EXCLUSIVE: Academy Award nominees Geeta Gandbhir, Sam Pollard, and Alisa Payne are joining the Oscar-contending short documentary Water Cooler as executive producers.

Emma V.F. directed the film, which she shot in the corridors of immigration court at Federal Plaza in New York City. Filming openly, V.F. captured scenes of jarring contrast: ICE agents engaged in mundane “water cooler” talk and then those same agents seizing migrants in the hallways who were following proper procedures to seek legal status in the U.S.

At one moment, the agents – most of them masked – would be talking amongst themselves about shopping for Black Friday deals, for instance, or the latest taser models. The next moment, they were forcibly detaining someone who had showed up to immigration court little expecting to be grabbed before they walked into court.

“The observational documentary — which [V.F.] filmed from November 2025 through January 2026 — juxtaposes agents’ casual conversations with tense scenes of the agents arresting immigrants who attended required court hearings to seek legal status,” notes a description. Water Cooler won Best Documentary Short at Palm Springs International ShortFest 2026, qualifying the film for Oscar consideration.

“Water Cooler is an urgent documentary short that sends a powerful message about a defining issue of our time,” said Pollard (MLK/FBI, Tutu). “America is at a tipping point with ICE and their outrageous incursions into our cities, which is why films like this are so important.”

Gandbhir (The Perfect Neighbor, The Devil Is Busy), observed, “Emma V.F.’s film Water Cooler honors the direct cinema style pioneered by Bob Drew and D. A. Pennebaker while turning her lens on masked federal agents. Even in a short runtime, it does what the films of those pioneers did — immerses you in a world that is crucial to see for yourself.”

Water Cooler screens on Saturday at the Hamptons International Film Festival in New York, on Sunday, October 18 at the Woodstock Film Festival in New York, and on October 24 at AFI Fest in Los Angeles. Next month, it’s programmed at the St. Louis International Film Festival. In addition to Palm Springs International ShortFest, the documentary has screened at DC/DOX in the nation’s capital.

The documentary is a production of Spoonbill Stories and Message Pictures, the latter a company founded by Gandbhir, Pollard, and Payne (Payne earned an Oscar nomination earlier this year for producing The Perfect Neighbor). Water Cooler is directed, produced, filmed and edited by Emma V.F. Along with Gandbhir, Pollard, and Payne, Blair Foster (Marty, Life is Short; Taxi to the Darkside) serves as an executive producer. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Seeds, Union, Power) composed the original score.

V.F. directed the 2023 documentary feature Queen of New York. Her producing credits include In the Same Breath (HBO); Silver Dollar Road (Amazon Studios); Take Your Pills: Xanax (Netflix) and Once Upon a Time in Uganda.

“As the granddaughter of Italian immigrants and Jewish New Yorkers who would be outraged to see masked federal agents disappearing law-abiding people down stairwells in their city, I knew this was a film I needed to make,” Emma V.F. said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to partner with Message Pictures to share the film more widely in hopes that it inspires collective action opposing ICE.”

Watch a teaser-trailer for Water Cooler here: