Roy W. Dean Grant Spring 2025 Finalists

Going Fine Since 1889: The Magical Armstrongs is a documentary about a family of African American magicians travelling throughout the South in the early 1900’s within the confines of the Jim Crow era. The film explores the life and times of illusionist John Hartford Armstrong, his wife Lillie Belle and daughter Ellen E. Armstrong, who continued the family legacy with a solo magic act. As America came into a modern century, where society and entertainment were changing rapidly, the Armstrong’s brought a sophisticated grandeur to the world of magic but are virtually forgotten today.

26 Seconds USA docuseries highlights the heartbreaking stories of young women who were trafficked as children from right here in our own backyard in the USA. The story is told from the survivors’ point of view and the horrors of their captivity. Episode 1, The Border crisis is a poignant and unapologetic episode that will deliver a compelling and emotional journey shedding light on survivors’ stories, with expert testimony from law enforcement, DA’s, politicians, and non-profit organizations, who rescue and restore victims from the sex trade to Create Awareness and a Call to Action with the purpose of ultimately destroying this horrific worldwide industry.
For more info: 26secondsdoc.com

Citing insufficient wages, disappearing benefits and deteriorating working conditions, Starbucks baristas in Buffalo, NY, ignite generational uprising of Millennials and Gen Z in a firestorm of unionization that spreads across the country. In response, Starbucks reinstates CEO Howard Schultz, who launches a massive anti-union blitzkrieg, firing 100+ employees and commits 300+ NLRB labor law violations. Academy Award nominee, Mark Mori, investigates this battle of America’s disappearing middle class, which is now making clear that it has had enough and is standing up to fight for its future.

The Ride follows two leaders of the nation’s largest rescue mission—an unlikely duo with clashing styles but a shared mission—as they bike 3,500 miles from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to confront the root causes of homelessness.
Their journey becomes a sweeping exploration of a national crisis—uncovering broken systems, forgotten lives, and the deeper truths that keep people on the margins. More than a ride, it’s a story of unity in a fractured America—a rallying call to restore dignity, challenge stereotypes, and prove that the power to rebuild begins with us.

During the final months of his father’s early-onset Alzheimer’s, a son uses his camera to understand how his mother, uncle, and sister deal with the disappearing man in different, contradictory ways.

Four Native female motorcyclists unite to confront the harrowing realities of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s crisis in the U.S. As they prepare for their pilgrimage through the iconic Sturgis motorcycle rally, they demonstrate the power and joy of Native sisterhood amidst adversity.

A lost and grieving Elizabeth Taylor returns to work after the tragic death of her husband Mike Todd and courageously delivers one of the greatest performances of her life. This is a triumphant true story about Elizabeth’s courage in the face of tragedy and strength against the studio system of the 1950s.

A cinematic journey about Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, one of the greatest filmmakers of cinema history, from his neorealism beginnings until the discovery of digital cinema in the late 80s, narrated through his collaborators and unreleased archival footage.

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Fall of the Phoenix is a 90-minute documentary told through the intimate, dreamlike lens of filmmaker Lauren Lindberg. What begins as an investigation into her sister’s concussions spirals into something deeper: a personal reckoning with her own misdiagnosed brain injuries—and a national journey into a hidden epidemic.

Time Passage is a 31-year-old neighborhood bar in Shanghai, a beloved refuge for generations of creatives and intellectuals since its founding in 1994. It has been the spiritual go-to for at least four generations of creatives and intellectuals permanently or temporarily dwelled in this international city where everything changes so fast. The film is interwoven with vignettes from diverse bars across China’s vast landscapes: lavish nightclubs where Gen Z spends thousands of dollars on a single booth, humble dollar-beer spots for laid-off workers in the north, and reggae bars hidden among the mountains of the Tibetan plateau.

A mother faces extreme challenges to ensure her baby is delivered without the mandatory genetic modifications her government demands.

A woman struggles to help her father on the day he is released from prison.

Get ready for a historical epic like no other in this cathartic piece of satire “Unfriendly Fire”! This uproarious mockumentary combines Ken Burns & Spinal Tap in the absurd world of a fictionalized second Civil War, where clueless generals, confused militias, and folk-song parodies turn history on its head.

A teen from DC spirals into depression when his father moves several states away, only with the guidance of his English teacher is he able to accept his new normal.