Albi is reimagining what narrative infrastructure can look like in one of the most polarized cultural contexts in the world. Through its Film and Television Fund, institute and lab, the organization supports films by and about Israelis and Palestinians that resist binaries and make room for complexity, dissent, and human proximity, showcasing the transformative power of documentary storytelling.

In this Member Spotlight Q&A, Founder and President Libby Lenkinski reflects on how Albi defines success beyond awards or reach, why audience “encounter” matters more than scale, and what it takes to fund storytelling responsibly in conflict environments. She also explains how the organization’s Protection Hub safeguards filmmakers who are under threat and how the Palestinian Creatives Pipeline is building long-term structural access for emerging storytellers.

Albi's Unique Approach to Documentary Storytelling

Media Impact Funders: Albi works on documentaries in one of the most polarized spaces imaginable, where many people arrive with strongly held beliefs. Your goal is to “establish paradigm-shifting narratives” through documentary storytelling. What are the ways you think about achieving that goal and what are your markers for success?

Libby Lenkinski: Albi works from a simple premise. In deeply polarized environments, facts alone rarely change minds. Stories reshape what people believe is imaginable. Documentary storytelling in cinema is uniquely powerful because it operates simultaneously as art, journalism and lived testimony.

Much of our work is about widening authorship by supporting Palestinian, Arab, Ethiopian-Israeli and other underrepresented filmmakers whose lived perspectives have historically struggled to access institutional pathways.

We support films that resist binary documentary storytelling. Paradigm shifts rarely come from ideological counter-arguments. They emerge when audiences encounter complexity, contradiction, and human proximity they did not expect. Many Albi-supported projects sit in that uncomfortable space, documenting co-resistance, dissent within communities, or moral struggle rather than ideological certainty.

Our markers for success in documentary storytelling therefore go beyond awards or box office performance. We look for films entering spaces that were previously closed to them, including universities, synagogues, civic forums, festivals, and activist communities. We look for evidence of cross-audience engagement, particularly where audiences do not typically share cultural or political space. We look for civil society uptake, where organizations use films as tools for dialogue or organizing. We also measure whether filmmakers are able to sustain careers and continue telling difficult stories through documentary storytelling.

Read the full article about remedying polarization through documentary storytelling at Media Impact Funders.