From NYFA to Slamdance: Alumni Joseph E. Austin II & Jeremy Harris on "A Story About You"

NYFA alumni Joseph E. Austin II (Director) and Jeremy Harris (Cinematographer) are premiering their latest feature, A Story About You, at the 2026 Slamdance Film Festival. The longtime friends and collaborators first worked together as camera operators before attending NYFA, and have since built a creative partnership that spans two feature films. After their debut, Sundays in July, won the Panavision Grant at the Micheaux Film Festival, the team went on to develop their newest project.

In this Q&A, Austin and Harris discuss their journey since NYFA, their creative process, and what it means to bring A Story About You to Slamdance.

NYFA Alumni Network: Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and your careers? What projects have you been working on since graduating, and have you been selected or have won awards at film festivals?

Joseph E. Austin II: Professionally, we got our start as camera operators at the Washington, DC CW Network affiliate in 2010. There, we worked on several Emmy Award-winning local programs; one in particular was Direct Access with Big Tigger, which served as our training ground due to its fast-paced nature and high level of attention to detail. From there, we worked with Grammy-nominated recording artist Raheem DeVaughn during the boom where the Canon 5D and 7D hit the marketplace, which led us into filmmaking and to NYFA.

Since graduating from NYFA, we've completed two feature films together as Director and Cinematographer respectively: Sundays in July and A Story About You. Sundays in July made its World Premiere at the 2020 Milwaukee Film Festival, screened at over 20 festivals, and won numerous awards, including the 2021 Micheaux Film Festival, where it won a $60K grant from Panavision for Outstanding Feature Film. That Panavision Grant led us to our second feature, A Story About You, which will make its World Premiere at the 2026 Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Jeremy Harris: I guess I would consider myself a "Film Worker" in this journey thus far. Lucky enough to be able to make a small career out of having genuine opportunities and interests in all of the cinematography departments but more importantly filmmaking in general.  

- Yes! Our Crew from A Story About You came together for a feature Sunday's In July that won the Outstanding Panavision Feature Film Award at the 2021 The Micheaux Film Festival. Felt like a full circle moment for our director Joseph and I. Oscar Micheaux is a huge inspiration for us and many many filmmakers. 

NYFA Alumni Network: Tell us about your latest film, A Story About You. What inspired you to tell this story? 

Joseph E. Austin II: Shortly after we won the Panavision Grant, it essentially greenlit our next project, and our producing partner and the screenwriter of Sundays in July, Denise Yolén, had already begun brainstorming what would become A Story About You. After reading the script, I instantly knew it would be special. The story allowed us to return to Brooklyn, NY, and continue exploring themes we began in our first film. For me, what attracted me most to this story was the self-assessment and healing journey our lead character, Wilde, would go on over the course of the film. A Story About You forces you to look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself some very important questions, and that drew me in from day one.

Jeremy Harris: A Story About You was conceived as a spiritual sequel to our previous feature, Sunday’s In July—but more than that, it became a canvas for our growth as a creative team. While both scripts are rich in text and subtext, it’s in experiencing the films themselves that the visual language of ASAY fully comes to life.

NYFA Alumni Network: A Story About You was selected to premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival. What was your reaction when you found out the film had been selected?

Joseph E. Austin II: I was in complete shock and disbelief when I received the email that we were selected to premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival. For starters, I received the news on my birthday, which was insane! After I collected myself from all the excitement, I reminded myself that we had earned this moment, and it was a true testament to the hard work our amazing cast and crew put into this film. I'm so grateful to get to share this moment with them, because it's truly been a long time coming. 

Jeremy Harris: I was very, very surprised! As cast and crew we were all surprised. In so many aspects of the film, from score, to editing, to producing, even in the color we were all still a bit in that phase that all filmmakers go through - the "you've got to let it go" feeling. 

We had all fallen so in love with what the essence of the film had become that the natural instinct to go back in, just one more time, just one more pass—started to set in. But there’s always a moment in the edit when you’re watching it and, in that particular viewing, you truly feel like the audience member rather than the filmmaker.

