Firelight Films and Hulu Announce the Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund

Stanley Nelson’s Firelight Films will partner with Hulu to provide development funds to three nonfiction filmmakers.

Firelight Films, the production company co-founded by acclaimed filmmaker Stanley Nelson, in partnership with Hulu, is launching the Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund. The Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund will resource three filmmakers with a $25,000 award to develop an original non-fiction documentary feature film or limited series for a “first look” by Firelight Films and the Hulu streaming service.

The Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund is open to filmmakers who are alumni of Firelight Media artist programs (Firelight Films’ sister organization, a nonprofit 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: Future Visions documentary short film series. Additional filmmakers may apply by invitation only from Firelight Films.

“We could not be more thrilled about this new partnership with Hulu,” said Firelight Co-Founder Stanley Nelson. “The Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund leverages all our organization’s strengths — cultivating talent through our diverse artist programs under our Firelight Media non-profit, and then, if the project is greenlit, being able to produce via our banner Firelight Films. This Fund will be the first program to definitively connect the two sides of our organization through our shared mission of supporting nonfiction filmmakers of color, which is hugely rewarding.”

To apply, filmmakers will be required to submit an application that includes the project title, logline, treatment, and professional credits by March 31, 2023. Firelight will perform an internal review to select up to 12 finalists from the submissions for scheduled pitch sessions. Submissions will be evaluated based on the strength of the project’s affinity with Firelight’s mission as well as Hulu’s content priorities.

Three (3) projects will be selected. Each filmmaker will receive $25,000 in addition to one-on-one professional development sessions on producing for Hulu with Hulu’s documentary division. Awardees will be expected to develop their documentary project into a robust treatment, pitch deck, budget and schedule for a first look by Firelight Films and 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.

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 premier destination for non-fiction cinema by and about communities of color. Firelight Media produces documentary films, supports filmmakers of color, and cultivates audiences for their work. Firelight Media’s programs include the Documentary Lab, an 18-month fellowship that supports emerging filmmakers of color; Groundwork Regional Lab, which supports filmmakers in the American south, midwest, and U.S.-controlled Territories; and the William Greaves Research and Development Fund for mid-career nonfiction filmmakers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities. Firelight Media also produces digital short films, including the recently announced series HOMEGROWN: Future Visions.

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. 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 85+ live new, 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 Disney+ and ESPN+ included as part of the base plan. Visit hulu.com to subscribe or learn more about the service.