The Original Voices Accelerator is a national open call for US-based student filmmakers and film critics interested in documentary film, journalism, and inclusion in this new six-month fellowship.

Original Voices Shorts is a national open call for archival and journalistically driven short documentaries highlighting social issues and identities.

The Original Voices Fellowship is an invite-only grant and artist development program supporting US-based feature documentary filmmakers.

Love Birds

Directed by Elliot Kennerson and Angel Morris, Archival Producer Katy Garrity

Production Stage: Development

Following their breakthrough discovery of homosexuality in seagulls in 1972, George Hunt and Molly Warner tell the story of how “lesbian seagulls” changed the landscape of both the field of science and the LGBTQ+ movement in America.

BAD PRESS

Directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler; Produced by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Garrett Baker, Conrad Beilharz, Tyler Graim and Joe Peeler; Cinematographer Tyler Graim

First Time Feature Filmmaker

When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring their free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian Country.

BAD PRESS premiered at Sundance 2023.

Chain of Rocks

Directed by Damon Davis, Produced by Chris Renteria

Production Stage: Production

A Death Row inmate confesses to a crime after 30 years of maintaining his innocence. Now, an activist who once fought for his innocence is faced with the moral dilemma of whether the fight was in vain. Chain of Rocks is an animated feature-length documentary that explores the complexities of race and masculinity and how they skew our worldview and play a role in oppressive systems.

Florence From Ohio

Directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal, Produced by Carrie Weprin and Mynette Louie

Production Stage: Development

Florence from Ohio is a real-life, genre-twisting film about Florence Wang and her second-generation daughter, Stephanie Wang-Breal. Told through the lens of Florence’s St. John Knit power suits and 1980s local TV cooking show, mother and daughter collectively reimagine and grapple with their generational ideas of motherhood, feminism, racism, and assimilation.

The Queer Beat

Directed by Eric Juhola, Produced by Jeremy Stulberg and David Ninh, Cinematographers Rachel Bardin and Rose Bush

Production Stage: Production

The Queer Beat is a collaborative vérité documentary featuring trans, queer and gender non-conforming journalists who reflect on their own identities while working to tell the story of a seminal moment in LGBTQ history. The film follows reporters Kate Sosin and Cristela Guerra as they investigate the still unsolved 1998 murder of trans woman Rita Hester, whose death sparked the creation of the world-wide movement ‘Transgender Day of Remembrance’. Two decades later, they discover new leads amidst a community still grieving and try to answer the question ‘What happened’?

UNION

Directed by Brett Story and Stephen Maing, Produced by Samantha Curley and Mars Verrone, Cinematographer Martin DiCicco

Production Stage: Production

From the perspective of a single Amazon fulfillment center, this documentary is an intimate portrait of current and former Amazon workers taking on one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies in the fight to unionize.

UNION premiered at Sundance 2024.

Unseen

Directed by Set Hernandez Rongkilyo, Produced by Day Al-Mohamed and Félix Endara, Executive Producer Diane Quon

First Time Feature Filmmaker

unseen follows the story of Pedro, an aspiring social worker hoping to provide mental health services for underserved communities. Being a blind, undocumented immigrant, Pedro faces harsh political realities in the U.S., but a network of supporters carries him through a decade’s long struggle to actualize his dream. What starts as a journey to foster the mental health of others ultimately transforms into Pedro’s path towards his own healing and self-discovery.

UNSEEN premiered at Hot Docs 2023.

GHETTO CHILDREN

Directed by Zac Manuel, Produced by Chris Haney

Production Stage: Production, First Time Feature Filmmaker

GHETTO CHILDREN is a coming-of-age documentary about three childhood friends navigating adulthood while living in the shadows of their famous fathers. Filmed over 4 years, the film is an intimate portrait of how three young musicians come to define themselves in the presence and absence of their fathers.

GHETTO CHILDREN premiered at New Orleans Film Festival 2024.

Homegrown

Directed by Michael Premo, Produced by Rachel Falcone

First Time Feature Filmmaker

Homegrown is an unflinching chronicle of Americans at war with each other. Three right-wing activists—a newly politicized father-to-be in New Jersey, an Air Force veteran organizing conservatives in New York City, and a charismatic activist from Texas—crisscross the country in the summer of 2020, campaigning for Donald Trump and building a movement they hope will outlast him. When they become convinced that the election is stolen, they take their fight to the streets. The result is a chilling portrait of a growing movement pushing American democracy to the brink.

Homegrown premiered at the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week 2024.

Hummingbirds

Directed by Silvia Castaños, Estefania Contreras, Miguel Drake McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger, Produced by Leslie Benavides, Miguel Drake McLaughlin, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger

First Time Feature Filmmakers

In this uniquely collaborative coming-of-age film, inseparable best friends Silvia and Beba emerge at night to escape the cruel summer heat of their Texas border town, wandering empty streets in search of inspiration, adventure, and a sense of belonging. When forces beyond their control threaten their shared dreams and they are faced with an uncertain future, they take a stand and hold onto what they can—the moment and each other.

HUMMINGBIRDS premiered at Berlinale 2023.

I Didn’t See You There

Directed by Reid Davenport, Produced by Keith Wilson

First Time Feature Filmmaker

Spurred by the spectacle of a circus tent that goes up outside his Oakland apartment, a disabled filmmaker launches into an unflinching meditation on freakdom, (in)visibility, and the pursuit of individual agency. Shot entirely from his literal physical perspective, both from his wheelchair and his two feet, the filmmaker’s gaze and thoughts oscillate between how he is seen, his distant family, and whether his films have fallen into the legacy of the Freak Show.

I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE premiered at Sundance 2022.

La Flaca

Directed by Jessica Chermayeff and Ana Veselic, Produced by Alba Jaramillo

First Time Feature Filmmakers

A teenager’s flight from Honduras through Central America suddenly snaps into focus when she gives birth on US soil — launching an epic coming-of-age tale of assimilation in America.

Mija

Directed by Isabel Castro, Produced by Tabs Breese and Associate Produced by Yesenia Tlahuel

First Time Feature Filmmaker

Doris Muñoz is an ambitious music manager whose undocumented family depends on her ability to discover aspiring pop stars. Mija dives into the world of a young woman and a community of first generation musicians that are hustling harder than anyone because “making it” isn’t just a dream—it’s a necessity.

MIJA premiered at Sundance 2022.

Untitled

Directed by Sura Mallouh, Produced by Sura Mallouh, Laura Poitras, and Yoni Golijov, Cinematography by Jason D’Souza

First Time Feature Filmmaker

Two friends uncover a conflict that divides their already embattled community. Told from all sides, with unprecedented access to courtrooms, anonymous sources and community leaders, this observational film unfolds in real time.