The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has selected the inaugural recipients for its newest award for student filmmakers: the AI2 Reproductive Rights Accelerator Award.

Announced last September, the Reproductive Rights Accelerator is the third such program from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and was created to help young filmmakers find their way into the industry with both financial and mentorship support.

The four awardees — Eve Chadbourn, a senior at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; Naa Adei Mante, who is pursuing her masters degree in the NYU Tisch Graduate Film Program; Jenniffer González Martinez, an MFA candidate at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts; and Hanna Gray Organschi, an MFA candidate at NYU’s Tisch — were selected from a pool of applicants from colleges and universities across the United States.

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Each recipient will receive a $25,000 award, funded by members of Women Moving Millions, to produce a short film. From different perspectives, each recipient’s film focuses on reproductive health and rights and sheds light on an array of reproductive health concerns.

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“We know that storytelling can be a vehicle for learning, as well as for shifting attitudes and beliefs,” said Dr. Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. “We designed this Accelerator program to support emerging storytellers whose stories can reach audiences with both clear and entertaining messages about the need for reproductive freedom in the U.S. We are proud to support these women to tell important stories that can shift understanding and create empathy.”

Monika Parekh, president of Psquared Charitable Foundation, which supports the accelerator program, added: “We are excited to support these next generation filmmakers as they use their craft to have a sustained impact on the women’s reproductive movement.”

The inaugural awardees’ films are:

“The UTI Fairy,” Eve Chadbourn

A short film about a near-future dystopia in which women have no reproductive rights or healthcare, and must compete in a game show devised by a hyper-masculine host for any hope of equality.

“Plan C,” Naa Adei Mante

A contemporary tale following a young Black woman who searches for an abortion pill in a post Roe v. Wade world. Mante’s second year film.

“F*ck That Guy,” Hanna Gray Organschi

The story of a teenager in 1990’s America who’s delighted to lose her virginity until her crush refuses to use a condom. Organschi’s thesis film.

“Renacer,” Jenniffer González Martinez

Examines the life of a young woman who is shamed following an abortion and the support she receives. Martinez’s thesis film.

(Pictured: Naa Adei Mante, Hanna Gray Organschi, Eve Chadbourn and Jenniffer González Martinez.)

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