was lucky enough to get an internship with the great Spike Lee on his film “Malcolm X” and the rest is history. I was also trained by the legendary Sam Pollard and Professor Tula Goenka and they are all masters at the craft. Alex Gibney has also been key: he gave me my first series and afforded me incredible opportunities. Mentorship has meant everything to me— it’s been the best part of the industry.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

SK: The best advice I’ve received is to advocate for yourself and to fight for what you truly believe in. Trust your voice.

The worst advice I’ve been given is that paying your dues is a crucial part of your journey. While yes, it’s certainly important to learn your craft and the industry, there are so many ways to do that. As someone who did it, the idea of paying your dues for years and years feels a bit overrated to me. I think women and people of color especially can get stuck in that place for too long.

GG: The best advice was go where the love is in the industry. Some people will appreciate your talent and what you have to offer, so start there. And never forget those people as new doors open.

The worst has been to just accept the industry as it is — to ignore the sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other ills because you have to in order to “make it.” My response grew to be, “But why not change it?”

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

SK: The people you work with and your relationships in the industry are incredibly important— nourish them. I can’t tell you how important and life-changing they have been for me— I’ve learned from them, I’ve been mentored, I’ve been given incredible opportunities as a result, etc. I’m in a group for women of color in documentary film and it’s been an incredible, supportive, and crucial part of my career.

GG: What Sam said. Also make sure your teams are diverse and reflect as many communities as possible please. It makes for better films.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

SK: I love so much of what Ava DuVernay puts out. Not just her work like “13th” and “When They See Us,” but I also love how supportive and generous she is as a filmmaker.

GG: I have many, but recently I have really appreciated Lulu Wang’s work. And I love her politics too.

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how?

SK: Luckily, I’ve been able to keep making films throughout the pandemic. It’s definitely been an adjustment, but I’m grateful to all the people who work together to make it safe to work on sets right now.

GG: What Sam said. I feel grateful to have been working!

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing— and creating— negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make the doc world more inclusive?

SK: I think the biggest thing that can be done is not just making it easier for people of color entering the industry, which is important, but also promoting and supporting POC already in the industry. Crediting them fairly for what they do and paying them what they deserve doesn’t happen enough but goes incredibly far. Also, promoting them the same way white folks are promoted. Plenty of mediocre white men fail up within a few short years, while BIPOC folks are unfairly held to much higher standards.

We need to level the playing field for all in all the branches of our film industry ecosystem. We need BIPOC executives, agents, BIPOC led production companies, we need to hire BIPOC production and post teams, etc. We need a collective effort to overhaul the industry when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and we need everyone on board. A film industry that truly reflects America and all our communities is a better industry.