This is Firelight Media

Firelight Media is a nonprofit organization that supports, resources, and advocates on behalf of documentary filmmakers of color.

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Firelight Media supports the creation, distribution, and impact of documentary media by and about communities of color.

By providing filmmakers mentorship, funding, and creative development, we seek to advance the art of nonfiction storytelling to realize a more just and beautiful world.

About us

Firelight Fund

As Firelight Media celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025, we launch the Firelight Fund to meet this urgent moment. The Fund supports Black, Brown, and Indigenous stories from development through distribution, with a focus on those who are telling urgent stories and using their craft to advance social justice.

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Documentary Lab

This 12-month fellowship is designed to nurture filmmakers of color working on their first or second nonfiction feature film. The Documentary Lab provides holistic support for fellows’ projects and careers through professional development, customized mentorship, and a $25K project grant.

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Groundwork Regional Lab

The Groundwork Regional Lab is an initiative to support diverse, early-career documentary filmmakers living and working in under-represented regions of the U.S. and its territories. The Lab provides an introduction to the opportunities that exist for early-career makers in the documentary landscape. The goal of the Lab is to help position filmmakers for national opportunities as well as increase public television stations' capacity to leverage the talent and content of local diverse creators.

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FRONTLINE/Firelight Fellowship

The FRONTLINE/Firelight Fellowship supports diverse, independent producers interested in investigative documentary filmmaking and audio storytelling. The Fellowship is offered in partnership with FRONTLINE, PBS’s award-winning investigative documentary series.

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William Greaves Research and Development Fund

The William Greaves Research and Development Fund resources talented, mid-career nonfiction storytellers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities in the United States, as well as filmmakers from Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Colombia with a particular interest in those who identify as being Indigenous and/or of African descent.

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PBS/Firelight William Greaves Production Fund

The PBS/Firelight William Greaves Production Fund resources documentary productions by mid-career filmmakers from underrepresented communities in the United States that are intended for distribution on PBS through finishing funds or co-production funding.

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Impact Campaign Fund

The Impact Campaign Fund addresses a resource gap in the nonfiction space for impact and audience engagement-related projects by and for communities of color in the U.S. The Impact Campaign Fund supports the creation of audience engagement and impact campaigns by Firelight-supported filmmakers.

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Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund

The Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund will resource three Firelight-supported filmmakers to develop an original non-fiction documentary feature film for a first look by Firelight Films and the Hulu streaming service.

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Beyond Resilience

Beyond Resilience is a series of screenings, essays, and curated conversations that explore the challenges, strategies, and experiences of creating and distributing work during periods of social transformation.

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OUR PROGRAMS

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Documentary Lab
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Firelight Fund
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Beyond Resilience
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Short Films
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Archived Programs
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William Greaves Research & Development Fund
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IN THE PRESS

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April 7, 2026
National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Firelight Community Nominated for 21 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards
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March 19, 2026
CINEMA TROPICAL
The Battle for Our Imagination — Nonfiction and the Stories That Move Culture
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March 12, 2026
Mountainfilm
Mountainfilm Announces Partnership with Firelight Media’s HOMEGROWN Series for the 2026 Festival
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February 24, 2026
PBS' AMERICAN MASTERS
Season 4 of In The Making premieres Thursday, March 5
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February 21, 2026
BERLINALE
'What Will I Become?' Takes Home Two Jury Prizes from Berlinale
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February 19, 2026
FUSION Film Festival
Fusion Film Festival Honors Firelight Media’s Loira Limbal
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more updates

Short Films

2026

In the Making – Season Four

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WATCH series

A documentary short film series following emerging cultural icons on their journeys to becoming masters of their artistic disciplines. See how their work explores and influences American culture today.

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2025

In the Making – Season Three

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WATCH series

A documentary short film series following emerging cultural icons on their journeys to becoming masters of their artistic disciplines. See how their work explores and influences American culture today.

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2025

Homegrown: A Part Of/Apart From

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WATCH series

'HOMEGROWN: A Part Of/Apart From' is a collection of short films from the U.S. territories and Hawaiʻi exploring issues of cultural identity, sovereignty, and agency, as residents and members of the diaspora grapple with what it means to be “a part of and apart from” the mainland U.S.

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more of our SHORT Films

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Critically-acclaimed filmmakers and creators

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Loira Limbal
PRESIDENT & CEO

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Marcia Smith
CO-FOUNDER

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Stanley Nelson
CO-FOUNDER & LEAD MENTOR

Our team
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Go to Firelight Films
105 West 125th St Front 1 #1290
New York, NY 10027

info@firelightMEDIA.org

(212) 222-1068
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Support Firelight Media's spring fundraising campaign! Donations made through May 31, 2026 will be matched up to $10,000. Donate now and double your impact!

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