Ava Duvernay, Getty Images Team Up For $5K Grants For Aspiring Filmmakers, Photographers

With Atlanta becoming the hottest moviemaking hub in the world, you’d think more writers and talent would emerge from the Dirty Dirty, but things have been slow going as big films largely use the city as a backdrop and hire out-of-town production help. But things could be a-changin’.

Hollywood filmmaker Ava Duvernay has teamed with Getty Images to give an opportunity to aspiring filmmakers and photographers, many of whom reside in The A. Duvernay, who most recently directed “A Wrinkle in Time,” has been a strong supporter of more women and people of color behind the camera and with this initiative, she plans to put her words into action.

Ava Duvernay, Getty Images Want To Give Aspiring Filmmakers, Photographers $5K

The program has set aside four grants of $5,000 each to be awarded to two commercial creative photographers and two editorial filmmakers who capture the visual narrative of underrepresented ethnic communities such as African American, Caribbean, South Asian, Arab, Indigenous and Latinx.

The winners are expected to use their skills to visually represent the underrepresented experience and add layers of context to their individual stories. In addition to the $5,000, winners will also receive mentoring support and guidance from Getty Images and Array.

“There is a gross imbalance of perspectives coming from Black and Brown image-makers. We need to understand that all of our stories matter and the opportunities for artists to create these stories need to be more readily available,” photographer and contest judge Laylah Amatullah told ESSENCE.

Submissions close on Friday June, 8th at 11:59 p.m.  PT and filmmakers and send their submissions here.

Tee Johnson: Tee Johnson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AtlantaFi.com, Atlanta’s independent hyper-local publication focused on news, restaurants, events, jobs, neighborhoods, and lifestyle. A 15+ year Atlanta resident and longtime journalist and content creator, she covers Travel News, Events, Business, Hair Care, and Money with a practical, Atlanta-first lens. Before launching the site, Johnson worked as a substitute teacher in Atlanta Public Schools and later in corporate roles at Home Depot’s Vinings offices. A marketer by training with a degree in business management, she grew frustrated with the fragmented, hard-to-find information about what was actually happening in the city. That gap led her to create AtlantaFi as a curated, one-stop resource for the pulse of Atlanta—#ATLHAPS—without the national noise. Editorial decisions remain independent; the publication does not accept products, meals, or services in exchange for coverage. As Editor-in-Chief, she oversees original local reporting and curated practical guides that help residents, visitors, and businesses discover and engage with the city. Readers turn to her work for timely event roundups, dining and neighborhood insights, business and travel updates, and straightforward money and lifestyle coverage grounded in firsthand observation of Atlanta. A devoted lover of all things Atlanta, Tee enjoys pickleball, a good margarita or bourbon, and walking the Atlanta Beltline. She can be reached for editorial inquiries at tjohnson@atlantafi.com (serious inquiries only).

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