Spring 2026 Grant Program Semi-Finalists

Thank you to everyone every artist that submitted an application for the Flatiron Film Project's Spring 2026 Grants Program. The Selection Committee has been delighted, inspired and touched by the quality of work. Please find below the list of Semi-Finalists. Scroll to the second half of the list to find Colorado projects.

Finalists and grant recipients will be announced in the coming weeks. Congratulations to all!

U.S. Projects

49 to 51 submitted by Ambalika Khadria

A mental health advocate’s narrative crumbles after a tragic incident makes her a statistic in her own work. Can she reclaim her purpose, or will grief silence her forever?

A Song Called Quest submitted by Amadou Diallo

Three jazz musicians reunite after 15 years. But as they play a song from their heyday, old wounds surface, and the long-held secret behind their breakup is revealed.

Alice & Grace submitted by Alexa Smith

Alice and Grace escape their hometown for a euphoric adventure in NYC. A mysterious woman separates the girls and the underbelly of nightlife tests their sisterhood and perception of themselves.

Bad Rehab submitted by John Orphan

A Documentary Feature exploring the underbelly of the billion dollar rehab industry through the rise and fall of Christopher Bathum – Insurance Fraudster, Sexual Predator, Faux Therapist, Drug Dealer and founder of one of the country’s fastest growing rehab chains – the powerful systems that enabled him and the unlikely heroes who brought him down.

Best Friends Forever submitted by Liz Manashil

Reconnecting years after high school, a group of friends uncovers old resentments as they slowly succumb to a supernatural infection during a bachelorette party.

Blade Echo submitted by Branden Arnold

A wrongfully convicted underdog is recruited into a covert government program and outfitted with an adaptive Echo-suit, forcing him to survive elite alien infiltrators through strategy, discipline, and human resilience—not superpowers.

Body Shop submitted by Maria Mealla

In an alternate reality where body shops replace hospitals, a young mechanic discovers a wealthy client pressuring her boss to loan her a Latina body for a night out. Appalled by the request and determined to stop it, she takes measures into her own hands.

Coolest Girls in the Country Club submitted by Kerri Garrett

At a surreal Southern resort where rest is ritual, a burned-out guest’s arrival unsettles the carefully curated calm, pushing the club’s devoted hostess to reckon with her own exhaustion.

Confession submitted by Shareen Anderson

Once a rising star in hip-hop’s golden age, Trevell Coleman, aka G. Dep, lived a double life — celebrated on stage, tormented in silence. After seventeen years haunted by a secret that wouldn’t let him rest, he walked into a Harlem police precinct and confessed to a decades-old killing no one knew he’d committed. Confession is a haunting and deeply human documentary about guilt, faith, music, and the price of telling the truth.

Country Sunshine submitted by Mia Faith Naranjo

Carmen and Erika Calderon open up a bed and breakfast in the Rockies. Facing bigotry, they realize their dreams might be a little to far out of reach.

Darla submitted by Emma Miszewski

Darla follows a retired pageant queen who must unexpectedly play host to her heartbroken, divorcee, thousand year old alien cousin Eürgaenon. Like it or not, Darla must learn that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that some people have more than two eyes.

Daydreamer submitted by Caroline Renard

Dani’s curated and idealistic life starts shattering when the figments of her imagination and her grips on reality start blurring.

Dollhouse Murders submitted by Christina O'Neil

A struggling artist’s sugar daddy finances her art and new studio—until her latest series of hyper-stylized dioramas of murdered men fractures their transactional relationship, igniting a slow, unsettling psychological spiral over power and creative control.

Evergreen submitted by Natalie Jasmine Harris

A young woman travels to the Blue Ridge Mountains with her grandmother’s late-in-life love to scatter her ashes, uncovering buried stories, unexpected kinship, and a new understanding of love.

Everything You Ever Feared Was True Is True submitted by Chris Ireland

Recovering addict Seth is challenged when a tenant asks him to help dig up her garage, assuming there is a body of a murdered child below, infecting her family with a malignant energy.

First Resort submitted by Claudia Restrepo

A struggling and insecure actor finds himself at a gay men’s clothing-optional resort in Palm Springs for his best friend’s goodbye party, where he clashes with the friend’s Adonis coworker.

Forget Me Not submitted by Michael Cooke

After a painful breakup, Marcus and Sienna, two memory-altering wizards living quietly in Brooklyn, erase each other from their minds. When a powerful relic tied to their past resurfaces, they are forced back into one another’s orbit, confronting the consequences of a love that refused to disappear.

Hold Her Hand submitted by Jessica Cadden Osborne

A troubled American soldier meets a fiery Irish bartender one fateful night in 2006, altering the trajectory of both their lives. There's a spark that neither can deny, but they both face the challenge of processing their pasts in order to show up vulnerably and courageously for one another.

Illicit Trade submitted by Rosie Cataldo

Illicit Trade; a journey into the sex trafficking industry as told through survivor stories and those who help them heal.

In Waves submitted by Steve Sanders

A woman must learn to let go after her husband turns into a crab.

Indian on Horseback submitted by Julie Pearson Little Thunder

Twenty-five-year-old Milo Lonetree has buried his love of art in mind-numbing factory work and a premature marriage. When both collapse, he finds himself homeless in 1980s Tulsa where his gift for drawing becomes his survival tool.

Jazz Man submitted by Alex Weaver

Discover a world where music really IS magic!

Karaoke League submitted by Brooke Markham

A group of outcast performers compete head-to-head in a one-of-a-kind, 8 week karaoke competition. Watch emotions fly high as our competitors try to nail intricate choreography, construct the perfect cardboard set pieces, and wow the audience with their outlandish DIY costumes... all while singing karaoke.

Lakeside submitted by Sid Gopinath

Eleven year-old Krish wrestles with his understanding of fatherhood and friendship on a pivotal camping trip with his father and godfather.

Living the Dream submitted by Leaf Lieber

A young woman steps inside her older sister's schizophrenic delusion as reality fractures with each passing hour.

Margot & Julian submitted by Scott Monahan

Two old friends reunite at a remote off-grid house in Oregon, where the silence of nature stirs forgotten memories, and the nearness of death provides a rare opportunity to say goodbye.

Mz. Movies submitted by Lulenoxx

In the summer of 2001, an awkward teen with a suffocating home life discovers the local lesbian riot grrrl community at a video rental store, where she learns to find herself and her community.

No Easy Way Back submitted by Thea Lux

When two sisters try to intercept a cash drop in the unforgiving Oklahoma wilderness, their stubbornness surrounding unresolved family trauma nearly gets them killed.

Notes on a Recurring Tone submitted by Haydon Mayer

In the wake of her mother's death, a grieving field recordist becomes consumed by a mysterious set of frequencies — convinced she's at the brink of a vast sonic conspiracy.

Nothing's Final submitted by Gwendolyn Hulet

When a woman helps a beloved family member sell his home and relocate, she discovers unsettling truths when an uncanny visitor turns up at their door with other plans for the house and its owner.

Papers submitted by Ginger Yifan Chen

During a green card marriage interview, a couple recalls their tumultuous relationship and questions whether their love can survive under the pressures of bureaucracy.

Pathways submitted by Alex Loucas

A man runs 155 miles across southern California in pursuit of the person he hopes to become.

Peggy's Daycare submitted by Kyndra Kennedy

Peggy’s Daycare is a short documentary tracing the life of Peggy Dunlap, whose journey from postwar displacement to decades of caregiving reveals a woman shaped by discipline, independence, love, and survival.

Pride & Honor submitted by Mai Iskander

PRIDE & HONOR follows Lilly Stephan Steffanides, a terminally ill Navy veteran who rose from 24 years of homelessness to help lead a landmark federal case that restored honor and benefits to over 100,000 LGBTQI+ veterans—achieving their own dying wish of a military discharge upgrade and funeral with full military honors.

Returns & Errors: Pets submitted by Donna Bonilla Wheeler

An ailing Latina makes a trip to the fantastical DMV of Deceased Pet Returns to negotiate more time with her recently lost pet.

River Warrior subitted by Cassia Sherrill

After enduring a four-year drought, an off-grid farmer embarks on a kayaking journey from her hometown creek in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina all the way to the Gulf—seeking to reconnect with and redefine her relationship to water.

Slipping Through My Fingers submitted by Grace Eitrheim

Once destined for Juilliard, pianist Anya returns home after chronic illness derails her future. As her mother wavers between tenderness and denial, and encounters with old friends stir longing and loss, Anya struggles to redefine herself in a world that feels just out of reach.

Tent submitted by Kourtney Bell

Monophobia: The condition that drives an anxious nut to camp alone and face her fear, only to realize she should be most afraid of what she might do to herself.

The Architecture of Sound submitted by Violetta Markelou

Through the lens of DJ Rich Medina and Miami’s Dante’s Hi-Fi, this short documentary examines vinyl listening culture as a living ritual that preserves Black musical history and community in a rapidly changing city.

The Chatter submitted by Michael Schatz

When a lonely chatter for an adult content creator forms a real connection with a subscriber, he’s faced with an impossible choice between honesty and the comfort of illusion.

The Department of Dirty Tricks submitted by Sam Kim

The story of the CIA's covert operations arm tasked with sabotage, coups, and psychological warfare – including the secret bankrolling of artists and an animated adaptation of Animal Farm. Told through interviews, archival footage, and declassified CIA files, this documentary traces the Department's rise and fall and how it created the playbook for psyops today.

The Fight Within Me submitted by Arnold Chun

Four soldiers in 1953 Korea must overcome their differences while clearing landmines and realize the fight within them is for each other.

The Giggler submitted by Darcy Lally

Ensnared in a toxic friendship with a cruel predator, Dom chooses loyalty over morality and unleashes consequences he cannot escape... becoming prey, just like the girls he once helped silence.

The Homies: A Guide to Eudaimonia submitted by Stefan Dezil

Told across three defining days over twelve years: a birthday, a wedding, and a funeral, The Homies: A Guide to Eudaimonia follows a group of best friends as they navigate adulthood, romance, and the messy choices that threaten the family they built together.

The Interview submitted by Ksenia Naughton

The Interview is a bittersweet fairytale about a desperate young female immigrant who opts for the help of a mysterious device that removes her foreign accent to land her dream job. But at what cost?

The Last Sisters of Goldenstein submitted by Jered Everson

Three over-eighty sisters, Rita, Regina, and Bernadette, became nuns as teenagers, spending decades at the Goldenstein Convent in Salzburg, Austria. Moved reluctantly to a nursing home, they escaped with community help in September 2025, returning to Goldenstein, and now fight for the right to remain in their spiritual home.

The Mirror Room submitted by Ona Tzar

After moving into a new apartment, a female artist is drawn into an algorithmic mirror fantasy that slowly begins to dissolve the boundaries between her inner life and reality, pulling her into a surrealist fever dream.

The Pearl submitted by Elitia Barnes

A one night snapshot of a local venue, The Pearl, where three friends, ex-lovers, and former bandmates crash back into each others' lives, sparking unresolved tension, shared memories, and the music that keeps them connected.

The Sound of Belonging submitted by Gina Margillo

In a disconnected Miami, a scruffy urban choir unites voices of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, and toughs it out through obstacles of homelessness, mental health, and funding, to create radical belonging, in four-part harmony.

The Surface Calls submitted by Matthew Kravchuk

Deep in the Jim Crow South, a grieving mother must fight to protect her son from the powerful men who lynched her husband — only for the drowned father to rise from the depths, dragging his family and their oppressors into a night of reckoning.

The Wait submitted by Sekiya Dorsett

On the day of their final IVF embryo transfer, a Black queer couple stuck in a sterile fertility-clinic waiting room is pulled through a series of ancestral portals that test their bond and reframe what it means to build a family.

Track 27 submitted by Edouard Holdener

In the early 70s, a broken-hearted young man stranded in the desert seeks the help of an older motel owner in making a cassette.

Trailer Trash submitted by Ali Bianco

Adley, in dire need of a fix, turns to her younger (very pregnant) sister, Greer, for some quick cash. However, once in the trailer park, Greer unexpectantly goes into labor and Adley must deliver her sister‘s baby.

True Violence submitted by Matthew O'Connor

When a struggling mother loses custody of her sick son, she’s driven into the grip of conspiracy culture, leading her down a dark path of radicalization where she risks everything to reclaim control of her family.

Waspringa submitted by Molly Greville

Three adult siblings reunite for a reluctant family sailing trip in New England, where old grudges, petty rivalries, and awkward confessions churn beneath the surface. Liv, caught in a low-grade obsession with a distant crush, navigates the trip while dodging her parents’ denial about her sexuality, her brother’s smug competitiveness, and her sister’s fresh-out-of-rehab volatility. Over a long weekend of bickering, the siblings find unlikely solidarity — not by resolving anything, but by escaping together.

Weight Class submitted by Matthew Campanella

On the eve of his biggest wrestling match, a queer Sri Lankan American teen battling body dysmorphia makes a questionable choice in search of validation, forcing him to confront what it really means to be seen.

Who is Joi Seracha? submitted by Marlene Rhein

A fragile diner waitress so traumatized by the news cycle that she fractures into three different personalities becomes the unwitting star of her new boyfriend’s “authentic mental health” documentary, unaware he’s really chasing a cash prize to save his grandmother’s house.

Zeenat And The Men Who Give Her Pause submitted by Richa Rudola

A menopausal woman in a loveless marriage finds a quiet spark with a younger colleague during fleeting elevator rides. As her emotional and sexual buttons are pushed, she must decide how far she is willing to rise.

Colorado Projects

14 Minutes submitted by Elise Plakke

Women and men often stay in relationships in a comfort zone because it is easier to go along with a semi-fulfilling relationship than break it off to find the ultimate relationship. The film illustrates that learning to see the world through a different lens offers introspection and a chance to redefine ourselves.

Anything You Feel is Valid submitted by Samuel Goodwin

While visiting his best high-school friends, a burnt out artist approaching his thirties is sexually assaulted. The groups’ bond unravels as Joe comes apart at the seams.

Barnacles submitted by Alex Bugg

A woman must recover control of her life after a crustaceous rash spreads across her body.

Beyond the Barre submitted by Melody Hu

Beyond the Barre is a documentary that follows eight women aged 50 to 77 who challenge the narrow ideals of ballet by continuing to dance with aging bodies, offering a bold, graceful portrait of movement beyond expectation, and art that deepens with time.

Breaking Ground submitted by Erin Preston

Breaking Ground follows a hardworking Latina mother of three as she pursues an impossible dream: homeownership in Boulder. When the city builds a modular home factory where high school students get hands on learning while constructing affordable homes, Maribel's journey becomes a testament to what's possible when communities decide everyone deserves to belong.

Devil in the Trunk submitted by Evan Alderson

When a small-town girl, burdened by the weight of her father's failing roadside garage, crosses paths with a mysterious woman driving a rundown Chevy, she becomes entangled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with only one rule: DON'T OPEN THE TRUNK.

Do You Remember When submitted by Susan Lyles

A revered theatre director’s life unravels when she’s diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, forcing her to confront the slow erasure of her identity and her art.

Fantasm submitted by Justin Golightly

A sideshow magician wows audiences in old-west Colorado with a machine that can connect with the dead, but not all is as is seems...

Found submitted by Lucas Cunningham

Desperate to make ends meet, a struggling musician creates a profile on FindMe, a digital platform where subscribers pay to access your real-time location. But when she visits a remote cabin with her boyfriend, one of the subscribers shows up and won’t leave them alone.

God is a Pelican submitted by Carmela Murphy

“God is a Pelican” is a stop-motion animated short that follows two misfit middle-school girls’ intense, queer, and turbulent friendship as they create their own religion. After playground sermons, midnight pond baptisms, and unruly followers, the religion sparks a school-wide panic, which ultimately leads to a Judas-like betrayal.

Miss Lonelyheart's Memory Light submitted by Florence Young

An 8-year-old girl with PTSD runs away from a foster home to confront her violent, deadbeat dad, and to piece together the fractured memory of her mother’s death.

Moonflower submitted by Adrienne deFaria

Raped by the same man, two women set out to enact fatal revenge in America's forgotten West.

Night Rain submitted by Spencer Myers

A ten-year-old girl must reconcile the guilt of her mother’s death during childbirth with her father’s unwavering love on the day that marks both her birth and his loss.

Overtaken submitted by Laurie Chin Sayres

Overtaken follows Julie Sanders, a high school cross-country running phenom, on the afternoon a college scout comes to watch her race—offering a possibility at autonomy after a lifetime navigating life with a mentally ill parent.

Pageant Queen submitted by Alicia Leeper

At 76, lightning-struck, glitter-drenched Aurora Colorado actress Kathi Bearns pursues a long-denied second act, seeking sisterhood, self-worth, and beauty for the first time as she competes in the Ms. Colorado Senior America Pageant.

Parking Ticket submitted by Luke Dalley

A simple task turns into an increasingly dangerous and surreal odyssey as a down on his luck man attempts to pay a parking ticket.

Plato Grande 1x01 "The Prodigal Son" submitted by Jordan Spalding

When charismatic-bordering-on-neurotic celebrity chef and restarauteur Thayer Grande accidentally gives hundreds of industry insiders and critics food poisoning, he flees to his humble beginnings, the family restaurant, El Plato Grande where he decides to remake himself but the Grande is in danger of going under in the wake of his father's deportation, and now he must save it and learn what it really means to be a Grande, or risk losing his last chance to repair his reputation.

Ravenous submitted by Jake Allgeier

During a 1950s zombie epidemic, a devoted housewife keeps her undead husband tied up in the dining room, obsessively reenacting their first anniversary dinner in a desperate attempt to make him human again — until each effort demands a greater sacrifice.

Rooting Souls submitted by Cheyenne Smith

Sparked by Zivia Berkowitz’s ambitious vision and self-filmed footage, ROOTING SOULS explores three emerging alpinists, organizers, and educators preparing to summit Mt. Kenya self supported. Intricate and intimate portraits of access, representation, healing, and home-coming within the Black diaspora and outdoor adventure worlds emerge in this feature documentary, inviting audiences to re-envision community and success.

Squad submitted by Michael Hyon Johnson

A teen cadet, desperate to carve his name into his school’s legacy, unravels when a rival outshines him and his friends turn his sacred ambitions into a joke.

Starfish submitted by Jeffrey Carabelos

A scientist clones his late wife using her tech to restore her mind, but when the memory integration fails, he must raise her clone from childhood.

The Hostage submitted by Jay Sherer

The Bastard and The Old Man kidnap The Kid, holding him hostage until he swears to sabotage a secret government plan called The Doorway Project. As police sirens bear down on their location, The Old Man's desperation forces him to take matters into his own hands.

The Revenge Club submitted by Marla Naomi Eaton

A quirky support group for survivors of narcissists turns into a secret revenge club—but when one mission goes wrong, their quest for justice takes a dangerously unexpected turn.

The Silence in Between submitted by Daniel Wright

At the start of his youth orchestra season, eighth-grader Brennan Leslie still has no instrument — until a recently-donated antique violin lands in his hands.

Thin Blood submitted by Luca Stein

At their 15-year high school reunion, Richard Nash, a frustrated novelist, strikes up an affair with his former crush, Charlotte Wilder, a trapped housewife. Soon, they are plotting to murder her husband for money, and discovering too late that there is no such thing as a perfect crime.

Wood Pines submitted by Jenny Urice

A women goes to the small town of Wood Pines looking for her missing sister and uncovers a dark secret.