Q&A: Documentary filmmaker visits Charlotte to discuss media bias and her 5,300-mile journey across America

Like many Americans, Stephany Zamora was shocked when thousands of right-wing activists occupied the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a violent show of support for Donald J. Trump, who lost his re-election bid for president.

“I wanted to do something, but I wasn’t sure what it would be,” said Zamora, 61, of Laguna Beach, California.

Then fate took over.

Within a few months, Zamora met the director. She also learned about Ground News, a website that claims to help its users “read between the lines of media bias and break free from algorithms.”

Zamora, who works in the technology sector, said she began to study more closely how ordinary people – including herself – are influenced by the media they consume.

“And I said, ‘Oh, wow, that’s how it happened,’” she said of the Jan. 6 insurrection. “That was the first time I realized that at my age I was in an information bubble. People really do have different sources of information and therefore come to different conclusions.

Later that year, in 2021, Zamora embarked on an 8,300-kilometer bus trip across America “to explore how the growing crisis of trust in the media threatens our democracy.” The result of her many months of journey is an hour-long documentary entitled “Trustworthy”.

On Tuesday, October 8, Zamora will visit Charlotte at the invitation of QCity Metro to screen her documentary, which is now available on Prime Video via Prime Video Direct. The free screening will be held at First Baptist Church-West. After the show, there will be a community conversation with Zamora and local media representatives. The event is organized by the American Press Institute.

Although the Charlotte event is free, responses are required. Refreshments will be provided before the screening.

In preparation for her visit, I spoke by phone with Zamora, who described the document as unbiased. Portions of our conversation have been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me a little about your background.

I grew up in Northern California. My career was in technology. I have worked for many startups. I have lived in California all my life. My background is in finance and systems. I am a systems analyst. But because of my experience with startups and just constantly creating something out of nothing, starting a film venture for me was like, “Oh, this is like another startup.”

I never believed in violence. Generally speaking, no matter which side, left, right, black, white, whatever, I do not believe in violence of any kind. But I saw that they were fighting for something they believed in.

Stefania Zamora

Let’s go back to the events of January 6, 2021. How did it affect you?

Of course, this is a very controversial topic. But I saw that these were people who thought they were fighting for something and believed in what they were fighting for. I never believed in violence. Generally speaking, regardless of side – left, right, black, white, whatever – I do not believe in violence of any kind. But I saw that they were fighting for something they believed in. So why was their path so different from mine? Because I just grew up in a country that has been very united for most of my 61 years of life. So wanting to really find out what happened here, I really didn’t understand. I knew there were differences in thinking across the country, but I had never really experienced the divide we see now.

Who financed your documentary project?

I did.

All on your own?

Yes.

Bus, cross-country, everything?

100%.

Have you disclosed how much it costs?

Yes, I posted it publicly. That’s $1.5 million.

$1.5 million?

Mhm.

Are you affiliated with any political party or any…?

I’m not. NO.

So what would compel someone, an ordinary citizen with no political agenda, to spend $1.5 million of their own money on this?

I lost my mom during Covid; not from Covid, but actually from a very aggressive cancer that developed very early during Covid. It was a very difficult experience. And my mother was a person who, when she saw something, did something about it. And this apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. So I used my money for my country. Would I give it somewhere? Maybe. Would I do anything with the money I have? Yes. It so happened that I made a film.

How did you decide where you would go on this cross-country hike?

We spent the summer of 2021 on Zoom calls recruiting subject matter experts. And so we had several people in geographic locations on the map. Honestly, how we managed to coordinate this with the bus trip and make it all work was truly a miracle, but we did it. So we had several points on the map depending on who we would talk to. So we just filled in the rest in between.

What are the places you have visited?

So we drove through the southern part of the country – we started in California and went through Arizona. We stopped in Tucson. We drove through Texas. Texas is a very large state, so we did the interviews in Austin, but we heard a lot of voices from Texas people in several places. El Paso. I know we did a lot of shooting in Louisiana, then Florida, then Miami… We went all the way up the East Coast to Boston. So we were at Duke, North Carolina, and then we went to Brooklyn, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia.

And that’s where it ended, in the Northeast?

Yes.

What was the takeaway?

The people were wonderful. Nobody made us feel uncomfortable. No one made us feel unsafe in any way. Everyone who approached us was really caring. One of the things I like to say is that there’s nothing we’ve shot that we couldn’t put into a movie to keep our creative direction that wasn’t incendiary, unbiased, hopeful and solving. So everyone was really nice and it was a really amazing experience. I’m not sure this bus trip would be the same today, but it was in 2021.

What did you learn about this country?

I’m always curious why people settle where they do. I live in Laguna Beach. It’s not hard to like this place. But people live in all sorts of places. They live in different ways. They settle where they settle and settle in their communities. And again, the America I grew up in, which I had no idea about… I will say that I was surprised by how much racism, how much sexism, still exists. I just haven’t experienced that much in my life, I have to tell you. It was disappointing. And having been to other parts of the country, I think I see it more on the ground.

What have you learned about the country and people through the media?

Well, they’re really frustrated. But I think back then we still felt like someone had done something to us. What I’m trying to convey is that this is something we can have a say in.

What do you mean by that?

Well, it’s such an onslaught, and I’m talking mainly about social media, because I still think that journalism has always been journalism over the years. It had its ups and downs. It has its own reputation. But journalism in our country has always had the same goal. Social media complicates matters, and we don’t really know how much other countries interfere with our media. We just really don’t know. So it’s a dynamic that I didn’t grow up with. I grew up with three TV boys, right? But now, because there is so much of it, it is coming at us and we just have to accept it. While we are still customers here. We are still consumers and we will always have a voice. So how can we make this voice heard in the media?

Have you come up with any solutions?

I have done about 30 shows across the country and in various states. After watching the movie, I would like people to take one, two, maybe three things from the movie and incorporate them into their lives, such as checking their confirmation bias, critical thinking skills, or media literacy. These are the solutions. I didn’t invent them; they have been here forever. But maybe it’s just a reminder that we have some power here. We have some control. But we have to take this responsibility.