2025 Better Angels Lavine Fellowship Recipients Announced
RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2025 BETTER ANGELS LAVINE FELLOWSHIP
Six American History Documentaries Receive Prestigious Fellowship
Washington, DC – August 25, 2025 – The Better Angels Society, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting excellence in American history documentaries in ways that advance education and civic engagement, has announced the recipients of the 2025 Better Angels Lavine Fellowship. Each year, since the fellowship was established in 2021, the organization has selected compelling films from the submissions pool for the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film that are well-positioned to benefit from customized mentorship and other support.
You Should Never Blink by Jillian Schultz and Leah Thomspon. Image courtesy of Corita Art Center, Los Angeles, corita.org.
Each selected film will receive a $5,000 cash prize, and the filmmakers will participate in networking events and mentorship sessions dedicated to advancing their projects from post-production through distribution, including sessions on archival producing and different distribution models.
In addition, each filmmaking team will receive individualized mentorship on their works-in-progress from seasoned industry experts who have worked on acclaimed documentary films, including Little Richard: I Am Everything, Mavis!, and The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. Past fellowship-winning films have screened at major film festivals, been recognized with prestigious awards, and secured distribution on PBS and WORLD Channel.
The Better Angels Lavine Fellowship is made possible by The Better Angels Society and a generous gift from Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine through the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation.
The 2025 Better Angels Lavine Fellowship recipients are:
BROTHERS IN BLOOD: BLACK IN VIETNAM, Directed by Joseph Puleo
Brothers in Blood is an in-depth chronicle of the Black experience at home and abroad during and after the Vietnam War, told by those who lived it.
DIAMOND DIPLOMACY, Directed by Yuriko Gamo Romer
Diamond Diplomacy explores the long and complex relationship between the U.S. and Japan through the shared love of baseball, revealing a moving diplomatic history that spans generations.
LOCATION, LOCATION, Directed by Christine Felton
Filmed over 8 years, Location, Location chronicles an epic struggle to save a public housing project and historic Black neighborhood, capturing a pivotal moment in the transformation of public housing and inner city America.
SOUL PATROL, Directed by J.M. Harper
After 50 years of silence, Vietnam’s first Black special operations team reunites to fulfill their most crucial mission: bearing witness to history. Their story illuminates a pivotal chapter in America’s past while inviting essential dialogue about service, sacrifice, and our collective national memory.
WEST SIDE FAMILIA, Directed by Taylor Hosking
West Side Familia unearths the buried history of a Puerto Rican biker club on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Through rich archival footage and firsthand accounts, the film explores themes of gentrification, community defense, and cultural pride.
YOU SHOULD NEVER BLINK, Directed by Leah Thompson and Jillian Schultz
Sister Corita Kent, the “pop art nun,” dazzled 1960s America with her joyful art and radical teachings, becoming a counterculture icon who challenged the art world and the Catholic church alike.
Past fellowship recipients include Patrick Longstreth’s THE DAY THAT SHOOK GEORGIA, 2025 Southeast Emmy Awards Winner, Historical/Cultural Long Form Content; Julia Greenberg and Dianna Dilworth’s DORY PREVIN: ON MY WAY TO WHERE, a 2024 Official Selection, SXSW Film Festival and a 2024 Official Selection, Melbourne International Film Festival; Elizabeth Ai’s NEW WAVE, 2024 official selection of Tribeca Film Festival; Joy Elaine Davenport’s FANNY LOU HAMER’S AMERICA, 2022 winner of an IDA Documentary Award for Best TV Feature Documentary or Mini Series; and Dru Holley’s BUFFALO SOLDIERS: FIGHTING ON TWO FRONTS, which was broadcast on PBS and WORLD Channel in 2023.
To learn more about the 2025 Better Angels Lavine Fellowship, visit www.thebetterangelssociety.org.
About The Better Angels Society
The Better Angels Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating Americans about their history through documentary film. They are the pre-eminent organization supporting American history documentary filmmakers in ways that advance education and civic engagement. The Society works to ensure that films about American history by emerging and established filmmakers are completed, broadcast, promoted, and shared with wide audiences. The organization raises funds to support individual films in partnership with public media and
provides recognition and mentoring to young filmmakers through programs like the Next Generation Angels Awards in partnership with National History Day® and the Latest Generation Film Contest in partnership with the Lincoln Presidential Foundation.
About The Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation
Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine established the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation to focus a significant portion of their philanthropic efforts toward leveling the playing field for individuals and families. The Foundation works to address pressing social challenges in education, community and public service, health and welfare, discrimination, and poverty. The Foundation supports the multi-disciplinary efforts of organizations that serve to strengthen society through research, innovation, public policy, direct service, and advocacy.
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