Who are we?

The Utah Documentary Association is a grass-roots, volunteer-led organization made up of nonfiction filmmakers including professionals, hobbyists, students, and enthusiasts.

Our Steering Committee meets once per month to plan events and initiatives and organize surrounding advocacy for documentary filmmakers within our state.

If you’re interested in becoming part of the Steering Committee, you can email us at uda@utahdocs.org.

Meet the Steering Committee

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    Matt Black

    PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER

    Matt Black is the director/editor of the feature documentary Bright Spark: The Reconciliation of Trevor Southey which had a six week theatrical run in Utah and will air nationally on PBS in 2024. He served on the steering committee of the Seattle Documentary Association from 2016-2017, and his experience with that group inspired him to start a similar association to serve the filmmaking community here in Utah. Matt has a master's degree in Documentary Film from Stanford University and was a Filmmaker-in-Residence at the Utah Film Center from 2021-2023.

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    Tyler Smith

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Tyler Smith is an Associate Professor of Film in the Department of Performing Arts at Salt Lake Community College. Tyler is a geek at heart. His research interests are documentary film, visual anthropology, media in culture, diversity in media, media ethics, and using the camera as a research tool.

    Tyler began teaching in 1998 as a graduate student while studying documentary film and over the past 25 years has taught a variety of courses in film and television production, film criticism, and research writing. As a documentary filmmaker and artist, Tyler considers himself a professional people watcher who enjoys studying the connections between media and society.

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    J.R. Hardman

    SECRETARY

    J.R. Hardman serves as Associate Producer at PBS Utah for the award-winning series This is Utah and Utah Insight. She previously served as Operations Manager for Sundance Institute Artist Programs; as Senior Tour Manager for Campus Movie Fest, the world's largest student film festival; and as Technical Director for Camp Flix kids filmmaking camp. J.R. has created short films which have premiered at a variety of festivals including Outfest and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. She earned her BA in Cinema/Television Production and Spanish from the University of Southern California. J.R.’s first feature-length documentary as director, Reenactress, is currently in production. She also serves as Co-chair of the Membership Committee and on the Board for the Documentary Producers Alliance.

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    Brannon Richardson

    TREASURER

    Having worked on various film sets since 1998, Richardson has always had a passion for filmmaking. Earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production from The Art Institute of Salt Lake in 2011, he shortly thereafter founded Glemati Road Pictures, a successful industrial filmmaking business in Salt Lake City.

    A multi-award winning director and producer, he has worked on many different kinds of productions in countries all over the world. From award winning commercials, documentaries, feature films, cable television shows, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea, and industrial films, Richardson has experienced nearly the full gamut of media production.

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    Holly Tuckett

    STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

    Holly Tuckett is a veteran storyteller, filmmaker and cinematographer. Anchor Point is her second feature-length documentary film. Her first, Church & State, debuted in 2018, winning a Special Jury Award at AmDocs and Best Feature Documentary at the Nice International Film Festival in France. Her documentary short, “Timi Earl Skelton Girl” — which she produced, directed & edited — screened at the Park City Film Series in conjunction with the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Holly’s producing credits also include the 2008 festival circuit favorite Una Vida Mejor. Holly has contributed to nearly 100 film/television productions, including work for National Geographic, Discovery, Vice, TLC, NBC Olympic broadcasts & more.

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    Nicole Docta

    STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

    Nicole Docta (she/her) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has focused her career on producing socially provoking BIPOC stories. She last produced Emmy Award-winning BELLY OF THE BEAST (HRWFF 2020), and duPont Award-winner THROUGH THE NIGHT (Tribeca 2021). Nicole is also a USC CPD NextGen Creative Fellow, one of DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40, a PGA Create alum, Sundance Producer Fellow, and Impact Partners Producer Fellow.

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    Valene MC Peratrovich

    STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

    Valene MC, Producer at KRCL's RadioACTive, who joined the team in February 2023.

    Valene is of the Tlingit - Eagle Moiety, Unungan + Athabascan Nations. She believes we all have a place to be received + seen. Elevating and providing a platform for stories and connections to be shared is her touchstone. In college, she studied Physical Sciences, Radio, Photography + Film.

    She’s allergic to small talk and is obsessed with Indian cuisine. The music of 90's RB, 90's grunge, classic rock and Hip-Hop and country rule her heart, I know....pretty all music.

    Valene's passion for art, humanity and connection which brought her to KRCL as Production Assistant to Radioactive. Valene also began co-hosting Living the Circle of Life in April 2022 featuring Indigenous artists, music + news.

    2022 Society of Professional Journalists of Utah: 1st Place Radio Public Affairs Talk Show
    Awardee of 2024 Wake the Lake grant Salt Lake Arts Council for documentary Diverted
    2024 Rocky Mountain Regional Student Emmy award in the Non-Fiction Long Form category, Diverted

    Words are her love language…

    "Asking you to give me rights implies that they are yours to give. I must demand that you stop trying to deny me the rights that all people deserve."

    - Elizabeth Peratrovich, Alaska Native Civil Rights Activist 

Past Steering Committee Members

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    Leesie Clegg

    PAST STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

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    Savannah Coles

    PAST STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

  • Black and white photo of a young woman sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of a plain background, smiling softly.

    Sam Heim

    PAST STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER

  • Black and white portrait of a man with a beard and mustache, wearing a textured knit sweater with a shawl collar, looking at the camera with a slight smile, against a dark background.

    John Meier

    PAST STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBER