Rathaus Films have announced the winners of the third annual edition of the Rathaus Film Grant. The Rathaus Film Grant—this year in partnership with Song United—continue to expand their impact and will collectively support three Detroit based filmmakers awarding $20,000 in funding in 2026. In addition to the monetary support, these 3 projects winning projects and filmmakers will receive mentorship from the 2026 Jury of Darol Olu Kae, Ina Pira, Monique Walton, Kathy Kieliszewski, and Kevin Steen. With additional guidance from the team at Rathaus Films. Here are the 2026 Rathaus Film Grant Winners (pictured left to right above):
First Place $10,000
Director: Paisley Sutton – Project Title: The Popes
Genre: Documentary Short, Experimental
Producers: Paisley Sutton, Patrice Cheesman
Logline: Through intimate interviews and vivid vignettes, a documentary filmmaker uncovers intense parallels between her family in 2025 and her ancestors, a first-generation freed family called the Popes who lived in Gilded Age-era Georgetown, D.C.
Second Place $6,000
Director: Rachel Debolski – Project Title: Bite Marks
Genre: Narrative Short
Logline: After a late-night text from her crush and a loose dog lure her into the night, a polite, timid teenage girl faces an unsettling encounter with an older man, navigating fear, fantasy, and the unspoken dangers of politeness.
Third Place $4,000
Artist: Bree Gant – Project Title: Map to the Moon
Genre: Video Art/Installation
Logline: Map to the Moon is a multichannel film that charts a path across the inner worlds and external realities of Black femmes in Detroit. The moon has long been a metric and goal for spiritual, political, and technological development in American and global imaginaries. This project looks to earth’s satellite as a departure for examining the relationship between consciousness and mobility among the Motor City’s largest demographic.
Here is what the jury had to say:
“Paisley Sutton’s “The Popes” stood out for its sophisticated layering of documentary and experimental storytelling. The concept of blood memory combined with archival imagery and intergenerational dialogue creates a deeply personal yet universally resonant celebration of Black heritage, and the jury was genuinely moved by the vision.” – Kathy Kieliszewski Jury Member, Journalist, and Filmmaker
“Rachel’s film leverages the full cinematic toolkit to dissolve the boundary between viewer and subject, creating a visceral embodiment of the protagonist’s physical and emotional reality. Moved by the immersive approach to this personal story, we’re excited to support “Bite Marks” and hope it contributes to the ongoing conversation around the social conditioning of young women and the delicate ways we navigate expectations.” – Ina Pira Jury Member and Film Curator.
“Bree Gant represents an essential voice in Detroit’s contemporary art landscape. With Map to the Moon, they present a compelling multichannel work that examines the inner worlds and external realities of Black femmes, reframing the moon as a lens for understanding mobility in spiritual, political, and technological terms. Bree’s ability to connect questions of consciousness to place is both rigorous and imaginative, offering a powerful reorientation of Detroit’s cultural and geographic identity. We are proud to support this timely and expansive project.” – Darol Olu Kae Jury Member and Film Director
Rathaus Films is a production company based in Brooklyn and Detroit. We create progressive films, branded content, and music videos, representing leading creative voices and working collaboratively as a team of artists who inspire and grow together. Rathaus produced Sarah Friedland’s award-winning FAMILIAR TOUCH, Noah Pritzker’s EX-HUSBANDS, Tim Sutton’s FUNNY FACE and DARK NIGHT, Cedric Cheung-Lau’s THE MOUNTAINS ARE A DREAM THAT CALL TO ME, and Diana Peralta’s DE LO MIO. The company also produced the short films Daron, Daron Colbert by Kevin Steen and Dadli by Shabier Kirchner. Rathaus Films was awarded a 2020 Webby Award for Best Branded Documentary for Steen’s A Surfer’s Search.
About Song United
Song United is a Michigan-based family office that aligns long-term investment and philanthropy in service of community wealth. Founded by Dug and Linh Song, Song United supports people and ideas advancing justice, belonging, and shared prosperity.
