Nani Sahra Walker promoted to deputy editor for L.A. Times Short Docs

Sent on behalf of Associate Editor John McCutchen:

I’m pleased to announce that Nani Sahra Walker has been promoted to deputy editor for L.A. Times Short Docs.

Walker brings a rich background as a filmmaker to her role as director of the new monthly series for L.A. Studios. She has been documenting social change over the past decade from LGBTQ rights in Nepal and voting rights in the American South to the global anti-casteist movement. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic, Washington Post, National Geographic and other news outlets.

She wrote and directed “Alice Waters: How to Start a Food Revolution” (2021), a short documentary about the food movement sparked by the legendary Chez Panisse chef in response to industrial farming. Walker’s debut feature documentary on the fight for LGBTQ rights in Nepal screened at Outfest and Frameline among dozens of festivals worldwide and is distributed by the Center of Asian American Media.

In addition to her documentary work, Walker led immersive storytelling at the Los Angeles Times in partnership with Ryot Lab and co-directed “What They Carried” (2018), a three-part AR series on migration and loss along the Mexico-U.S. border at McClatchy New Ventures Lab.

Her films and projects have received international acclaim, including fellowships and awards such as the Cine Qua Non Lab, BIFF Asia Project Market, SFFILM’s FilmHouse Residency, Telly Award, Online Journalism Award, a Los Angeles-area Emmy, Student Academy nomination, BAFTA nomination and more.

Walker is an alumna of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Boston University. She began her role Monday.