King Horse Films gets its namesake from the barangay (Spanish: barrio / English: neighborhood) in the Philippines, the home of our founder Cindy Martin’s parents — “King Kabayo (Horse)” — located two hours north of the capital Manila, in the province of Bulacan. The filmmaker wanted to honor her parents and her culture.

About Cindy Martin

ORGANIZATIONS:

Sundance Institute

A-Doc

Brown Girls Doc Mafia

CAAM

Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA)

Mezcla Media Collective

Cindy Martin is an award-winning Filipina-American Documentary Filmmaker from Chicago dedicated to amplifying voices from underrepresented communities, with a particular focus on AAPI, BIPOC and women’s stories. She has been named by numerous fellowships for her work in documentary filmmaking and community building.

In 2023, she participated in the FYLPRO Immersion fellowship, which   recognized her talents as a Filipina-American leader and returned to the Philippines to use her skills and experience to work alongside local governments, businesses and non-profit organizations.

In 2022, she was named a cohort of Kartemquin’s Diverse Voices in Docs (DVID) fellowship and a CNN/Film Independent Docuseries fellow. Cindy lived and worked in London and Los Angeles for over 20 years as a Broadcast Journalist ​for Reuters, AP, ABC News​ and​ Sky News.

Cindy holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Psychology and Politics. ​She is a board member of Doc Chicago, a former film programmer and organizer for the Foundation for Asian-American Independent Media (FAAIM) in Chicago which produces the Asian-American Showcase (film, music and comedy).

FILMOGRAPHY:

LOVE IS A STRANGER - Director/Producer, Feature

KING HORSE FILMS

Status: In Development

Slated for release 2027

THE FIGHT FOR BLACK LIVES - Co-Producer, Feature

TREP Project LLC

Dir: Micere Keels

Status: In Festivals

World Premiere - Santa Barbara International Film Festival

*WINNER - Best Documentary, Charlotte Black Film Festival

EJ LEE: ALL-AMERICAN - Co-Producer, Feature

EJ LEE DOCUMENTARY LLC

Dir: Jason Rhee

Status: Release expected 2025

UNTITLED JESSE JACKSON DOCUMENTARY

STORY SYNDICATE/DOCSVILLE

Dir: Shola Lynch

Status: In Production