Firelight Films and Hulu Announce Filmmakers Selected for Second Annual Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund
Stanley Nelson’s Firelight Films has partnered with Hulu to provide development funds for three nonfiction film projects
Firelight Films, the production company co-founded by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Nelson, in partnership with Hulu, has announced the filmmakers and projects selected for the second annual Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund. The Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund will resource these filmmakers with a $25,000 award per project to develop an original nonfiction documentary feature film or limited series for a “first look” by Firelight Films and Hulu. This year’s recipients include three film projects — two of which come from one filmmaker.
The second annual Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund recipients are Byron Hurt (The Wildcat Way and Murder of a Drum Major) and lyric r. cabral (Untitled Possibility Project, w.t.).
In addition to the $25,000 award, each filmmaker will receive one-on-one professional development sessions on producing for Hulu with Hulu’s documentary division. Awardees will be expected to work with Firelight Films to develop their documentary project into a robust treatment, pitch deck, budget, and schedule for a first look by Hulu. Project pitches considered for additional development or greenlight from Hulu will, if selected, be co-produced with Firelight Films, executive produced by Stanley Nelson, for streaming on Hulu.
“Firelight Films is proud to select Byron Hurt and lyric r. cabral for our second Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund cohort,” said Firelight Films Co-Founder Stanley Nelson. “These are two filmmakers I’ve long admired and whose work has been previously supported by our sister organization, Firelight Media. With these projects, each filmmaker brings their unique talents and perspectives to urgent stories from within their communities, seeking narrative justice for the protagonists. I am grateful to our partners at Hulu for their support in developing these projects.”
Submissions for the Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund were open to mid-career filmmakers who are alumni of Firelight Media artist programs (Firelight Films’ sister organization, a nonprofit organization supporting nonfiction filmmakers of color), including the Documentary Lab, Groundwork Regional Lab, William Greaves Research and Development Fund, PBS/Firelight William Greaves Production Fund, Impact Campaign Fund, Spark Fund (NEH), FRONTLINE/Firelight Fellowship, In the Making documentary short film series, and the HINDSIGHT or HOMEGROWN documentary short film series. Additional filmmakers were able to apply by invitation only from Firelight Films.
About Firelight Films
Co-founded by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Nelson, Firelight Films productions have garnered multiple Primetime Emmy, Peabody, IDA, and Sundance awards. Among them, the Academy Award®-nominated Attica, for Showtime; Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre for the History Channel; Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy for Netflix; Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool; The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution; and Freedom Riders; Becoming Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom for Maryland Public Television/PBS. Upcoming projects include Sound of the Police for ABC News Studios, and Creating the New World: The Transatlantic Slave Trade, a four-part documentary series for PBS.
About Firelight Media
Firelight Media is a nonprofit organization that supports, resources, and advocates on behalf of documentary filmmakers of color. Firelight Media’s artist programs include the Documentary Lab, an 18-month fellowship for underrepresented filmmakers; Groundwork Regional Lab, which supports underrepresented filmmakers in the American South, midwest, and U.S. Territories; and the William Greaves Funds for mid-career filmmakers. Firelight Media also produces digital short films, including the forthcoming collection HOMEGROWN: A Part Of/Apart From, for PBS Digital Studios.
About Hulu
Hulu is the leading and most comprehensive all-in-one premium streaming service that offers an expansive slate of live and on-demand entertainment, both in and outside the home, through a wide array of subscription options that give consumers ultimate control over their viewing experience. As part of the Disney Entertainment segment, Hulu is the only on-demand offering that provides access to shows from every major U.S. broadcast network, libraries of hit TV series and films — including licensed content available exclusively on Hulu — and award-winning Hulu Originals, both with and without commercials. With Hulu + Live TV, subscribers receive a unique combination of access to 95+ live news, entertainment and sports TV channels from 20th Television, The Walt Disney Company, ABC, NBCUniversal, CBS Corporation, The CW, Turner Networks, A+E Networks and Discovery Networks, as well as Hulu’s on-demand library, Disney+, and ESPN+ included as part of the base plan. Visit hulu.com to subscribe or learn more about the service.
