Austin Film Society Announces Producer Elizabeth Lodge Stepp to Head Its New Texas Film Financing Initiative

June 26, 2025, AUSTIN, TX— The Austin Film Society announces Elizabeth Lodge Stepp has joined the organization as Senior Program Director for a new Texas film financing initiative. In this new role, Stepp will help build on AFS’s nearly 30-year track record of funding independent films via the AFS Grant and shape a new fund and financing program for films in the region.

Photo courtesy of the Austin Film Society.
Click here to download the image above.In her new role, Stepp will structure and manage the Texas film finance initiative, connecting Texas-based filmmakers and projects to both grant opportunities and equity investment funding. Stepp brings a unique combination of experience in film production and finance to the role. As an independent producer, in her previous roles at Terrence Malick’s company and then as co-founder of the production company Department of Motion Pictures, Stepp produced and financed films, working with artists on both fiction and documentary features. Stepp began her career as an investment banker, gaining experience creating financial, legal, and business strategies. 

“With her rare blend of experience in independent film production and investment banking — and her close relationship with the filmmaking community in Texas — Elizabeth is the ideal person to help AFS launch our new film financing initiative,” said AFS CEO Rebecca Campbell. “We believe there is great opportunity for funders to deepen their support for Texas voices and look forward to shaping the program with Elizabeth’s insight.”

Support for Austin Film Society’s broader filmmaker programs and the development of a new film financing structure was provided, in part, by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This film financing initiative aims to offer career advancement and networking opportunities for independent, diverse filmmakers, strengthening Texas as a regional hub for independent film production. 

“After launching my filmmaking career as a graduate of AFS’s internship program (now called AFS Creative Careers), I’m honored to return to the Austin Film Society. This new film finance initiative represents a bold step toward expanding access to capital for Texas filmmakers — one that recognizes the immense talent in our region and the need for new models of support. I look forward to building a program that not only invests in visionary storytelling but also helps make Texas a true home for independent cinema,” said Elizabeth Lodge Stepp.

With this effort, AFS deepens its long-standing commitment to empowering artists and strengthening the regional film ecosystem. The new initiative is not just about financing — it’s about building a more inclusive, sustainable and artist-centered future for film in Texas and beyond.

About Elizabeth Lodge Stepp

Elizabeth Lodge Stepp is an Austin, TX-based producer. Elizabeth’s latest documentary film, Carrying, provides a lens into adoption from the untold perspective of its central figures: birth moms (currently in post-production). Her prior film, Users, premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary. She is also a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program Grantee with Users and a Sundance Feature Film Creative Producing Fellow with Monsters and Men, which premiered in Sundance’s 2018 Dramatic Competition line-up, and won the festival’s Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature. In addition, she was a co-founder of the Department of Motion Pictures and has produced numerous films, including Brimstone & Glory which was named 2017 Top 5 Documentaries by the National Board of Review, and Kerri Walsh Jennings: Gold Within which premiered on NBC in 2016, and co-produced Knight Of Cups (2015) and Song To Song (SXSW 2017), both directed by Terrence Malick.

About Austin Film Society

Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, AFS creates life-changing opportunities for filmmakers, catalyzes Austin and Texas as a creative hub, and brings the community together around great film. AFS supports filmmakers from all backgrounds towards career leaps, encouraging exceptional artistic projects with grants and support services. AFS operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, to attract and grow the creative media ecosystem. Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse mediamakers to train and collaborate, provides many points of access to filmmaking and film careers. The AFS Cinema is an ambitiously programmed repertory and first-run arthouse with broad community engagement. By hosting premieres, local and international industry events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. AFS is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

MEDIA CONTACT
Will Stefanski
Will@austinfilm.org

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