The AT&T Untold Stories Award is the world’s largest filmmaking award of its kind. Each year, hundreds of filmmakers apply for the award, which includes $1.2 million and a network of guidance and support to help make a film. Those candidates are narrowed down to five finalists who get the opportunity to present their film in front of a packed audience and a panel of judges at the Tribeca Festival. Win them, and you might get the chance to bring your cinematic vision to life.
David Fortune knows how powerful an award can be. The filmmaker, who won the 2023 AT&T Untold Stories Award, used the grant to make his 2024 feature “Coloring Book,” which is now streaming on Netflix.
The film, which tells the story of a single father raising his son with Down syndrome who takes him to his first baseball game, is exactly the kind of project the program exists to support. It tells a nuanced story about Black single parenthood that we’ve rarely seen on screen, all filtered through the voice of a uniquely talented filmmaker.
In conversation at IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking Summit, presented by AT&T, Fortune explained how he encountered an opportunity that proved life-changing.
When asked to give advice to future contestants, Fortune said, “I would say preparation.” “You can’t control whether you win or lose, but you can control how you prepare. I knew I was going to be extremely nervous, but even in my nervousness I wanted to make sure I could pitch correctly and present myself in a way that would give me the best chance to win. I just wanted to be the most prepared person in the room.”
In that preparation he pushed his body to its limits to ensure that nothing could shake him when it was time to pitch in front of the crowd.
“I jumped in the shower, and I put it on the most icy cold level you could put it in. And I jumped in and said ‘Now tell me your pitch,'” he said, laughing. “I had to pitch with hypothermia! Because if you can’t pitch in a chokehold, how are you going to pitch on stage?”
Of course, Fortune’s process isn’t the only approach that might work. The presentation also included a video message from Lillian T. Mehrl, who won the 2024 contest and used the prize money to make her feature debut, “Honeyjoon”. She recalled her process of pitching her film and the validation she received when she was finally able to show the finished product to audiences.
“The day I pitched, I knew that if I could make the audience laugh and cry and get emotional and realize the auteur cinematic comedy stamp of my voice, I would win. And I did!” The film was screened in more than 50 festivals, Mehral said. “Being in the audience, hearing people laughing and getting emotional together… it was just an electric experience. It made me know that this film needed to be released in theatres.”
Watch the full conversation with Fortune in the video above.
The IndieWire Future of Filmmaking 2026 Summit is presented by AT&T Untold Stories, an impressive multi-year collaboration between AT&T and the Tribeca Festival that awards $1.2 million, mentorship and extensive support to the next generation of filmmakers looking to bring their films to the big screen. For more information, go here.