About
PRIDE & HONOR follows Navy veteran Stephan “Lilly” Steffanides who was thrown out with an “Other Than Honorable” discharge after a locker search exposed gay nightclub magazines. Lilly rises from 24 years of homelessness to become a plaintiff in Farrell v. Department of Defense, the largest LGBT military case in U.S. history, fighting to give over 100,000 veterans a pathway to restore their honor and benefits. It becomes a race against time when Lilly finds out they are dying of stage 4 prostate cancer.
BIOS
MAI ISKANDER
Mai Iskander is a director and director of photography working across documentaries and commercial campaigns for global brands. As an Egyptian-Czech, first-generation American, she brings a global perspective shaped by two cultures and a life spent between them. Her films have screened at over 100 prestigious international festivals, including Berlinale, SXSW, IDFA, and the Los Angeles Film Festival.
Her debut feature documentary, GARBAGE DREAMS, garnered 26 international awards, secured a place on the Academy Award shortlist, earned a Directors Guild of America nomination, and helped secure a million-dollar Gates Foundation grant for its subjects.
In the commercial space, Iskander has directed high-profile campaigns for global brands, earning four Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, an AICP Next Award, and a D&AD Impact White Pencil.
JOHN HOFFMAN
Executive Producer
John Hoffman is a six-time Emmy-winning documentary and Academy Award nominated filmmaker whose work has tackled some of the most pressing health issues of our time. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his short documentary THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK.
His recent films include the acclaimed FAUCI (Telluride Film Festival) and THE ANTIDOTE (Amazon Prime). Throughout his career, Hoffman has produced critically acclaimed documentaries like THE WEIGHT OF THE NATION, ADDICTION, THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT, and FIRST IN HUMAN.
Beyond his filmmaking, Hoffman has also held executive positions at major networks, including Executive Vice President of Documentaries & Specials at Discovery and Vice President of Documentary Programming at HBO. His experience as a filmmaker and industry leader has solidified his reputation as one of the most respected figures in documentary cinema.
DIANA HOLTZBERG
Producer
Diana Holtzberg is a producer, creative producer, executive producer, writer, consultant, and agent. She founded East Village Entertainment (EVE) in 2007, a NYC‑based boutique agency devoted to media that enlightens, inspires, and entertains. Diana has won three Emmy Awards for THE ART OF FAILURE: CHUCK CONNELLY NOT FOR SALE (2009), EDUCATION, INC. (2015), and HUMANITY HAS NOT YET FAILED: FEATURING GRETA THUNBERG (2022), as well as a Canadian Screen Award (Canada’s equivalent to the Academy Award and Golden Globe) for RUMBLE: THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD (2018). She has also received five Emmy nominations and a Producers Guild of America nomination for Best Sports Programming. Over the course of her career, Diana has worked on more than 300 feature documentaries.
OLIVIA DOERR
Producer
Olivia Doerr is a model, artist, and activist whose commitment to the veteran community has remained central to her creative and professional work. She currently serves as the Director of Communications for the Military Veterans of Columbia University, the largest veteran population in the Ivy League, where she is dedicated to elevating diverse voices within the student veteran community. Olivia is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in political science at Columbia University, where her academic research primarily focuses on policy-driven aspects of veterans’ affairs, including healthcare access, GI Bill reform, and legislative hurdles service members face during their transition. Olivia is dedicated to using visual mediums and advocacy to ensure the stories of all who served are recognized by the nation with the honor and respect they deserve.
Bailey Bass is a creative and advocate known for her roles as Claudia in Season 1 of AMC’s INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, delivering a widely acclaimed performance, and Tsireya in James Cameron’s AVATAR franchise, including THE WAY OF WATER, which went on to become the 3rd-highest-grossing film of all time. Bailey has used this momentum to promote environmentalism, mental health, and voting education. Her many activism efforts include producing OCEONS ON FIRE (2024), a documentary short on the coral bleaching crisis, participating in the U.N. World Food Program’s Next Gen Council, and Kerry Washington’s Influence Change movement. While balancing her entertainment endeavors, including the AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH release, Bailey is a published research assistant and grant writer pursuing a degree in Psychology at Columbia University.
MCKARAH DREYFOUS
McKarah Dreyfous is a queer producer and filmmaker with a background in Sundance award-winning documentaries and Academy Award-nominated films like THE HUNTING GROUND. She has executive produced three music videos for queer LA artists and the short film CHESTBOUND, Grand Jury Prize winner at the Comfrey Films Black Trans Short Film Festival. She was associate producer on YOUR MONSTER, Sundance’s 2024 Audience Favorite, and produces narrative and documentary features, including WE ARE PAT, earning a Special Jury Mention for New Documentary Director at Tribeca 2025.
