2026 Discretionary Grant
Postmortem, a hybrid documentary film and theater project, is a boundary-pushing crime drama about an abused girl who didn’t tell her childhood secret—and the woman she becomes—who does.
Description provided courtesy of the filmmaker
Marilyn Ness - Director: Marilyn is an Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont Award-winning documentary director and producer. As director, Ness is interested in social justice stories from multiple viewpoints. She directed CHARM CITY, an observational documentary exploring the divide between police and citizens, premiering at Tribeca 2018, shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Award®, broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens, and nominated for an Emmy. Her directorial debut, BAD BLOOD, broadcast on PBS in 2011, chronicles the anatomy of a medical disaster from the perspective of survivors, the community, government regulators, and pharmaceutical companies responsible. As a former partner in a woman-owned and led documentary company, Big Mouth Productions, Ness supports female, BIPOC, and emerging directors. Ness produced Kirsten Johnson’s groundbreaking films, DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD and CAMERAPERSON, Netflix’s BECOMING, and others. Her films have won three Sundance Jury Prizes, been nominated for nine Primetime/Documentary Emmys, and have been shortlisted for the Academy Awards three times.
Beth Levison - Producer: Beth is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy and Peabody-winning producer committed to stories about underdogs, artists, and the struggles of our time. Producing credits include A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY, which won the 2025 Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award (A 2025 Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber Release), THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT (2022, Netflix) and STORM LAKE (2021, Independent Lens). She executive produced 2-time BIFA-winning GRAND THEFT HAMLET (2025, MUBI), WITH PETER BRADLEY (2024, PBS), and others. Increasingly, her work intersects theater and film.