NYWIFT Blog

By Katie Chambers

NYWIFT Member producer Carolyn Hepburn attended the 2026 Sundance Film Festival with her latest project with EPSN Films, The Brittney Griner Story.

This documentary, directed by Alexandria Stapleton, explores the circumstances that led to Brittney Griner playing basketball outside the U.S. despite being one of the best players in the sport, including her harrowing detainment, unwavering determination to secure her freedom, and her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees.

Carolyn Hepburn is an Emmy, Peabody, Gotham, and Critics’ Choice Award-winning producer who joined ESPN Films in 2022. She spoke to us about her return to Sundance, the power of her latest doc, and the ethical responsibilities of producing socially impactful work.

NYWIFT Member Carolyn Hepburn

This film traces Brittney Griner’s journey from elite athlete to international detainee and outspoken advocate. As a producer, how did you navigate telling such a high-profile, emotionally charged story while preserving nuance, dignity, and Brittney’s own voice?

To truly understand BG’s (Brittney Griner’s) Russian detainment, the story could only be told by BG and those in her inner circle during the ordeal. Director Alexandria Stapleton does an incredible job weaving this wide-ranging story together while keeping BG as the foundation of the film.

The film carefully shifts perspectives from her wife and fiercest advocate Cherelle to her agent Lindsay Colas and the team’s BG played for in the US and Russia. We were also fortunate to include supporting voices that ran the gamut from power players in our government and international organizations to the media and outside observers. It was during the editing process that we found the right balance of all the voices with BG always at the center.

The film ultimately combines the quick pacing and tension of a geopolitical thriller with the emotion, humor, and personal reflections to tell this celebrated athlete’s story like no other. 

Brittney Griner appears in The Brittney Griner Story by Alex Stapleton, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Your work often lives at the intersection of sports, politics, and human rights. What did The Brittney Griner Story reveal to you about the ways athletic celebrity can both protect and expose someone within global systems of power?

BG’s celebrity made her a pawn in a large international chess game which was wilder than anyone could ever have imagined. She made an innocuous mistake that changed her life forever. She was detained and became a prisoner in a place that she once found welcoming, but which had revealed itself as foreign.

Her successes, once a comfort, were now weaponized on the world stage. At the same time, it was BG’s celebrity and connections that her wife Cherelle and her agent Lindsay were able to leverage to keep pressure on President Biden and his administration to fight for her release. 

Carolyn Hepburn (producer), Megan Goedewaagen (producer), Alexandria Stapleton (director / producer), Stacy Scripter (producer), Eve Cohen (DP), Funmi Akinyode (producer) at “The Brittney Griner Story ” premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 27, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo: C Flanigan/imageSPACE for ESPN Films; image courtesy of Carolyn Hepburn)

You’ve premiered many projects at Sundance over the years, each reflecting a different moment in documentary culture. What does it mean to bring this particular film to Sundance in 2026, and why does the festival remain an important launchpad for stories like this one? 

It’s such a great honor to have a film premiere at Sundance. Sundance curates and champions the best in filmmaking through both the festival and the institute so to have the Sundance stamp of approval feels priceless with their belief that this film will resonate with audiences.

This year is also a little more bittersweet with it being the last year in Park City and all the memories I have of participating in the festival over the last decade plus. Over the years documentaries have become such an important part of the media landscape. Sundance has always been at the forefront of accepting documentaries of every shape and size, giving voice to so many perspectives.

The Brittney Griner Story is the gripping tale of one American, set against an international backdrop in a world that is changing so rapidly. It serves as an intimate historic document as well as a portrait of strength, courage and resilience, characteristics we all find ourselves especially needing in these difficult times.

30 FOR 30 ESPN Celebrates the World Premieres of Give Me the Ball! and The Brittney Griner Story at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. From left: Carolyn Hepburn, Lindsay Colas, Alexandria Stapleton, Elizabeth Wolff, Cherelle Griner, Marsha Cooke, Billie Jean King, Brittney Griner, Ilana Kloss, Liz Garbus, Brian Lockhart  (Image Courtesy of Carolyn Hepburn)

From Victim/Suspect to One Child Nation, your films frequently tackle stories with real-world stakes. How do you approach ethical responsibility as a producer when the consequences of a film extend far beyond the screen?

The experience of having produced several social issue films has made the weight of responsibility even more heavy. With the release of each one, I see the power of documentary film and how it resonates or transforms the lives of people in ways I could have never imagined.

The key to me is to always ensure that all the people portrayed in the films are shown authentically and honestly. There have been participants in films who may have not agreed with the thesis of the film (and who I may not agree with) but they always felt their perspectives were represented truthfully.

Carlolyn Hepburn and Brittney Griner at the 30 FOR 30 ESPN celebration of the World Premieres of Give Me the Ball! and The Brittney Griner Story at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. (Image courtesy of Carolyn Hepburn)

After more than a decade of award-winning work across platforms and distributors, what kinds of stories feel most urgent to you now? And what projects are next for you?

I’m working on a number of projects under the ESPN Films banner that I am super excited about. The projects have not yet been announced but the topics range from women’s basketball to the unknown world of sumo. I often say that they’re stories about what it’s like to be human, set in the always exciting world of sports.

Check out all the NYWIFT members at Sundance 2026. 

About Carolyn Hepburn

Carolyn Hepburn is an Emmy, Peabody, Gotham and Critics Choice Award-winning producer who joined ESPN Films in 2022. Carolyn’s most recent and notable films include the ESPN Films 30 for 30 “The Brittney Griner Story” which is premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival; “Empire Skate” (30 for 30, 2025 Tribeca Festival); HBO’s “Love To Love You, Donna Summer” (2023 Berlin Film Festival); Netflix Original Emmy Winner “Victim/Suspect” (2023 Sundance Film Festival); Emmy Winner “The Fire That Took Her” (Paramount+ / MTV Documentary Films); CNN Films’ “American Pain” (2022 Tribeca Festival); “Unfinished Business” (2022 Tribeca Festival); 2022 SXSW Audience Winner “The Return of Tanya Tucker featuring Brandi Carlile” (Sony Pictures Classics); Oscar Shortlisted “In The Same Breath” (HBO, 2021 Sundance Film Festival); Apple Original Oscar Shortlisted “The Velvet Underground” (2021 Cannes Film Festival); Oscar Nominee “The Mole Agent” (Hulu, 2021 Sundance Film Festival); Frontline’s “A Thousand Cuts” which won an Emmy, Gotham and IDA Award (2021 Sundance Film Festival); 2020 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner “One Child Nation” (Amazon Studios, Oscar Shortlisted); Oscar Nominee and Emmy Winner “Life, Animated” (A&E IndieFilms, 2016 Sundance Film Festival); Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner “Weiner” (IFC Films, Oscar Shortlisted); National Board of Review Winner “Art and Craft” (Oscilloscope, Oscar Shortlisted); and Oscar Shortlisted and Emmy Nominated “3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets” (HBO, 2013 Sundance Special Jury Prize for Social Impact).

(all images courtesy of Carolyn Hepburn)