The Documentary Lab is Firelight Media’s longest-running artist program. This 12-month fellowship is designed to nurture filmmakers of color working on their first or second non-fiction feature film. The Documentary Lab provides holistic support for fellows’ projects and careers through professional development, customized mentorship, and a $25,000 project grant. Throughout the fellowship, filmmakers build a network within the documentary ecosystem, connecting with Firelight alumni and forging industry relationships across the field.
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Program Overview
The Firelight Media Documentary Lab is a 12-month fellowship program that supports filmmakers of color in the United States in directing their first or second feature-length documentary film. The Documentary Lab provides filmmakers with a $25,000 grant toward their projects as well as customized mentorship from prominent leaders in the documentary industry, professional development, and networking opportunities.
In 2026, the Documentary Lab will only accept projects in post-production. In an effort to be responsive to the changing landscape in the documentary field, all the projects in the fellowship will be aligned at a similar stage, allowing the 12-month program to focus on story development and project feedback to help move films significantly closer to completion.
Filmmakers should be prepared to have intentional conversations about how to reach their ideal audiences and be strategic about moving their films out into the world. Competitive applicants will be making artful and innovative documentary films that focus on stories about communities of color, offering new narratives about the most pressing issues of our time. All types of long-form documentary projects – historical, investigative, personal, vérité, hybrid, and experimental – are eligible for the Documentary Lab program.
Over the last decade, the Documentary Lab has grown from a mentorship program into a robust talent incubator that has supported approximately 150 emerging filmmakers of color and granted over $2.3 million toward productions. The fellowship brings together a cohesive cohort and connects them to an extraordinary community of Firelight Media alumni, while also building relationships across the independent documentary field.
The timeline and eligibility guidelines for the upcoming Fellowship are below.
Eligibility Guidelines
- Only the director of the film is eligible to apply and participate in the program. Co-directors may participate if they meet all eligibility requirements. If you’re applying with your co-director, please indicate that in your application. We cannot accept more than 2 directors per project.
- This program is intended for filmmakers of color based 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 fellowship does not accept short documentaries, series, or fiction projects.
- Applicants must be emerging documentary filmmakers directing their first or second feature-length documentary.
- New for 2026: We are only accepting films that are in POST-PRODUCTION. The film must be a work in progress. Completed films, or films in development, production, or pre-production, are not eligible. Be sure to review FAQs if you have further questions regarding your eligibility.
- Filmmakers are not eligible to receive support through 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 is a member of the board of directors.
- The filmmaker does not hold the majority of the intellectual property of the film.
Program Timelines
- APPLICATION TIMELINE
- Monday, April 6, 2026 - Application Open Call Begins
- Monday, April 20, 2026 - Informational Webinar (RSVP link to come)
- Monday, May 4, 2026 - Application Open Call Ends (The Submittable application will automatically close at 11:59 PM ET on Monday, May 4, 2026. No late submissions accepted.)
- May-July 2026 - Two Rounds of Application Review & Advisory Board Panel Meeting
- August 2026 - Finalist Interviews & Final Notifications
- September 2026 - Cohort Orientation
- September 2027 - End of program
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