She’s producing I LOVE SUSU, a New York pilot about an Egyptian Tisch NYU student, executive produced by Spike Lee and Ramy Youssef. Her latest project, NICE EGGS, starring Jane Krosinski and Angourie Rice as mother-daughter, wrapped August 2026. She’s also directing and producing a self-funded documentary short about the televised rescue of an “abandoned” Great Pyrenees, Grace, filmed with a local Utah crew. McKarah is committed to amplifying the voices of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community in film.
The daughter of a career Air Force officer, Heidi Reinberg is currently producing Simon Mendes’ THE DARKEST LIGHT. Recent works include BORN TO BE, nominated for Best Director and Best Documentary national Emmys and the ITVS/arte SWR co-production 93QUEEN.
Her work has been supported by the Sundance Documentary Institute; the Ford Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; XTR; the Tribeca Film Institute; Catapult Film Fund; Fork Films; NYSCA; the IDA Pare Lorentz fund; the IDA Enterprise fund; the Economic Hardship Reporting Project; and the Austin Film Society.
In 2009, Smolowitz founded 13th Gen, a San Francisco-based boutique entertainment company that works with a dynamic range of independent film partners globally to oversee the financing, production, post-production, marketing, sales, and distribution efforts of a vibrant portfolio of films and filmmakers. With talent development as its focus, the company is typically involved in some 10-15 projects concurrently and has successfully advanced Smolowitz’s career-long commitment to powerful social issue filmmaking across all genres. In 2016, he received one of the prestigious Gotham Fellowships to attend the Cannes Film Festival’s Producers Network, marking him as one of the USA’s most influential independent film producers.
Jamie Canobbio
Editor
Across his nonfiction and independent film projects, Jamie brings a meticulous editorial sensibility shaped by his background in film theory at Hunter College. His approach blends structural precision with a filmmaker’s intuition, crafting narratives that honor lived experience while revealing the emotional and political currents that shape it.
Editor
As an editor, Culyba has collaborated with leading nonfiction filmmakers including Barbara Kopple, Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, Gary Hustwit, Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jeff Zimbalist, and producer Edward Norton. His credits span a wide range of acclaimed films and series, among them DIXIE CHICKS: SHUT UP & SING, URBANIZED, RUNNING FROM CRAZY, MY OWN MAN, GERMANS & JEWS, THE INNOCENCE FILES, CHILDREN OF THE UNDERGROUND, EAT THE RICH: THE GAMESTOP SAGA, RUDY! A DOCUMUSICAL, PARAGOLD, UNKNOWN: COSMIC TIME MACHINE, BLIND AF, and THE CARMAN FAMILY DEATHS.
He also edited two‑time Academy Award–winning director Barbara Kopple’s feature THIS IS EVERYTHING: GIGI GORGEOUS, a documentary following YouTube creator and former competitive diver Gigi Gorgeous as she publicly transitions and navigates identity, family, and visibility; the film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
ALLYSON NEWMAN
Music Composer
Allyson Newman is an Emmy-nominated queer composer and songwriter whose work blends modern synth textures with intimate chamber ensembles and pop sensibilities.
Her music can be heard on Showtime’s THE L WORD: GENERATION Q, Netflix’s PARTNER TRACK, and Hulu’s FIRST. She has earned multiple nominations from the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and the International Sound and Film Music Festival. She was also selected for the Spot the Composer program at the Marché du Film in Cannes.
Newman’s documentary work includes the award-winning LIMITED PARTNERSHIP (PBS Independent Lens), the Emmy-nominated series HER STORY, and KUSAMA—INFINITY, which premiered at Sundance and was released worldwide. She collaborated with Oscar-winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman on STATE OF PRIDE (SXSW Opening Night) and scored MAKING WAVES: THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND, which premiered at Cannes. Most recently, she composed the scores for Hulu’s DIANE VON FURSTENBERG: WOMEN IN CHARGE (Tribeca Opening Night) and ARREST THE MIDWIFE (SXSW).
LILLY’S WORDS
TAKE ACTION
Farrell v. DoD Settlement Agreement
In accordance with terms of the January 3, 2025, Farrell v. DoD class action settlement, veterans whose DD-214s reference sexual orientation as a reason for their discharge may be eligible for relief from the Military Departments.
Veterans whose DD-214s reference sexual orientation with a discharge characterization of Honorable or Uncharacterized/Entry level may request a new DD-214 that does not reference sexual orientation, through an administrative change process.
Veterans whose DD-214s reference sexual orientation and have a General (Under Honorable Conditions) or Under Other Than Honorable Conditions discharge characterization may request an upgraded service characterization and a new DD-214 that does not reference sexual orientation. Applicants need only partially fill out the DD-149 form, referencing the “Farrell Class Action Settlement,” and the Military Department Review Boards will seek and obtain appropriate service records on their behalf
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CONTACT
Lucius and Eva Eastman Fund
