Stanley Nelson’s Firelight Films and Hulu have set Julianna Brannum (Now I Lay Me Down), Ivan MacDonald (Breaking the Silence) and Juan Carlos Dávila Santiago (When Reggaeton Was a Crime) as the first filmmakers to benefit from their new Hulu/Firelight Kindling Fund. Through the initiative, each will be awarded $25,000 to develop their original documentary feature or limited series for a first look by the companies.

The mid-career filmmakers, who are alums of Firelight’s artist programs, will be expected to develop their project into a robust treatment, pitch deck, budget, and schedule for the aforementioned first look, and in addition to the financial prize, will receive one-on-one professional development sessions on producing for Hulu with Hulu’s documentary division. Project pitches considered for additional development or greenlight from Hulu will, if selected, be co-produced with Firelight Films, executive produced by Nelson, for streaming on Hulu.

“Firelight Films is proud to continue our support of these three filmmakers – each of whom has previously received grants or fellowships through our nonprofit sister organization, Firelight Media,” said Firelight Films co-founder Nelson. “The range of subjects presented through these projects – from murdered and missing Indigenous women, to the dark history of the residential school system, to the criminalization of reggaeton music – highlight the many untold stories that documentary filmmakers of color are uniquely positioned to tell. We are grateful to our partners at Hulu for their support in developing these projects.”

Read more at Deadline.