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Women of Color Incubator 2023

The Women of Color Incubator, supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, provides five women of color with the opportunity, access, mentorship and production support to develop and produce each of their original short films.

Filmmakers chosen for the program were awarded $30,000 grants for their short film projects, along with guidance spanning from the initial stages of pre-production through the actual filming process, post-production, and the final exhibition.

Following the program, these filmmakers will continue to receive support and mentorship to ensure their achievements within the industry.

Learn More

2021 Cohort • 2022 Cohort

After losing her husband, an elderly woman counts on her one true love, her pet cockatiel, to celebrate her newly-found freedom, but her beloved bird has escape plans of his own.

Michelle Salcedo

Michelle Salcedo, is an award-winning writer/director with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Her directorial debut, "Piel Canela/Cinnamon Skin" shot on location in Cuba, started its festival run in 2019, winning seven jury prizes including “Best Produced” at the Academy-qualifying Holly Shorts Film Festival and an audience award at the Chicago Latino Film Fest. Michelle strives for authenticity, drawing from her Latinx experience, and achieves a nuanced representation of the Latin American diaspora in her storytelling. By creating compelling, character-driven work in TV and Film, Michelle hopes to empower future generations of filmmakers to express their unique visions.

Sonia Gonzalez

Sonia Gonzalez is a Mexican-American writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. After studying French Literature at Stanford University, Sonia moved to Paris, France to work in television development. Drawing from multicultural influences, Sonia’s narrative projects often explore personal themes related to language, loneliness, and loss. Sonia is a recipient of the Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation Filmmaker Scholarship and the Cheech Marin Scholarship Program. She has also been awarded the Motion Picture Association of America Award, the Rosalee Sass Scholarship, the Edie and Lew Wasserman Fellowship, and the highly competitive Carole Fielding Grant.

While visiting her distant American cousins during summer vacation, the young and rebellious Ana experiences the pains of adulthood when she unexpectedly gets her first period minutes before the long-awaited 4th of July fireworks show.

In the near future, a biologist couple are the last people on earth and the day to depart has arrived. On the morning of, calls from a presumed-extinct animal unexpectedly serve as the last hope for humanity to restore life in their withered home.

Fabiola Andrade

Fabiola Andrade is a Honduras-born, US–based filmmaker inspired by her multicultural heritage and interdisciplinary background. Her creative journey in Honduras starts as a photographer and copywriter while receiving her BA in Mass Communication. In 2015, the United States became home. Here she earned her MFA in Film and Theater from the University of New Orleans. Through drama, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, she explores identity, the power of the human spirit, and how it flows beyond time, flesh, and space, into day-to-day, yet, surreal settings. Andrade believes in the infinite power of storytelling and is committed to discovering its reach throughout her life, project by project.

Lorena Durán

Lorena Durán is a Dominican-American director and cinematographer. Her films have been official selections for multiple film festivals including International Rotterdam Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, Atlanta Film Festival, and New Orleans Film Festival. Lorena received an MFA in Film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her collaborations as cinematographer have been awarded at Sundance and screened at Tribeca and Edinburgh Film Festivals. She is the recipient of the 2019 ARRI Volker Bahnemann Award for Outstanding Cinematography. Prior to moving to the United States, she worked in different roles within the production department in the Dominican Republic while shooting and directing short documentaries.

On her daughter's moving day, a controlling single mom struggles to accept her daughter's approach of the day, risking the delicate relationship.

In small town Pennsylvania, a directionless Asian-American teenager receives existential advice from an unexpected source.

Jackie! Zhou

Jackie! Zhou is non-binary and ageless. They are a Los Angeles based multidisciplinary artist, director, and sound designer who is keen on blurring the lines between formats and disciplines. They are a current Sundance Institute | TAAF Scholar and are developing their first narrative feature, “Rumspringa.” Recent work includes work with the artist Chappell Roan, an interactive documentary FaceTime, produced by POV Spark and NFB, and “Thumbnail”, a work-in-progress experimental play. Their sound work has received a Primetime Emmy nomination, a MPSE Golden Reel, and the 2021 Tribeca X Award. Most recently, they performed in Free Solo: The Musical in the role of Jimmy Chin. Their favorite sounds are water drops hitting a hot stove, snow crunching footsteps, and a juicy overheard conversation. Above all, they believe good listeners make great storytellers.