2026 filmmaker fund

For the third consecutive year, Out On Film is happy to award Filmmaker Funds to some very exciting new projects. Congratulations to this year's winners.

2026 recipients

Mya Morton (she/her)
Writer/Director
“Breathe”

“Breathe” is a short film designed to serve as a proof-of-concept pilot for a half-hour series titled 'Prom.” The story follows Nailah Clarke, an anxious high school student who works up the courage to ask her crush to prom. Overwhelmed by nerves, she locks herself in a bathroom stall to gather her thoughts before making what feels like a life-or-death decision. For Nailah, this moment is everything.

Mya-Breyana Morton is an award-winning writer, director, and cinematographer dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices through film. She has an MFA in Film & Television Production from Savannah College of Art & Design. Named to Forbes 30 Under 30, she is also a SeriesFest Collegiate Spotlight Fellow and a Visionary Justice Story Lab Fellow. Raised in Kuwait, her multicultural background fuels her passion for bold, inclusive storytelling. Her work includes the Webby Award-winning, Emmy-nominated “Because, I Love You” and acclaimed films like “What Remains of Emily,” “Proud”  and “The Traveler” (featured on WABE/PBS’s Atlanta on Film).

Charlene “Charlie” Fisk (she/they)
Writer/Director
“Call and Response”

When a teenager is caught kissing a girl in the church rectory, her bond with her grandfather is fractured and the sanctuary becomes a battleground between silence and truth. She must decide if she can love herself enough to be seen, while her grandfather must choose whether blood is stronger than belief.

Charlene (Charlie) Fisk is a queer filmmaker and ex-Army sergeant from the Catskill Mountains whose search for belonging shapes her storytelling. Her feature documentary “The Founders” premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival before winning the Audience Award at the Atlanta Film Festival and Best Documentary at La Costa. She has created a slate of acclaimed shorts (“Limerence,” “The Lick,” Rideshare,” “The Moth”) exploring isolation, connection, and community. Charlene directed the Emmy-winning series “Intersection” and network episodes for Discovery and TLC and has produced and edited projects including “Man Made,” Home Field” (Tribeca) and “American Rebel” (PBS) Her writing has been recognized by Slamdance, Stowe Story Lab, Cinestory, Austin Film Festival, and Athena Writers Lab, and she won Gold at the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards for “Call and Response” . Her work explores grief, belief, and identity.

Joshua Hernandez (he/they) Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Actor
“Chulo”

Gael, a humble soul, travels to Puerto Rico at the height of summer to spend time with their abuela and sister. Gael's visit comes the year after their grandfather passed away and they're greeted with open arms. They travel around the island, immerse themselves in Puerto Rican culture, and reconnect with their familial roots.

Joshua Hernandez is a filmmaker and actor of Puerto Rican descent, born and raised in Miami, Florida. Joshua's films Ezra and River have screened at various LGBTQ+ film festivals worldwide, including OutFest, NewFest, and Inside Out Toronto. They are a recipient of the 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 Miami Artist Grant and a 2025 and 2021 New York Foundation for the Arts Grant.

Tierra Frost (she/her) Writer/Director
“Jukin”

Set in the rural South during the 1950s, “Jukin’” follows Suzetta “Skip,” a shy tomboy growing up in a strict religious household under the watchful eye of her devout mother. When the elegant wife of her pastor, Elsie, pays their home a visit, Skip becomes captivated by her presence and begins to question feelings she has never fully understood when she gives her what she perceives to be a flirtatious wink. Driven by curiosity, Skip secretly follows Elsie and discovers a hidden juke joint run by the gun-toting, bible-holding, Ms. Ruby.

Tierra Frost is a writer and director from Seattle, Washington. A Black masc presenting woman and former ninth grade history teacher in Oakland, California, her work is rooted in storytelling as a tool for connection, empathy, and healing. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Film Directing at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.Her work centers queer stories of color and explores identity, gender, and belonging through emotionally grounded storytelling. Tierra served as Creative Director on music artist DDG’s “Storyteller” music video, which has over 3.2 million views on YouTube, and as Creative Director for Whiipped, a queer theatrical experience that sold out to predominantly Black and Brown queer audiences.

Aphrodite Armstrong (she/her)
Writer/Executive Producer/Actor
River Gallo (they/them)
Director
“Superfake”

“Superfake” is a gritty, sun-soaked comedy about a trans woman who discovers her boyfriend – and the designer bag he gave her – might be fake. This film humanizes trans women through humor, with a premise everyone can relate to – the search for something real in a world obsessed with appearances.

Aphrodite Armstrong is a Los Angeles–based actress, writer, and comedian known for her sharp dark comedy and bold character work. She appears in the feature film “Ponyboi,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Armstrong is the recipient of the NEON x The Future of Film is Female Grant and received a Special Jury Award for Performance at the SXSW Film Festival. She is a graduate of the Drama Program at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

River Gallo is a Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, and writer whose work blends genre storytelling with deeply personal narratives about identity, desire, and belonging. They created and starred in “Ponyboi,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival after evolving from their Tribeca-premiering short of the same name. Gallo is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and was also featured in the acclaimed documentary Every Body. Their work often centers bold, complex queer and intersex characters navigating the boundaries between fantasy and reality.