Empowering formerly incarcerated filmmakers to transform their stories—and the film industry itself—through mentorship, funding, and community.

The Returning Filmmaker Fellowship (RFF), operated under Empowerment Avenue, supports formerly incarcerated filmmakers who are building creative careers rooted in healing, truth, and social change. This 9-month fellowship provides direct funding, mentorship, and wraparound reentry support to system-impacted storytellers pursuing film projects that challenge stereotypes and spark dialogue.

Designed by and for returning citizens, RFF bridges the gap between reentry and creative industry access. Fellows receive up to $25,000 in grants, personalized mentorship from leading industry professionals, and peer support from other formerly incarcerated filmmakers. Through skill-building workshops, mental-health resources, and networking opportunities, the program cultivates a sustainable pathway for creative reintegration and professional success.

RFF operates under Empowerment Avenue’s fiscal sponsorship and infrastructure, aligning with the organization’s mission to dismantle barriers for system-impacted creators by providing the tools, visibility, and agency they need to tell their own stories.

Key Goals

Craft Development

Strengthen filmmaking skills through workshops, mentorship, and project development support.

Community

Build a peer network of system-impacted storytellers who collaborate and uplift one another.

Access

Connect fellows to industry leaders, funders, and resources that have historically excluded justice-impacted voices.

Healing

Integrate trauma-informed, wraparound reentry support to sustain fellows’ personal and professional wellbeing.

Why It Matters

Too often, returning citizens are excluded from creative industries that shape public imagination. The Returning Filmmaker Fellowship transforms that reality by investing directly in the people most impacted by incarceration. By amplifying the stories and leadership of formerly incarcerated filmmakers, RFF challenges stigma, prevents recidivism, and reshapes how America sees justice-impacted communities—not as statistics, but as visionaries redefining the culture.

What Fellows Receive

Financial Support: $10,000–$25,000 per fellow to advance a film project, purchase equipment, or support reentry.
Mentorship: One-on-one pairing with experienced filmmakers, producers, and creatives.
Workshops & Training: Bi-monthly sessions on filmmaking, financial planning, and creative business development.
Peer Support: Connection to a cohort of fellow returning filmmakers.
Wraparound Services: Access to partner organizations for housing, therapy, and reentry resources (Ahimsa Collective, CROP, Catholic Hospitality Houses, Ri-Karlo Handy Foundation, FEEL).
Networking Opportunities: Exclusive panels, mixers, and introductions to film industry partners.
Continuation Funds: Opportunities for extended project grants upon fellowship completion (pending fundraising).

Program Deliverables

Completion or advancement of a film project, short film, or script.
Participation in at least three workshops and the San Quentin Film Festival showcase.
Professional development materials (project deck, pitch, or reel).
Contribution to an alumni network and peer mentorship pipeline.

Selection Process

Applications will be reviewed by a diverse panel of film and reentry leaders, including formerly incarcerated artists and industry professionals. After an initial review, finalists will be invited for interviews. Selection is based on creative vision, commitment to community impact, and readiness to engage in the fellowship’s collaborative learning environment.

Panel Reviewers Include: Antwan “Banks” Williams, MikeRae Anderson, Kamisha Thomas, D’Angelo Louis, Brian Gonsoulin, Sara’o Bery (A24), and Cousin Shy.

Partner Organizations

Empowerment Avenue – Fiscal sponsor and administrative home for the fellowship.
‍San Quentin Film Festival (SQFF) – Fellowship showcase partner and legacy creative network.
‍Ahimsa Collective, CROP, Catholic Hospitality Houses – Reentry and housing support.
‍FEEL, Ri-Karlo Handy Foundation – Financial literacy and technical training.
‍A24 – Industry mentorship and creative support.
‍Manifest Works – Professional development and workforce pipeline partner

People & Partners

Thanh Tran

Program Manager

Thanh Tran is an Amerasian-Vietnamese and Black filmmaker, music artist, and community organizer from Sacramento. While incarcerated at San Quentin, he co-founded Uncuffed, an award-winning podcast, and ForwardThis Productions, a trailblazing film collective. He is also the co-founder of New Krma Collective, a creative label and mutual aid network that supports directly impacted artists through music, film, and activism. Thanh now directs Finding Má, a feature documentary tracing his family’s search for their unhoused mother after years of separation through the foster care and prison systems. He serves as a Program Manager for the Returning Filmmaker Fellowship and sits on advisory council for the New Breath Foundation and the Board of the Andrus Family Foundation. Through storytelling, advocacy, and music, he works to shift dominant narratives around race, incarceration, and migration. His work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, Ford Foundation, and Creative Capital to name a few.

JJ’88

JJ’88 (he/him) is a musician, music producer, writer, vocalist, and filmmaker from Long Beach, California. He is a prison abolitionist who, at the age of 15, was sentenced to 40-years-to-life in California state prison. His music and story are the focal point of the visual album-documentary he wrote and co-produced, Songs From The Hole, which premiered at SXSW 2024. He has released four singles since coming home from prison including his latest, Hustla’s Lament, and has been quoted in Billboard and Respect Magazines.

Terrance Graham

Terrance Graham is a storyteller and youth justice advocate whose life reshaped U.S. constitutional law. As the central figure in the landmark Supreme Court case Graham v. Florida (2010), his fight against a life-without-parole sentence for a non-homicide offense as a teenager established a national precedent recognizing that children deserve the chance for redemption. Raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Terrance spent nearly two decades incarcerated, during which he cultivated a deep commitment to creative expression, mentorship, and systemic change. Since his release in 2024, he has dedicated his life to using film, media, and public storytelling to illuminate the humanity of young people entangled in the justice system and to challenge narratives that criminalize youth of color.

Edmond Richardson

Edmond Richardson is a filmmaker, media-producer, and advocate whose creative journey began inside California’s prison system where he helped build and lead the in-prison production team ForwardThis at San Quentin State Prison. He co-hosted the award-winning podcast UnCuffed, documenting the lives of incarcerated men and bringing their voices to the airwaves. He also served in the wildland firefighting program, gaining hands-on vocational experience and service leadership. Released after fourteen years, Edmond now harnesses his lived experience, technical media skills, and storytelling passion to uplift system-impacted creators, shift narrative power, and build community through film, sound, and service.

Raheem Ballard

Raheem Ballard is a filmmaker and justice-impact storyteller who, after 22 years in California prison, directed the documentary short Dying Alone (2024), a poignant exploration of terminal illness and compassionate release behind bars. His film premiered and won the documentary-short prize at the first-ever San Quentin Film Festival inside a U.S. prison. On the same day his film premiered, he was granted parole — underscoring his personal journey of renewal. Raheem now channels his lived experience into film and advocacy, using narrative to elevate voices often silenced and to reshape how society sees redemption, freedom and creative power.

Got questions? Our FAQ has answers.

Learn More

Returning Filmmaker Fellowship