On Location in Louisville, KY

Last week our team at Fine Grain Pictures had the privilege of traveling with producer/musician Marc Capelle to Louisville, Kentucky, as part of our ongoing work on a documentary about the influential Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton.

Our journey took us to the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University, where we conducted in-depth research into Merton’s writings, correspondence, and legacy. The center houses a remarkable archive that gave us deeper insight into the spiritual and social dimensions of Merton’s life.

We also captured stunning aerial drone footage of downtown Louisville—where Merton experienced his famous moment of spiritual awakening on the corner of Fourth and Walnut—as well as the peaceful grounds of Gethsemani Abbey, where he lived for 27 years as a Trappist monk.

It was a moving experience to walk the same paths Merton once did, and to begin stitching together the visual and emotional landscape of a figure who still speaks so powerfully to the world today. Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes updates as this project continues to unfold.

A Day of Impact: TEDx & Tacos

Today our production team filmed TEDx & Tacos, a one-of-a-kind event that brought together powerful ideas, bold Filipino flavors, and a strong sense of community. We captured inspiring talks from local voices and youth leaders, including host Mary Claire Delgado, fresh off her TEDx debut in Manila. With every taco served and every story shared, the event fostered connection and raised crucial funds to support Oakland’s unhoused neighbors. We’re proud to have helped preserve such a meaningful and memorable day on film.

Resource Renewal in Marysville

We’ve just wrapped filming the final interviews for our short film on Resource Renewal Institute’s Fish in the Fields project, a pioneering fish-and-rice co-cultivation initiative. Our conversations with Deb Moskowitz (President) and Chance Cutrano (Director of Programs) took place in the neon-green rice fields of Marysville—the very farm where their research journey began. With filming complete, we’re now turning to the editing phase to shape the story behind this innovative project.

The Future of Cybersecurity

Fine Grain Pictures was delighted to partner with DeepTempo, one of just three finalists in the 2025 Snowflake Startup Challenge. They’re rethinking how cybersecurity works by using AI to make it easier for companies to detect and respond to threats faster and more efficiently. They’re also the first cybersecurity company to build a fully integrated app on Snowflake, making their solution both powerful and easy to deploy. Our job was to capture all of that innovation in a tight, engaging video that helped them stand out on a global stage — and we were proud to help tell their story.

A New Strategy for Supporting Literacy

Last week, we had the exciting opportunity to film inside an elementary school classroom in the Oakland Unified School District to create a new teacher training video focused on literacy instruction. The video showcases a dynamic small-group model, featuring one teacher-led group, one student-led group, and one quiet independent group — all designed to foster deeper engagement and differentiated learning. Each group rotates throughout the session, giving students varied ways to build literacy skills while allowing educators to target instruction. This real-classroom footage will serve as a practical, inspiring tool for teachers across the district.

Women's Leadership Build 2025

We had a great time diving into Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley’s Women’s Leadership Build at Sequoia Grove in Hayward — a powerful annual event where women come together to build affordable homes for local families. Since the groundbreaking last fall, the site has been buzzing with energy and transformation. Today, women were roofing, framing, and raising walls, making significant strides toward completing these future homes. It was inspiring to witness skilled hands at work and steady collaboration, all driven by a shared commitment to building something lasting.

Approaching Gender Parity in the CA Legislature

Today FGP was in Sacramento on the capitol steps with Elevate Public Affairs filming a press conference for Close the Gap California. Led by powerhouse Susannah Delano, Close the Gap recruits and partners with diverse progressive women with the goal of achieving gender parity in the California State Legislature by 2028. Less than a decade ago, only 26 of 120 California legislators were female. Today 58 women are now serving – a historic high of 48% – so their efforts are paying off! We got to interview legislative superstars Cecilia Aguilar-Curry, Aisha Wahab, Susan Rubio, Pilar Schiavo, and Susanna Delano and feel the buzz and excitement as Close the Gap closes in on its goal.

Fish in the Fields

This week FGP was in Arkansas documenting Resource Renewal’s third annual Fish in the Fields Harvest! RRI’s Fish in the Fields project adapts the ancient practice of rice/fish co-cultivation to modern agricultural practices by raising small fish in winter-flooded rice fields. This process reduces the demand on our oceans for fish, decreases methane emissions, builds biodiversity, enriches the rice fields, and provides an added revenue stream to rural communities.

Scaling Hyper-efficiency

Harvest is expanding to multifamily developments, starting with Eden Palms, an affordable housing community in San Jose. Eden Housing serves 22,000 people in California, providing high-quality housing for low to moderate-income families, seniors, veterans, people living with disabilities, and the formerly homeless. By partnering with Eden, Harvest will bring more savings to more residents and reduce greenhouse gases on an even larger scale.

"Sustainable homes, for a livable future"

We’ve been collaborating with Harvest on a series of videos featuring homeowners who are greening their homes and saving money by replacing their old gas furnaces with Harvest systems. Harvest is a super-efficient, all-electric heat pump system that combines heating and hot water. It uses a thermal battery, so it can take advantage of electricity when it’s cheapest and cleanest. So far we’ve highlighted happy homeowners in Albany and Sea Ranch. In July and August, we’ll be focusing on the South Bay.

SF Climate Week

FGP was at SF Climate Week filming the Gigaton Salon, an innovative and entertaining day-long event hosted by Harvest, Impulse Labs, Starshot and the Abundance Institute. Hunter Pence, Isaias Hernandez (aka @queerbrownvegan) and Jane Melia (Harvest CEO) were among the standout guest speakers, and comedians Rasheda Crockett & Megan Sass kept the audience laughing. We then created a social media package for Harvest (see one of the videos above) to showcase the event.

"Gratitude Easily Lays A Path Forward"

“For over 30 years, a Habitat home in Oakland was filled with memories and the laughter of five growing children. When those children inherited their beloved home they had the opportunity to sell it for a major windfall on the open market. Instead they sold it affordably back to Habitat, opening the door to homeownership for a new Habitat family. Now that home is about to be filled with growing children again, and we celebrate a new chapter in its amazing story of love, generosity, and paying it forward.”

What an honor to be able to tell this story. We were so moved to witness the happiness of the new homeowners and their four kids, the open-heartedness of the Guardado family, and the joyous support of the volunteers, neighbors and staff at this Home Dedication event on East 22nd St. in Oakland. Definitely one of the most gratifying projects we’ve done with Habitat for Humanity EBSV to date.