Dakota Stokes

Documentary director and editor. Passionate about stories about people, especially those from misrepresented or misunderstood backgrounds. Having lived in Japan, the Middle East, and the Balkans, my work is greatly influenced by the international life I’ve led. The American South is dear to my heart.

Documentary film projects

The Descendants of James Henry Hammond

"The universe is made of stories,

not of atoms."
- Muriel Rukeyser

The Descendants of James Henry Hammond

Senator James Henry Hammond was one of the most powerful players in South Carolina’s Antebellum slave-owning oligarchy. Hammond is most known today for his infamous “Cotton is King” speech delivered at the Senate on March 4th, 1848.

I’m currently searching for descendants of James Henry Hammond, and for descendants of the people he enslaved. I’m interested in what descendants are like, how they relate to their ancestry, and how they feel about our country today. If this is part of your ancestry, I’d love to hear any thoughts you’d be comfortable sharing with me. Even if you don’t wish to participate in the film, I’d greatly value any thoughts you’d be willing to share off the record. There are no wrong answers!

In early production

"You dare not make war on cotton! No power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king,"

- James Henry Hammond

The Benson Five

The Benson Five tells the story of five black youths who tried to burn down their town’s KKK meeting hall in Benson, North Carolina in 1968. Benson is located in Johnston County, which was known throughout the 1900s for its strong klan presence. Days after the assassination of Dr. King, Black youths in Benson held a march in his honor. Later that night, the klan rode through their neighborhood brandishing weapons. That was the final straw that pushed the five youths - between the ages of 16 and 20 - to sneak over to their town’s klan meeting hall and try to light it aflame.

I’m editing The Benson Five and co-directing with Sarah Nixon, a Benson native. Fiscally sponsored by the Southern Documentary Fund. In production.

Feature in production

https://www.thebensonfivefilm.com/

Alala Productions

"Fifty years of the Roadhouse: From Paul's Place to the Kraken" aka "The Kraken Documentary"

I co-founded Alala Productions with Todd McPhail in 2021. Alala Productions does commercial and documentary videography in the Triangle region of North Carolina and beyond. Please see our Youtube channel for our work. I’ve edited and co-directed every Alala Productions video.

We’re especially proud of The Kraken Documentary, a portrait and history of a notorious roadside bar in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Alala Productions released the documentary feature Quiet Professional: Clem Lemke at the 2024 Veterans Film Festival, where it was nominated for both the Honor and Valor awards, and the 2025 AVAFest Veteran Military Film Festival. Quiet Professional: Clem Lemke is a biography of a high-ranking CIA officer who was involved in the attempt to rescue the hostages during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. It is fiscally sponsored by The Southern Documentary Fund.