We were in that very moment when, almost instantly, we received the news from Slamdance. I first learned about Slamdance many years ago from Joseph, long before either of our filmmaking journeys had even begun, so it truly felt like one of those good old full-circle moments.

NYFA Alumni Network: When you step onto a set, what is most important to you as a director?

NYFA Alumni Network:  And for you, Jeremy—what is most important to you as a cinematographer?

Jeremy Harris: The most important thing for me as cinematographer when I step onto set is to get as comfortable as possible. Physically and mentally. I played sports when I was younger and every new day on set feels like those moments before a game. In that aspect, nothing has changed. I’m still somewhere hiding in a corner trying not to puke from nerves before the day starts, but just like those past days I've learned to rely on the crew, the same way you rely on your teammates. No matter how much time you have before, whether it be eight weeks of pre-production or eight minutes before call time, get to know the people you'll be sweating with for the next twelve hours. And STRETCH. DEFINITELY STRETCH. NYFA Alumni Network: Can you tell us more about working together? How did your collaboration begin, and were there any specific references or inspirations that guided your creative and visual decisions on this film?

Jeremy creates these amazing lookbooks that we discuss leading up to the film, and oftentimes, his references inspire me to push the envelope and try things. Our camera test at Panavision was essential to us building the look and feel of the film, and we really got to explore various lenses that would really capture the feeling we were going for.

Jeremy Harris: Joseph and I are pretty much brothers. I mentioned sports, we actually met when we were thirteen or fourteen playing sports in high school. Haven't been pulled apart since I'm sure a lot of people would say. But that's definitely where our easy rapport comes from on set. Joseph had an ambition for filmmaking so in a lot of ways he taught me a lot and started my knowledge and passion for cinematography. We've been working together in many aspects for over fifteen years now. 

- I feel I get lost in the world of searching for and building references as I do actually being on set. Even seeing how other crew members have interrupted and translated the story or the script into their own compilation of references can be a hobby. Two of the more personal areas of reference for ASAY were the works of Gordon Parks and the timeless conversation between Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin in 1971. Together and separately, I don't believe there is anything Joseph and I have worked on or will work on where Gordon Parks isn't a lead inspiration. And for the conversation between Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin there is not only the level of intimacy between the two and what they are speaking on, but something within the intimacy of the compositions and the editing that really brings out the truth and the impact of what is being said through their expressions, emotions and how they are adapting to the environment that I believe could really help enhance the conversation style scenes within ASAY. 

NYFA Alumni Network: What do you hope audiences will take away from A Story About You?

Jeremy Harris: I'm hoping audiences take this as another chance to be together, experience something together, and get together and talk about not only our film, but films in particular. Talk for hours, talk all night and day, talk about what you experienced, talk about what you took from the film, talk about what you took from someone else's perspective, but more importantly enjoy the full experience a film can bring. 

NYFA Alumni Network: How did your time at NYFA influence your development as filmmakers and your approach to this project?

Jeremy Harris: I think NYFA was the perfect environment to really help you get your feet wet in the rigorous atmosphere of filmmaking at the same time being an open space to developing who you are as a filmmaker particular to you. Your expression is as important as your endurance. 

NYFA Alumni Network: What's next for each of you after Slamdance?

Joseph E. Austin II: I'm excited for what's next after Slamdance. Of course, Slamdance kicks off our festival run for A Story About You, so more festival announcements are coming. Beyond that, I'm busy working on the next film, which I'm very excited about and can't wait to share when the time comes!

Jeremy Harris: More opportunities and more learning, lord willing. I rewatch movies at an unhealthy pace and I doomscroll through Shotdeck most of the day but it's all towards constantly getting better for that next thing. 

NYFA Alumni Network congratulates Joseph and Jeremy on all their success! 

A Story About You will make its World Premiere at the 2026 Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles on February 21, 2026, and on February 24th, 2026 at the Landmark Theatres. 

To experience the film on the big screen and be part of the conversation, visit the official Slamdance Film Festival website for ticket information: https://slamdance.com/