Netflix and NewFest reveal recipients of New Voices 2023 director grant (exclusive)

Netflix and NewFest, New York’s leading LGBTQ media and film organization, have announced the four recipients of its second New Voices Filmmaker Grant of 2023.

Terrance Daye, Drew de Pinto, Emily May Jampel and LaQuan Lewis are among this year’s cohort who will receive $25,000 in grants for professional development and new job creation. Filmmakers will also have access to industry events and a mentorship journey facilitated by NewFest, which will assist them in building their network.

“Now, more than ever, it is essential to amplify LGBTQ voices, so we were incredibly excited by the volume and strength of applications received,” said David Hatkoff, NewFest executive director. “We saw in the first year of this program that it has the power to change careers and lives, and we look forward to seeing how 2023 recipients will use the resources and guided mentoring to make an impact in the industry. We continue to be grateful to Netflix for their trust and support in making this possible on such a massive scale.”

In addition to the grant, all four recipients will be connected to an industry mentor relevant to their creative interests, with their work ultimately featured at NewFest’s New York LGBTQ Film Festival. industry markets, consultants and industry leaders.

The New Voices Filmmaker Grant was eligible for US-based LGBTQ filmmakers who have not made a feature film or who had a publicly distributed short, episode, or feature film under an exclusive, paid deal. Applications and samples were reviewed by grant evaluators comprised of LGBTQ programmers, critics, agents, community leaders, NewFest staff, established filmmakers, and industry professionals. The process was supported by NewFest’s New Voices Filmmaker grant coordinator, Arno Mokros.

This year’s final selections were decided by an external jury of industry and cinema experts. This included Telluride Film Festival Senior Curator Mara Fortes, No ordinary man AND Framing Agnes director Chase Joynt and Mark R. Wright, vice president, films at Higher Ground.

Daye is an award-winning poet and filmmaker from Long Island, New York, a two-time Spike Lee Production Fund recipient, 2018 Sundance Ignite Fellow and 2020 NewFest Film Festival Emerging Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award. De Pinto is a filmmaker and editor based in Queens, whose short film COMPTON’S ’22 was presented by Film Independent and nominated for an IDA award. Jampel is a New York-based Oʻahu filmmaker whose work has screened at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, NewFest, Outfest LA, and Frameline. Lewis is a Los Angeles-based writer-director, who has won Best New Director and Best LGBT Short Film awards at film festivals in the US and UK

“All four grant recipients submitted inspired, structured, and auspicious samples of short-form work from a range of LGBTQ experiences and film storytelling techniques — from storytelling to innovative non-fiction to animation,” said Nick McCarthy, programming director of the NewFest. “However, one unifying element is their clear perspective, confident vision, storytelling prowess, commitment to new ways of storytelling, and the collective spirit vital to making, seeing and hearing LGBTQ films.”

The New Voices Filmmaker Grant was launched in 2021 and is among efforts tied to Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, which works to create more opportunities behind the camera for underrepresented communities within the television and film industries. Inaugural year recipients included Blanche Akonchong, Livia Huang, Rodney Llaverias and Nyala Moon.