Firelight Media Documentary Lab – United States

The Documentary Lab is Firelight Media’s longest-running artist program. This 18-month fellowship is designed to nurture underrepresented nonfiction storytellers working on their first or second feature film. The Documentary Lab provides holistic support for fellows’ projects and careers through professional development retreats, customized mentorship, and a $25K project grant. Throughout the Lab, filmmakers build a network within the documentary ecosystem, connecting with the fellows and alumni, as well as forging industry relationships across the field.

They’re looking for ambitious applicants making artful and innovative documentary films that focus on underrepresented communities and provide new narratives about the most pressing issues of the time. Firelight Media will consider all types of long-form documentary projects – historical, investigative, personal, vérité, and experimental.

Funding Information

• The Documentary Lab provides filmmakers with a $25,000 grant toward their projects as well as customized mentorship from prominent leaders in the documentary world, professional development retreats, and networking opportunities.

Eligibility Criteria

• Only the director of the film is eligible to apply and enter the program. They can accept co-directors if they meet all eligibility requirements. If you’re applying with your co-director, please indicate that in your application. They cannot accept more than 2 directors per project.
• Filmmaker must be from an underrepresented community and be residing in the United States or U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. Samoa, Guam/Northern Mariana Islands).
• The project must be a long-form/feature-length documentary; the Lab does not accept short documentaries, series, or fiction projects of any kind.
• Film must be a work-in-progress. They accept films from early production through production or post-production. They do not accept films in pre-production or completed films.
• Filmmaker must be an emerging documentary filmmaker (working on their first or second feature length documentary).

Ineligible

• Filmmakers are not eligible to receive support through one or any of Firelight Media’s artist programs if:
  • The filmmaker is applying with a project that is a student film or related to ongoing coursework.
  • The filmmaker is re-applying to a program they previously received support from.
  • The filmmaker is contracted with another Firelight Media artist program and has not completed the final deliverables by the time they are selected for this program.
  • The filmmaker is employed by Firelight Media, Firelight Films, or PBS as an officer, full-time employee, or is a member of the board of directors.
  • The filmmaker does not hold the majority of the intellectual property of the film.

For more information, visit Firelight Media.