Aubrey Franchell was the recipient of the Benjamin Menschel Fellowship in 2003, enabling her to travel to Hungary to produce an installation and documentary video. The aim of documentary was to recreate the distinctive ritualistic ambiance of the bath houses in Budapest, while considering larger political and social implications inherent in the environment.

In 2004, Franchell expanded on the themes of the 2003 Hungarian Bath House Video Documentary. She traveled to Northern India and continued her research in New Delhi and Rajasthan. The documentary, "Sacred Water," explored the ways in which water was viewed as both a destructive force and revered as a sacred life-giving element in the desert climate. The video also documented the ways North Indians used water as a means of spiritual and physical purification.

In 2005, Franchell worked on the independent film, “Skip Walking Let’s Dance,” directed by Ron Taylor. The film premiered in the 2005 Palm Beach Film Festival and celebrated life-affirming struggles and triumphs of Taylor's 21-year old son who was diagnosed in infancy with cerebral palsy.