Miami documentary filmmakers can get grants to finance their projects. Here’s how
Miami is experiencing one of the biggest droughts of funding and resources for film and television professionals.
Univisión moved the Premios Juventud to Panama and the Latin Grammys to Las Vegas, after hosting the 2024 event here. Gone are the mid-1990s golden years when Miami was the setting for major Hollywood productions.
Amid this precarious situation for Miami filmmakers, who continue to produce against the odds, the new edition of The Louies arrives, offering grants totaling $100,000 to local documentarians that highlight the stories and people of South Florida.
The call for The Louies, sponsored by the Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation in coordination with the Miami Film Festival, is open until Nov. 5.
The six winning filmmakers will be able to access and use resources from the Miami Dade College’s Florida Moving Images Wolfson Archives, which hold more than 35,000 hours of professionally preserved audiovisual material dating back to the 1920s. The documentaries will also premiere at the Miami Film Festival, April 9–19, 2026.
The Louies honor the legacy of Louis Wolfson II, whose family founded Wometco Enterprises movie theaters and Miami’s first television station, WTVJ, in 1949. From the start of the Cuban exile, the station also offered the earliest Spanish-language programs, and welcomed broadcaster Manolo Reyes (1924–2008), who began hosting a 15-minute newscast, News En Español, in 1960.
Rules of The Louies for Miami documentarians
Applicants to The Louies must reside in Miami-Dade County, be over 18, and be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Applicants for the feature documentary category must have previously completed a documentary short, while short documentary applicants may be debut directors with film experience and credited work.
Awards will be given in three categories:
Feature Documentary Grant ($50,000): One filmmaker will receive significant funding to produce a professionally made documentary longer than 50 minutes.
Short Documentary Grants ($10,000 each): Three filmmakers will receive $10,000 each to create a short documentary between eight and 12 minutes.
Finishing Grants ($10,000 each): Two filmmakers will receive crucial funds to complete feature documentaries in post-production, providing the final push needed to finish their projects.
The Louies winners in 2024
Margaret Cardillo, a writer, filmmaker and professor at the University of Miami, won last year’s top grant of $50,000 to help produce her feature documentary about WTVJ sports presenter Jane Chastain titled “Jane Chastain: The Untold Story of the Nation’s First Female Sportscaster.”
Cuban filmmaker Emilio Alcalde received $10,000 to finish his second documentary, “El sonido de Miami,”about the movement of musicians the created a unique Miami sound including Willy Chirino; Carlos Oliva; Frankie Marcos, founder of the group Clouds; Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, who fused Cuban rhythms with elements of American music. The movie premiered last year at the Miami Film Festival and was selected as one of the festival’s best.
Rachelle Salnave also received $10,000 to complete her project, “Dual Citizen,” about Haitian-American identity.
The winners in the documentary short category were Symone Titania Major for “Under the Mango Tree;” Gina Ann Margillo for “Night Train Last Stop;” and Jayme Kaye Gershen for “Adult Night: A Super/Hot Wheels Doc.” Each received $10,000.
James Woolley, executive director of the Miami Film Festival, noted that past winners have already demonstrated “the extraordinary storytelling talent that exists in Miami.
“These filmmakers are telling stories that have shaped our city: from the first woman sports commentator on Miami television, to a roller-skating rink that marked an entire generation, and the Latin sounds that put our city on the global stage. What excites me most is how The Louies are offering local filmmakers a true launching pad for their careers,” Woolley said.
Film brings Miami to life
The impact of film productions in Miami extends beyond actors and crew to create jobs in other fields, revenue for small businesses, and encouragement for graduates of local film schools, Miami-Dade Commissioner René García told el Nuevo Herald last year, during filming of the latest “Bad Boys” movie with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Just eight days of production of “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” produced an economic impact of $12 million in the county and 2,000 hotel room nights were booked, said Marco Girón, who at the time led the Miami-Dade Film & Entertainment office.
The importance of The Louies is proven when Miami audiences can see a finished project on local cinema screens, such as “Naked Ambition,” about photographer and model Bunny Yeager, directed by Dennis Scholl and Kareem Tabsch, which opens Friday at O Cinema Miami Beach, Coral Gables Art Cinema and Cinema Paradiso Hollywood. Tabsch was one of the filmmakers who received a special jury mention from The Louies last year, which came with a stipend and access to the Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Moving Image Archives.
To apply or register for an information session, visit https://miamifilmfestival.com/the-louies/
