NYWIFT Blog

By Tammy Reese

For filmmaker, writer, and producer Juleyka Lantigua, storytelling has always been rooted in truth, history, and the voices too often left out of the conversation. Now, the award-winning creative and proud member of New York Women in Film & Television is bringing one of those powerful stories to the forefront as an Executive Producer and Co-Writer of The Lorraine, which will have its World Premiere during the 25th anniversary of the Tribeca Festival.

Through the lens of The Lorraine, Juleyka helps illuminate the legacy of the Lorraine Motel and the Bailey family, whose impact stretched far beyond the historic events forever tied to the Memphis landmark. The documentary explores Black excellence, resilience, entrepreneurship, music history, and the enduring fight for justice during one of America’s most turbulent eras.

As the Founder of LWC Studios, Juleyka has built a career centered on meaningful storytelling with social impact. Her work has earned national recognition, including a Peabody Award nomination for the acclaimed audio documentary series 70 Million, while her films have screened at festivals around the world. With The Lorraine now taking center stage at Tribeca, Juleyka continues to prove the importance of telling stories that preserve history, honor legacy, and inspire future generations.

NYWIFT Member Juleyka Antigua

Congratulations on The Lorraine being selected for its World Premiere during the 25th anniversary of the Tribeca Festival. What initially drew you to this powerful project, and why was it important for you to help tell the story of the Lorraine Motel and the Bailey family?

I learned about the Bailey family six years ago while editing and producing the documentary podcast Driving the Green Book for Macmillan Publishers. I was mystified that their incredible story is not as widely known as it deserves. Alvin Hall, an author and BBC correspondent who created the podcast, and I vowed to tell the Baileys’ story after we completed the audio series. After putting together a pitch deck, we shopped it around to potential studios and were very fortunate to have Submarine Deluxe embrace the vision for the feature documentary.

It’s important and necessary to tell this story because the Baileys did extraordinary work during Jim Crow in the heart of the segregated South. They built a thriving business, nurtured artists, civil rights leaders, travelers, and Memphis residents in ways that offered a respite from the daily humiliations of institutional racism.

Still from The Lorraine (Photo courtesy of 2026 Tribeca Festival)

As a Co-Writer and an Executive Producer, what was your creative and emotional experience like working alongside acclaimed filmmaker Sam Pollard on this documentary?

I learned so much while working with Sam on this documentary. He is a creative force who maintained a clear vision for the film from beginning to end.

The Lorraine highlights Black excellence, resilience, music history, and the ongoing fight for justice. What do you hope audiences take away from the film after watching it?

So much of what the owners and patrons of The Lorraine Motel endured still happens today, so I believe audiences will understand the need to reckon with the unhealed wounds our country has inflicted on so many people, past and present. I also hope they walk away inspired to spark the change necessary where they live and work by living a principled and justice-oriented life, as the Baileys did.

Juleyka Lantigua at The Lorraine

The Lorraine Motel holds such a significant place in American history beyond the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. What surprised or impacted you most while researching and developing this project?

I visited the now National Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine and was moved to tears by some of the spaces preserved from the original motel and key moments of our history. I sat in a bus similar to the one Rosa Parks sat in. I meditated for a few minutes inside a replica of the cell from which Dr. King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

I peered through glass at room 306, which has been kept exactly as he left it the day of his assassination. Many museum goers pray at this site, hold one another, and shed tears as they absorb the significance of the room where history and destiny collided almost fifty years ago. I felt blessed to be among them as I tried to pay homage to Dr. King, and stand in gratitude for his immense sacrifice.

Juleyka Lantigua at The NYWIFT Muse Awards

As a valued member of NYWIFT, what inspired you to become involved with the organization, and how has being part of the NYWIFT community supported your career journey?

I’m new to NYWIFT and joined because filmmakers I admire speak highly of the organization, praising its member support, industry advocacy, and its role as a beacon for women’s creativity and work in film and television. So far, I have mostly participated in online events, but look very much forward to meeting fellow members in person soon.

Many aspiring writers and producers dream of having their work showcased at major festivals like Tribeca. What advice would you give to creatives hoping to develop meaningful projects that resonate with audiences and reach that level?

Find a story that needs telling. Commit to telling it in the most undeniable way possible. Invite collaborators who believe in it as much as you do. Do not stop until it’s done, no matter how long it takes.

Beyond The Lorraine, what else can audiences look forward to from you next, and how can readers stay connected with you on social media or online?

I have another feature documentary making the festival rounds at the moment: Saving Etting Street (trailer), about Black women in Baltimore who are rebuilding entire neighborhoods one abandoned house at a time. It premiered at DOC NYC in September and has been selected for several festivals around the country. Folks can find me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Connect with Juleyka Lantiuga on LinkedIn and follow her on Instagram at @juleykalantigua.

See The Lorraine at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, running June 3-14. 

And check out all the other NYWIFT member projects at the 2026 Tribeca Festival. 

More about Juleyka Lantigua:

Juleyka Lantigua is the Founder of LWC Studios, an award-winning digital media studio whose original work reaches rising audiences with programming that has a social-justice vein. As a filmmaker, she has executive produced three short films, including August Sun, which was nominated for a Student Academy Award and Student BAFTA; The Longest Race, a documentary shot during the Covid pandemic that followed two ultrarunners as they clung on to some semblance of normalcy. Her films have screened at national and international film festivals.

Juleyka just completed work on two feature documentaries–as co-writer/creator and executive producer on The Lorraine, which will have its world premiere at Tribeca Festival, and as executive producer on Saving Etting Street, which premiered at DOC NYC. LWC Studios received a Peabody Award nomination for 70 Million, an audio documentary series about criminal justice reform.

A Fulbright Scholar, she holds a Master’s in Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. Juleyka is an active member of Women in Film, New York Women in Film & Television, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and The D-Word. She serves as a film screener for the New Orleans Film Festival and the Cordillera International Film Festival.

(All images courtesy of Juleyka Lantigua except where otherwise noted)