they could definitely have a connection through photography - i was thinking that she was a photojournalist turned documentary filmmaker, has maybe done some traveling for work but always had a desire to focus on local issues that she's been around since (probably?) college. she'll be really involved in the local arts scene and would probably know a diverse group of hometown artistic types through that, so if even they hadn't met directly, there's a chance that they could have had some connections in common to set something up?