Here’s how Moonshot Film Challenge participants collaborate years later

A case study of two sound mixers who met in the inaugural Moonshot Film Challenge in 2018 and became longtime friends

Filmmakers collaborate during the 2025 Moonshot Film Challenge

In the Moonshot Film Challenge, accepted participants are placed on crews of strangers and work with women and gender-expansive filmmakers in every role of production. One of the main goals of the film challenge is to expand networks and grow as collaborative filmmakers. Here's an example of that goal in action!

In 2018, Laura Cunningham and Nicole Maupin were both participants in the first-ever Moonshot Film Challenge, and they were placed on the same team. Laura was the crew’s production sound recordist, and she came to the challenge with many years of experience working on shows for major streaming platforms, theatrically released films, and commercials. Meanwhile, Nicole was placed as a production assistant. At the time, she was just getting her feet wet as a sound mixer, and she joined the challenge in the hopes of learning from someone more experienced in the field.

They stayed friends after the challenge, and Laura’s encouragement and generosity with her knowledge helped Nicole improve her skills. Laura’s referrals for gigs led to an expansion of Nicole’s network, introducing her to contacts she has to this day.

Over the years, Nicole became a production and post sound mixer in high demand for films, commercials, documentaries, branded content, podcasts, and more. She also co-founded Quiet Cricket Studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Nicole has made it a mission to help up-and-coming women and gender-expansive sound mixers, because she knew how much she had gained from her relationship with Laura.

Now that Nicole has become a powerhouse in her own right, she and Laura are peers who both benefit from each other's knowledge and referrals.

Laura had generously offered up her knowledge and connections to Nicole back in 2018, without any expectations of benefitting from the relationship; she just wanted to help out an up-and-coming sound mixer. But because of her generosity, and because Laura and Nicole had maintained a friendship, they are able to help each other out.

The moral of the story? Participants help out their team members whenever possible, just for the sake of uplifting other women and gender-expansive folks in the industry. And you never know when one of your team members will be in the position to help you out with a referral, resources, or connections in the future. Participants build friendships on set, because these are the people they move up in the industry with!

Read more about the Moonshot Film Challenge here!