William Greaves Fund

Overview

The William Greaves Research and Development Fund is administered by Firelight Media, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith to support documentary filmmakers of color. Firelight Media celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025. The fund is named after William Greaves, the longtime mentor of Stanley Nelson and a pioneering Black American documentary filmmaker whose career spanned 60 years. Greaves produced the groundbreaking television newsmagazine Black Journal and directed more than 200 documentaries.

The 2026 William Greaves R&D Fund will resource 8 to 10 filmmakers with unrestricted grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 USD. The grants support nonfiction film or video art of any length in the research, development, or pre-production phase. For 2026, the application process is nomination-based: only filmmakers nominated by Firelight Media's official nomination partners may apply. This is a change from prior cycles, which used an open call.

The fund has supported more than 50 filmmakers across five cycles. Several funded films have premiered at major festivals, including Khary Saeed Jones' Night Fight (SXSW World Premiere) and Sueli Maxakali's Yog Atak: Meu Pai, Kaiowa (Special Jury Prize, Festival de Brasilia).

The R&D Fund is supported by institutions including the Perspective Fund, the Hearthland Foundation, and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.

What It Funds

The William Greaves R&D Fund resources the research and development stage: the work a filmmaker does before a project has enough shape to attract production grants, broadcaster interest, or major fund support. The grants are unrestricted, meaning filmmakers can use the funds for any need related to their project or their livelihood, including healthcare and childcare costs.

Eligible activities include:

• Archival research
• Travel to meet subjects and conduct field research
• Development of a treatment or pitch materials
• Prototype footage gathering
• Sizzle reels and presentation decks
• Other fundraising materials

The fund accepts a wide range of aesthetic approaches including verite, essay, experimental, investigative, personal, and historical. Projects may be broadly or narrowly focused. The fund supports nonfiction film or nonfiction video art of any length, not only feature-length documentaries.

In addition to financial support, Firelight Media provides grantees with connection to its broader community of documentary filmmakers, educators, and advocates. The fund is designed to address the structural challenges many filmmakers of color face after producing their first films, helping them remain in the field and advance to their next project.

2026 Eligibility

Who Can Apply

• Filmmakers must self-identify as being of African and/or Indigenous descent
• Filmmakers must be living and working in territories and countries across Abya Yala (North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean islands)
• Filmmakers must identify as an established or mid-career filmmaker with an artistic trajectory and long-term practice in their community
• Filmmakers must apply with a nonfiction film or nonfiction video art piece in the research, development, or pre-production phase
• Applicants must be nominated by one of Firelight Media's official nominating partners

Definition of Mid-Career

Firelight Media defines an "experienced," "established," or "mid-career filmmaker" as someone with a substantial body of nonfiction cinema or audiovisual works who is established in their artistic trajectory. This includes:

• Filmmakers who have received various awards, residencies, fellowships, and/or have had numerous opportunities to present or exhibit their work, especially on national or international stages
• Filmmakers with a long-term film practice in their community
• Established artists with depth of experience across different artistic fields who wish to continue pursuing their artistic voice through filmmaking

Firelight Media recognizes that filmmakers facing structural barriers may have non-traditional career trajectories. The fund accepts proposals that articulate a different definition of "mid-career" based on the applicant's particular working context.

Who Cannot Apply

• Filmmakers applying with a student film or project related to ongoing coursework
• Filmmakers re-applying to a program they previously received support from
• Filmmakers contracted with another Firelight Media artist program who have not completed final deliverables
• Filmmakers employed by Firelight Media, Firelight Films, or members of the board of directors
• Filmmakers who do not hold the majority of the intellectual property of the film

Producers and Collectives

Producers may apply on behalf of a Director in collaboration with the Director. Collectives may apply, with the main applicant designated as the acting Director or Producer. The majority of the collective must meet the eligibility criteria.

2026 Application Timeline

• May 1 to June 1, 2026: Submissions by nomination partners open. Nominees are invited to submit applications.
• August 2026: All applicants receive final notifications
• August to September 2026: Award letters and grant disbursements
• October 2026: Public announcement of grantees

Nomination Process

For 2026, the R&D Fund selection process is nomination-based. Firelight Media only accepts applications from its official nomination partners. Nomination partners include values-aligned individuals and institutions across Abya Yala who have demonstrated commitment to nurturing filmmakers and audiovisual artists and their communities. Nomination partners are selected by invitation only.

Filmmakers who are not connected to a nomination partner cannot apply in 2026. Filmmakers interested in being considered as a nomination partner in the future can reach out to grants@firelightmedia.org.

Language Access

Proposals are accepted in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. If a filmmaker's native language is not one of these, they may use tools such as Google Translate or DeepL to translate their application. Applicants can note on their application if language was a barrier, so reviewers can take that into consideration. Filmmakers will not be penalized for using automatic translators.

Selection Process

Proposals are reviewed through a tiered process:

1. First round: Reviewed by a panel of peers
2. Second round: Internal review by Firelight Media
3. Final round: Review and deliberation by an advisory panel of filmmakers and industry leaders who work in the U.S. and/or countries from which applications are accepted

All proposals are reviewed in the language they are submitted in during the first two rounds. Selection is based on:

• Strength of the story
• Creative approach
• Director's career trajectory
• Social relevance
• Viability of the proposed plan
• Ethics and accountability of the approach (filmmaker's relationship to the subject matter, navigating power differences, impact on participants and vulnerable communities, community benefit, distribution and rights decisions, team composition, hiring practices)

Firelight Media's Broader Ecosystem

Firelight Media operates several programs beyond the William Greaves R&D Fund:

• Documentary Lab: An 18-month fellowship for underrepresented filmmakers, providing $25,000 in project grants alongside mentorship from documentary leaders
• Groundwork Regional Lab: Supports underrepresented filmmakers in the American South, Midwest, and U.S. Territories
• PBS/Firelight William Greaves Production Fund: Established in 2022, this companion fund provides production-stage support for Greaves R&D Fund alumni
• Impact Campaign Fund: Provides resources for audience engagement and impact campaigns for socially relevant projects from Firelight Media alumni, with grants ranging from $10,000 to $25,000
• Digital short film series: Including HOMEGROWN: A Part Of/Apart From for PBS Digital Studios and In the Making with PBS' American Masters

Filmmakers who apply for the William Greaves R&D Fund should explore the full Firelight Media program portfolio, as the organization offers a pipeline from development through production to impact campaigns.

Previous Cycle Changes

The 2024-2025 cycle (fifth cycle) was an open call available to filmmakers in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Colombia, with grants of up to $25,000 (some sources referenced up to $40,000 in earlier announcements). The 2026 cycle expanded geographic eligibility to all of Abya Yala (the Americas), shifted to a nomination-based process, and standardized grant amounts at $10,000 to $25,000.

Who Should Apply

Mid-career nonfiction filmmakers of African and/or Indigenous descent living and working in the Americas (North, Central, South America, and the Caribbean) who have a substantial body of work and a nonfiction project in the research, development, or pre-production phase. For 2026, only filmmakers nominated by an official nomination partner are eligible to apply. The fund is not designed for debut filmmakers, students, or filmmakers who already have substantial access to development resources.

See Also

For understanding how research and development grants connect to the broader documentary financing stack, see Documentary Financing: Building Your Stack. For planning a documentary development budget and timeline, use the Production Schedule Calculator. For estimating whether your project budget aligns with typical development grant ranges, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator.