FiSpo Updates: Hope, Curiosity and Axolotl – Coming to a Screen Near You!
With all the great films the Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program supports, we can’t help to brag about all the awesome work in the program from time to time. That’s exactly what we do in our FiSpo Update columns.
This month, we’re featuring a personal portrait of a filmmaker’s artist father, a film about building community through adversity, and a documentary on the push and pull between tradition and environmentalism in Mexico’s legendary Lake Xochimilco.
Through Fiscal Sponsorship, independent filmmakers and media artists gain access to nonprofit funding, helping bring their unique visions to life. These projects embrace diversity, push creative boundaries, and showcase the power of independent storytelling. Want to explore the full lineup of sponsored projects? Head over to our Sponsored Projects page and take a look!
THE EVER CURIOUS MAN
Project Type: Nonfiction Feature
Project Status: Post Production
Filmmaker: Ivan Cash
Synopsis: An elder artist and compulsive creator confronts his legacy and grapples with the fate of a lifetime’s worth of work, while seeking redemption from his family.
Filmmaker Update: We are excited to have reached the rough cut phase and are honing in on a September 2025 completion date. Additionally, we’ve onboarded Emmy-winner Mandy Patinkin as Executive Producer and director Ivan Cash’s last film Sea Lion Cow (2025) was acquired by Rolling Stone last month.
RENOVATING HOPE
Project Type: Nonfiction Feature
Project Status: Post Production
Filmmakers: Jaye and Adam Fenderson
Synopsis: In the heart of Atlanta, best-selling author, stroke survivor, and wheelchair user Katherine Wolf transforms a 1990s Italian restaurant into Mend, a new coffee & retail concept intentionally built to offer people with disabilities meaningful community and dignified employment.
Filmmaker Update: Physical production is (mostly) wrapped!
After over a year and a half of filming, working with an incredible Atlanta-based crew, Director/Producers Jaye and Adam Fenderson, and Director of Photography John Gardiner have captured the full journey — from the renovation and development to the build and grand opening of Mend Coffee & Goods.
Along the way, we uncovered inspiring stories from campers at Hope Heals Camp, a summer camp founded by Katherine and Jay for families affected by disabilities. We also followed Katherine as she released and promoted her powerful new book, Treasures in the Dark.
Aside from a few pick-up shots and one final sit-down interview, production is officially complete — and now, it’s time for post!
With hours of beautiful footage and powerful stories, we’re excited to dive into post-production this spring. As we continue raising funds to bring the film to life, we’re also developing an impact campaign aimed at sparking a movement around the importance of combining beauty and accessibility in community spaces around the world.
COMPANION OF THE SETTING SUN
Project Type: Nonfiction Short
Project Status: Production
Filmmakers: Isabela Zawistowska and Chamberlain Staub
Synopsis: Companion of the Setting Sun illuminates the profound connection between ancestral Indigenous farming practices and the survival of an endemic species—both intricately tied to the fragile ecosystem of Lake Xochimilco.
At the heart of the story is 86-year-old Doña Susana, one of the last remaining chinamperas of her generation. Raised on the knowledge passed down through centuries, she bears witness to the gradual loss of a way of life. Once vibrant with flowers and wild Axolotls, the canals now stand as a fading memory of ecological and cultural abundance.
Despite the hardships and heartbreak she has endured, Doña Susana remains a beacon of hope. Her quiet resilience and maternal wisdom drive her to share the chinampero way of life with younger generations—planting seeds of resistance and renewal in the hopes of saving Lake Xochimilco and its guardian creature, the Axolotl.
Filmmakers Update: We are actively crowdfunding to complete our film and return to Mexico City to film the more surreal and mythological elements of this story.
Our goal with Companion of the Setting Sun is to bring visibility to those who are preserving a traditional way of life that ultimately supports the natural functionings of Mother Earth and fosters respect for every living being. As a women-led production team, we’re also inspired by women and aim to uplift female voices through this film.
This short documentary encapsulates my overall aspirations as a director to appeal to our collective responsibility of taking care of the planet as well as our deep connection to nature, land, and history.
To learn how Fiscal Sponsorship works, check out the above video or read about it here.
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