An Evening with Director Ondi Timoner

Some filmmakers document the world. Ondi Timoner changes how we see it.

CASCADIA is proud to name award-winning director Ondi Timoner as its 2026 Honored Guest — and to invite you inside the mind of one of documentary cinema’s most consequential artists.

The only director in Sundance history to receive the Grand Jury Prize twice, Timoner’s films DIG! and We Live in Public hold permanent places in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. Her 2022 film Last Flight Home was Oscar-shortlisted, Emmy-nominated, and earned her both the Visionary Award for Observational Filmmaking and the Humanitas Prize — the film industry’s most prestigious honor for humanistic storytelling.

“How to Make a Great Documentary”

In an exclusive one-hour program, Timoner pulls back the curtain on her entire process, from first instinct to distribution, drawing on clips from her own films. Whether you’re a filmmaker or a passionate cinephile, this is rare access to a master at work — the kind of session that permanently changes how you watch documentary film.

Followed by the screening of her new 38-minute film All the Walls Came Down — shortlisted for this year’s Oscars — a piercing portrait of the Altadena community in the wake of the Eaton Fire, and the human insistence on rebuilding. Audience Q&A to follow.

Honored Guest Evening sponsored by Cascadia Daily News. 
Timoner’s program: How to Make a Great Documentary sponsored by the LeeBron Clay Foundation.