Firelight Media is excited to announce that we have opened the call for proposals for season 3 of In the Making, our documentary short film series produced in partnership with PBS’ AMERICAN MASTERS about emerging masters in the fields of art and culture.
For this upcoming season, we are seeking cinematic and character-driven shorts that have a running time of 15 minutes or less and profile artists from diverse and underrepresented communities. We are particularly interested in stories that explore how the arts reflect American culture, employ innovative approaches to non-fiction storytelling, dig deeply into the artistic process with unique access to the artist, and feature complex characters with unexpected trajectories.
Seven filmmakers will be selected to work with us and AMERICAN MASTERS throughout pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. Projects will receive up to $50,000 for the production of the short. Firelight Media and AMERICAN MASTERS will provide funding and will select projects jointly. Films will be showcased on AMERICAN MASTERS’ digital and social platforms.
The call for proposals is open now through Friday, July 14, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET and eligibility requirements and application details may be found here.
Films from this innovative series have premiered at Sundance Film Festival and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, and have been nominated for multiple Webby Awards. The show’s first season was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short-form Series — Reality/Nonfiction. Artists and performers previously profiled in the series include visual artists Sydney G. James and Damon Davis, actress Lily Gladstone, chef Ethan Lim, poet and performer Amyra León, and musicians Anik Khan and Walshy Fire. Season 1 and Season 2 are available to stream on the American Masters website.
