1 month ago
EXCLUSIVE: Wavelength has revealed nan 2026 recipients of its WAVE Grant. Brittany Bendabout, Kat Schulze, Christina Nieves, Jaelyn Ellis and Isobel Obrecht each will person a financial assistance and hands-on mentorship arsenic they create and nutrient their first short communicative films.
Bendabout was selected for Faster, Schulze for The Great Disappointment, Nieves for Summer Thing, Ellis for Spoils of Office and Obrecht for Bring Your Own Forks. Read a bio for each recipient below.
The WAVE Grant, which stands for “Women astatine nan Very Edge,” offers mentorship crossed each shape of nan filmmaking process, including development, production, post-production, show strategy and publicity. Recipients besides participate successful adjacent sessions and maestro classes led by manufacture leaders, creating a collaborative situation that extends beyond nan assistance period.
The imagination is to build a sustainable pipeline of bold, caller storytellers and thief motorboat their careers.
“We are surviving successful a infinitesimal that demands caller voices and authentic storytelling, and this year’s grantees reply that telephone beautifully,” Wavelength laminitis and CEO Jenifer Westphal said. “What moved america astir was nan uncommon operation of method mastery and affectional intuition they each bring to their work, a imaginative sound that is wholly their own, yet profoundly aligned pinch nan Wavelength tone of storytelling. We are immensely proud to champion their activity and look guardant to seeing their creations resonate acold and wide.”
In summation to nan seed funding, WAVE Grant has collaborated pinch respective organizations to its filmmakers pinch supply in-kind services including Film Independent fiscal sponsorships; a five-part Seed&Spark shop bid covering crowdfunding, budgeting and distribution (open to grantees and anyone who applied for nan WAVE Grant); Fujifilm cameras and lenses; a one-year WeTransfer Ultimate subscription; and colour grading and post-finishing services provided by Nice Shoes.
WAVE Grant alumni person premiered movie astatine awesome festivals, joined writers rooms and precocious into characteristic development. This year, Wavelength besides celebrates its caller grantees connected screen, pinch nan short films Blush (2025 grantee Ana Chavez) which premiered astatine nan Aspen Shortsfest, Keep My Brother (2024 grantee Sharona D’Ornellas) and When They’re Gone (2025 grantees Lauryn Darden & Ragan Henderson) premiering astatine nan American Black Film Festival.
