Miami-based filmmakers can apply for funding through The Louies, an annual documentary grant program returning for its third year with $100,000 available to support local film projects.
Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Miami Film Festival announced that applications for the program will be accepted from now through Nov. 6, 2026. The initiative is designed to help filmmakers develop, complete and share documentary stories rooted in Miami and its communities.
Created in partnership with the Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation, The Louies welcomes the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation as a new partner this year.
“The Louies were created to champion Miami documentary filmmakers and help local stories reach the big screen,” said James Woolley, executive director of MDC’s Miami Film Festival, in a press statement.
How the $100,000 in grants will be distributed
The program will award funding across three categories, supporting filmmakers at different stages of production.
- Feature Documentary: $50,000. One filmmaker will receive funding to produce a professional-quality documentary lasting at least 50 minutes.
- Short Documentary: $10,000 each. Three filmmakers will receive funding to create short documentaries between eight and 12 minutes long.
- Finishing Fund: $10,000 each. Two filmmakers will receive funding to complete feature-length documentaries that are in post-production.
In addition to financial support, each grant recipient will receive unlimited access to MDC’s Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives. Recipients will also have the opportunity to premiere their completed films at a future Miami Film Festival.
Previous Louies recipients bring Miami stories to the big screen
The program’s impact was on display at the 43rd Miami Film Festival in April 2026, when three filmmakers from its inaugural class premiered their documentaries.
Rachelle Salnave’s Dual Citizen follows her journey to obtain Haitian citizenship and explores the emotional significance of that journey for her father.
Jayme Kaye Gershen’s The Floor Remembers tells the story of a beloved Miami roller rink. The short documentary was named first runner-up for the festival’s Short Film Audience Award.
Meanwhile, Symone Titania Major’s Under the Mango Tree explores a family’s connection to a mango tree in Goulds and the history of the area’s once-thriving Black agricultural community.
The second class of Louies recipients, announced in January 2026, is also developing projects centered on South Florida’s history and communities.
Those projects include Kareem Tabsch’s Save Our Children, which revisits Anita Bryant’s 1977 campaign in Miami, and Monica Sorelle’s Untitled Everglades Triptych, which examines Black and Indigenous histories in and around the Everglades.
New partnership expands support for local filmmakers
The Knight Foundation’s addition to the program builds on the continued support of the Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation, which helped establish The Louies.
Randi Wolfson Adamo, trustee of the Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation, said the recent premieres reflect her grandmother Lynn’s belief that Miami’s stories should be preserved and shared.
Kristina Newman-Scott, vice president of arts at the Knight Foundation, said the organization supports The Louies because the program creates opportunities for local filmmakers to develop their work and reach audiences.
The partnership also aims to help ensure that Miami’s stories are told by people with firsthand knowledge of the communities they document.
With applications open through Nov. 6, the third year of The Louies offers Miami-based filmmakers another opportunity to secure funding and bring their documentary projects to the screen.
This is a Hy-Lo News Staff Report.
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