Mark Decena (Writer/Director), Lawrence Rickford (Director of Photography), Bernardo Josue (Editor/Additional Shooter), Andre Zelaya (Production Assistant), Ambika Jain (Producer), Marc Heal (Executive Producer), Kontent Films & Editorial, Inc. | 2025 | 14 min.
2026 Official Selection
Walking the Fringe explores the ecotone of the Sierra Foothills through the senses of three land stewards. In California, 90% of the open space is made up of natural and working landscapes, tended mostly by farmers and ranchers. Influencing how those lands are conserved and restored can have a huge impact. Can blending Western and Indigenous knowledges be the answer?
MARK DECENA is a writer, director and producer of feature films, shorts, television programming, and brand films. A three-time Sundance alumni, Mark's first feature, Dopamine won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at Sundance. Decena's turn to documentary work spans across themes of social justice, sustainable design and the environment.
Mark wrote and directed the Redford Center’s film, Watershed, a one-hour documentary on water use in the Colorado River Basin, executive produced and narrated by Robert Redford. He was also a writer and producer on Stand Up Planet, a Gates Foundation project looking at global development issues through the lens of stand up comedy. His feature film, Not Without Us, followed seven global grassroots activists to the United Nations climate talks in Paris. Mark’s latest film, Farming While Black, premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival and is currently on its run in over 50 film festivals and counting, including winning the Best of the Festival award at Wild and Scenic in 2024.
Mark is also the founder of Kontent, a boutique production company based in San Francisco, housing a Kollective of award-winning filmmakers, as well as producers and creatives. He has directed and produced 5 feature length films and over 20 short films to date. Decena’s films have screened worldwide and now stream on various digital platforms.
