About us – MocaMedia – Impact campaigns for independent films

We are a dynamic team who span the globe.

Angela Alston and Gwendolyn Alston (yes, we’re sisters!) began working as an outreach team for independent film in 2008, with our first client, Niijii Films, and their documentary A Sea Change. What started out as Gwen stepping in at a key point in the outreach campaign, turned into an 18-month collaboration. We have not stopped working together since then.

We eventually teamed up with Lisa Smithline from Brave New Films. Together, we have developed a consistent and effective approach to the design and management of outreach, marketing, community engagement and impact campaigns–with our specially designed toolkits, our diverse and combined skills and a commitment to serve our clients fully to achieve their goals.

We work with independent films on environmental, social, and spiritual issues that touch hearts, ignite discussion, and inspire action.

Our approach is to determine the filmmaker’s goals, identify and connect with the film’s core audience, and provide measurable results.

Angela Alston

Boston, MA (USA)

Co-founder of MocaMedia, Angela believes in the power of film to cultivate community and ignite positive change.

Trained as a photographer and filmmaker, she has worked in film production, community engagement, and event production for decades. Now consulting with Moca, her primary focus has shifted to teaching the Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education through her company Roots of Strength. She is currently studying the Wheel of Consent, mythosomatics, and training as a song leader in the Village Harmony tradition.

Angela lives in an intentional community near Boston. She has a BA in philosophy and biology from Swarthmore College, and an MFA in filmmaking from the University of Texas at Austin.

Gwendolyn Alston

Madrid (Spain)

Gwen has lived in Spain since 1988. She speaks fluent Spanish and French, is versed in Italian and Catalan, and is now trying to learn Finnish. She comes from a marketing and publishing background and holds a PhD in Comparative Literature. Before co-founding MocaMedia, Gwen launched a bilingual dating site, followed by a video production and online marketing company.

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She has taught Digital Marketing and Social Media Management at Berklee College of Music on their Valencia campus; at Syracuse University in Madrid; EDEM Business School, and Escuela de Música Reina Sofía. She speaks and consults regularly on marketing and impact.

She is an advisor of the Florence Belsky Charitable Foundation, and a member of DOCMA the IDA, Global Impact Producers Alliance (GIPA), Brown Girls Doc Mafia (BGDM), and The D-Word. Gwen is currently co-producing a short-form documentary series that addresses fundamental and ethical questions around the design, development and deployment of AI.

Two mottos by which she lives: “Be in the world” and “Only connect!” (E.M. Forster).

Lisa Smithline

Los Angeles, CA (USA)

Lisa is an innovative leader in the cause marketing field. An experienced producer and marketing strategist, Lisa creates dynamic multi-platform distribution campaigns using film and new media. She integrates a commitment to social change with an extensive background in film, television and commercial production. As a founding partner of Brave New Films and director of alternative marketing at Focus Features, Lisa pioneered new models of community-based distribution.

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She has produced successful outreach and impact campaigns for many award-winning projects. Lisa has been a featured speaker on marketing and distribution at leading conferences and festivals across the USA including American Film Market, Sundance Film Festival and Hot Docs.

Lisa is an avid trail runner–nature is her go-to for creative inspiration.

Lisa is grateful to have been a long-time student of Reverend James Lawson. It has been the opportunity of a lifetime to study the history of nonviolence and strategic nonviolent action with Rev. Lawson, who the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. called “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” Rev. King’s quote “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” is her inspiration to stay aware and active for all of humanity and the world.

Project Assistants

We are pleased to hire our remote workers through the agency iWorker, that provides opportunities for fair wages and fulfilling jobs for individuals from countries in crisis.

María Gabriela Gil

Maracaibo, Venezuela

Maria is a Virtual Administrative Assistant with more than 3 years of experience working alongside American and European Companies.

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Before becoming a Virtual Assistant, Maria worked in HR management, until she found her passion as a remote worker, helping clients from all over the world achieve their goals.

Maria specializes in research, administrative support, data entry, and keeping up-to-date data from the organization. She is a flexible, positive, and goal-oriented worker. She finds inspiration in her family, music, and traveling. A motto she lives by is “be kind.”