ELLIS-BEAUREGARD FOUNDATION DOCUMENTARY FILM AWARD

An initiative designed to support visionary US-based nonfiction filmmakers working at the post-production stage.

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, in collaboration with Points North Institute, has launched the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Documentary Film Award.

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation provides $50,000 unrestricted grants to feature-length documentaries currently in post-production, supporting ambitious, artist-driven work that challenges convention and expands the language of nonfiction cinema. Projects from both emerging and established filmmakers based permanently in the United States are encouraged to apply. Finalists will be reviewed by a panel of invited industry leaders, with selection based on artistic excellence, originality, clarity of vision, and creative potential.

In addition to financial support, the Award includes a creative retreat opportunity hosted by Points North Institute in conjunction with the 2026 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF).

Finalists will be reviewed by a panel of invited industry leaders, with selection based on artistic excellence, originality, clarity of vision, and creative potential.

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Documentary Film Award submissions opened March 16 and will remain so until April 16 or until 300 applications have been received, whichever comes first. Early submission is encouraged, as applications will no longer be accepted once the cap is reached.

Please direct any inquiries about this Award to Donna McNeil, Executive Director, Ellis-Beauregard Foundation: [email protected]

Two films share $100,000 in the Award’s inaugural year.

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, in collaboration with Points North Institute, has named the first recipients of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Documentary Film Award: Untitled “Ear Hustle” Film, directed by Erika Cohn with editor Kristina Motwani, and Indígena, written and directed by Siku Allooloo with editors Avrïl Jacobson and Lawrence Jackman.

Each film receives an unrestricted $50,000 grant. In a year of exceptional work, the jury recognized two projects that each embody the Award’s commitment to bold, artist-driven nonfiction cinema.

The director and editor of each film will attend a creative retreat hosted by Points North, timed to coincide with the 22nd Camden International Film Festival, September 17–20, 2026, in Camden, Maine.

THE 2026 RECIPIENTS

Untitled “Ear Hustle” Film
Director: Erika Cohn; Editor: Kristina Motwani
Producers: Jaz Kealoha Berger, Rajal Pitroda
Executive Producers: Morgan Freeman and Lori McCreary of Revelations Entertainment, James Younger, Insiyah Haveliwala, Patty Quillin

“Ear Hustle” creators Nigel Poor, Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams travel to prisons around the world, sharing stories born on the inside. From its beginnings at San Quentin to its evolution into a global podcast phenomenon, the film traces how “Ear Hustle” has reshaped the way stories about incarceration are told, and transformed the lives of the people telling them.

The jury praised the film for bringing a nuanced and unexpected point of view to experiences of incarceration and reentry, adapting a wildly popular podcast into character-driven cinema.

Indígena
Writer/Director: Siku Allooloo; Editors: Avrïl Jacobson, Lawrence Jackman
Producers: Jessica Hallenbeck, Siku Allooloo
Executive Producers: Sky Hopinka, Peter Bratt, Benjamin Bratt, Marie Clements

To fulfill a dying wish, a filmmaker retraces her mother’s legacy as an activist and journalist during the Red Power Movement, bringing to light 500 years of Taino resistance and igniting her own journey of reclamation.

The jury cited the film’s “poetic and distinct artistic vision,” noting that it recovers a liberation story rooted in a people the world was told no longer existed.

THE JURY

The Award was adjudicated by a jury of four documentary practitioners: Chloe Walters-Wallace, Director of Regional Initiatives, Firelight Media; Jeff Seelbach, Producer; Nell Lawrenz-Wareham, Deputy Director, Explore Minnesota Film; and Ian Kibbe, Senior Producer, Kartemquin Films.

ABOUT THE AWARD

An initiative designed to support visionary US-based nonfiction filmmakers working at the post-production stage.

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation provides $50,000 unrestricted grants to feature-length documentaries currently in post-production, supporting ambitious, artist-driven work that challenges convention and expands the language of nonfiction cinema. Projects from both emerging and established filmmakers based permanently in the United States are eligible. Finalists are reviewed by a panel of invited industry leaders, with selection based on artistic excellence, originality, clarity of vision, and creative potential.

Projects anticipated to be completed by Summer 2027 are preferred. Finished work will be considered for inclusion in the program at Camden International Film Festival 2027.

Please direct any inquiries about this Award to Donna McNeil, Executive Director, Ellis-Beauregard Foundation: [email protected]

THE SELECTED FILMMAKER WILL RECEIVE: 

  • $50,000 in unrestricted funding to support post-production
  • An invitation for the director and editor to attend a dedicated Points North creative retreat in conjunction with the 2026 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF)
  • Transportation from a location in the US and lodging provided for the retreat for Director and Editor.
  • During the retreat, the filmmaker and editor will share a work-in-progress cut in an intimate, supportive environment with leading documentary editors, producers, and creative advisers.

Applications for the 2026 Award closed April 16, 2026. 

For full eligibility requirements, application and review process details, go to ellis-beauregardfoundation.org.

About Ellis-Beauregard Foundation

The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation provides resources and support for artists, engages with the community, and sustains the legacy of its founding artists, Joan Beauregard and David Ellis.

The vision of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation is to encourage, expand and sustain the courageous and imaginative dialogue that is fundamental to the arts. The Ellis-Beauregard Foundation celebrates the value of art to transcend cultures and engage with diverse communities. Through its programs, the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation supports the exploration of the common ground that art occupies, the way it engages people, and its ability to reveal our shared human experience.

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