Join the Lincoln Presidential Foundation on Monday, January 12, 2026, at 7 p.m. ET, for our fourth free Latest Generation Film Contest virtual mentor session, “Digging into the Past: Using Primary and Secondary Sources on Film."

How do you find primary evidence to support your story? How do you vet secondary sources to give fuller context to your primary sources? Join filmmakers Michelle Mehrtens (Smithsonian Enterprises), Ryan Shank (Conner Prairie), and Mia Rasmussen (2024 Latest Generation Film Contest winner) for a conversation about investigating sources from various perspectives, summarizing multiple sources, and using non-traditional story structures.

Bios:
Ryan Jay Shank is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, museum professional, and Youth250 bureau member. Beginning his career in Washington, DC, Ryan worked for the National Air and Space Museum before moving to Conner Prairie Museum in his home state of Indiana. There, he produces digital educational content and oversees the museum’s curatorial and collection departments. His most recent documentary, Village on the Prairie, debuted at the 2025 Heartland International Film Festival.

Mia Rasmussen is a sophomore in Broadcast Journalism and Documentary major at Chapman University, minoring in both Graphic Design, and History. She has been making documentaries since middle school, and has received recognition for her work from associations such as National History Day, the Smithsonian, and the Better Angels Society.

Michelle Mehrtens is the manager of programming for Smithsonian Enterprises, where she oversees the production of two original digital series for Smithsonian magazine. She is a graduate of Stanford University’s MFA program in documentary film and a former media intern at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Her work has been published in ScreenRant, Looper, Smithsonian Folklife Magazine, and TED-Ed.

Register HERE.