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“The Censorship Our Librarians Face is One We Will Face in Our Field”: Producer Janique L. Robillard on The Librarians
The Librarians, courtesy of Sundance Institute. Director Kim A. Snyder (Us Kids) turns her camera to the frontlines of the contemporary book-banning wave that is sweeping many U.S. states, particularly Florida and Texas, in The Librarians. The film is part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section and marks the first producer credit of Janique L. Robillard. Below, Robillard discusses the film’s origins and how the film’s subject connects to today’s film production industry.
See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here.
Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film?
Robillard: I first worked with director-producer Kim A. Snyder and producing partner Maria Cuomo Cole during the impact phase of their 2020 feature film Us Kids. We collaborated on a grassroots screening tour, trailer creation and a large youth voter turnout activation series in tandem with March for Our Lives, Future Coalition and others. From there, I worked with Kim as a development producer on a few projects she had percolating, one was our recent documentary short film Death by Numbers, another is what became The Librarians. After creating our concept deck and joining preliminary Zoom calls with the Texas FReadom Fighters, we quickly said “it’s time to get to Texas,” and that was it.
I wasn’t sure if I’d simply be field producing these preliminary days or in it for the long haul, but Kim asked me to officially sign on as a producer with her while wrapping up our first week in the field, sitting on the steps of the Austin Capitol building while filming a Freedom to Read protest. I’m thankful for her trust and the 3+ years of collaboration that led us to our 2025 Sundance Film Festival world premiere.
Filmmaker: How long a process was it to produce the film, and if you could break it into stages, periods of time, what were they? Can you also discuss how the financing came together and how long a process that was?
Robillard: Producing The Librarians has been just over a three year adventure as we approach our world premiere. Beginning in January 2022, we had a pretty rapidfire development phase as the unprecedented wave of censorship swept through Texas and beyond. It was clear that we needed to move into production fast, and thankfully Kim has an amazing team of trusted executive producers who believed in her vision and helped us get to Texas, where production began in March 2022.
From there, we grew our network of brave librarian collaborators and community members organically, each shoot day revealing new connections and opportunities. What started as a concept for a short film quickly revealed itself to be a feature worthy of deeper investigative work and time filming outside of Texas with librarians affected by the barrage of book challenges and harassment in other states to honor the full story of their experience. We were fortunate enough to be selected in the 2023 Open Call cohort for an ITVS co-production and are looking ahead to our Independent Lens broadcast release later this year.
Filmmaker: Did you have important or impactful mentors, or support from organizations, that were instrumental in your development as a producer?
Robillard: I’ve certainly learned things from each member of our producing team—Kim A Snyder, Maria Cuomo Cole, and Jana Edelbaum—on this film that I’ll carry with me into future projects. I’m someone who gets bored quickly if I don’t feel like I’m learning and continually improving my craft, be that producing, editing or camera work. With this ethos, there are a few key people who were impactful early in my career. One is Peter Ostella, the first producer I worked with while interning at Saatchi & Saatchi in 2007. I didn’t even know the role existed, and it was an “aha” moment where I finally saw a path I knew truly made sense for me. Another is Annie Tonsiengsom, Actual Industries co-founder and head of OMPA in Portland, OR who took a risk hiring me on the spot at a lunch and with whom I was able to collaborate and grow my producing skills on short-form work for over 5+ years. Finally, my partner and cinematographer Paulius Kontijevas, who always takes the time to teach me new cameras and lighting techniques and encourages me to film my own work, which has been empowering as I quickly fell into a producing path before exploring other roles and I like knowing I can be self sufficient when I want or need to be.
Filmmaker: What was the most difficult aspect of producing this film?
Robillard: The biggest challenge in producing this film has been the unwieldy nature of the subject at hand—the unprecedented wave of book challenges and censorship sweeping the country. There are so many directions to run with, it was critical to hone in on the experience of the librarians and make sure everything we did was in service of this narrative through line. Another was one I know all independent documentary film producers face, which is having to wear many hats and sustaining the intense workflow for so many years. I truly believe in the power of The Librarians, so it was always worthwhile, but it’s not always easy.
Filmmaker: What single element of the film do you take the greatest amount of pride in, or maybe were just most excited by, as a producer?
Robillard: To be honest, I’m most proud of our team. As a producer, especially in the field, it’s my job to make sure we have a strong team that can work collaboratively, make our film participants feel safe, and capture the spirit of Kim’s vision. In post, [my job is to make sure] that we have the right blend of experience, creative acumen, and hands on deck to carry the edit. I’m also incredibly proud of the relationships we’ve built with our network of storyteller librarians and community members who participated in the film—they are all such invested, brilliant and inspiring humans.
Filmmaker: What surprised you or was unexpected when it comes to the producing of the film?
Robillard: There was one specific day that always stands out in my mind as a somewhat magical moment in documentary filmmaking. It was in 2022, when I met Suzette Baker at the Texas Library Association conference. She was one of the first librarians in Texas to be fired for taking a stand against demands to remove books on race and racism like The History of the KKK and How to Be an Anti-Racist. I was so inspired by her courage to defend the books in a small town where many were against her and also to trust Kim and our team with her story. We asked if we might be able to visit her after the conference, and within 3 hours we changed the whole itinerary, and our team was off to Llano. It was one of those moments where it felt like “okay, we’re onto something here!” And well worth the additional days on the road.
Filmmaker: What are the challenges facing new producers entering the business right now at this unique historical moment? And what could or should change about the film business to make producing a more sustainable practice?
Robillard: I think the censorship our librarians face is one we will face in our field as well, whether it’s self-censorship for fear of being cast out of funding and distribution opportunities or a more overt censorship that we’ve seen some of last year’s standout feature documentaries faced—like Zurawski v Texas and Union—being painted as too political rather than deeply human. If something were to change, I think it would be more awareness of and appreciation for the role of a lead producer who will take a project from concept through final delivery. The word “producer” can mean many things, so fees in this department often don’t match the creative and physical lift the job inevitably demands, and it can be particularly challenging to sustain financially on multi-year projects without taking on additional short-term opportunities.
Filmmaker: Finally, what advice would you pass on to future new producers preparing to embark on their first production?
Robillard: I would advise new producers to always build their teams very intentionally. What may start as a short film concept could turn into a feature project ,and you want to know that you are surrounded by people you trust, you enjoy collaborating with, and (my personal test) that you could spend 10+ hours in a car with—because that’s how most phases of production feel, like very long road trips.
The other thing is to believe in the power of your work. Don’t ever doubt you’ll get into that festival or get that grant, because when you do, you want to be ready to run.
