Award-winning studio Neon and filmmaker support organization UFO announced today the launch of the NEON X UFO Second Feature Development Residency. The residency’s first participant is filmmaker Channing Godfrey Peoples, who was selected for her exceptional vision and storytelling. Godfrey Peoples, who garnered widespread acclaim for her debut feature “Miss Juneteenth” (2020), will use the residency to further develop her sophomore project.

Designed with an emphasis on supporting underrepresented filmmakers and stories, the residency invites filmmakers who have yet to direct a second feature in the years following the release of their promising independent feature debut. The bespoke month-long residency experience provides dedicated time and live/work space at the Silver Sun Residence and culminates with a week in New York City this month. During her time in residence, Godfrey Peoples will continue developing the script for her next project and participate in curated meetings with industry professionals facilitated by Neon and UFO. This program will also engage the local community through a screening of “Miss Juneteenth” at Upstate Films’ Orpheum theater in Saugerties, NY on Nov 14, to be followed by a conversation with Godfrey Peoples moderated by UFO. The film follows a former beauty queen and single mom as she prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant.

Channing Godfrey Peoples made her feature directorial debut with the critically acclaimed drama, “Miss Juneteenth,” which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in U.S. Dramatic Competition. Godfrey Peoples was honored by the National Board of Review with their Best Directorial Debut Award. “Miss Juneteenth” received both Independent Spirit and Gotham Awards nominations, winning a Best Actress Gotham for lead actor, Nicole Beharie. The film earned universal praise for its authentic storytelling, intimate point-of-view, and timely narrative and remains at a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Godfrey Peoples has also worked in television, directing the pilot for Season 4 of the Emmy-winning Genius series and Apple TV+’s star-studded anthology “Roar.” In 2024, she won The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) TV Honors award for Best TV Directing (“Genius MLK/X”) (2024). Next, Godfrey Peoples is set to direct the upcoming Otis Redding film, “Otis & Zelma,” starring John Boyega and Danielle Deadwyler. Godfrey Peoples is from Texas and received her MFA from USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Recognizing the particular challenges independent filmmakers face in financing and producing original second feature projects, this residency allows filmmakers to jumpstart projects that may otherwise struggle to find momentum. The NEON X UFO partnership envisions a new and critical support stream to address a uniquely challenging career juncture for independent filmmakers, during this difficult time for the independent film ecosystem at large.

“All of UFO’s filmmaker support programs are made possible through meaningful partnerships, and we are proud to be partnering with Neon. Neon’s extensive industry expertise and their unparalleled eye for bold artistic promise in both films and filmmakers has been an invaluable asset in developing this program,” shared UFO co-director, Martha Gregory. “We love Channing’s work and we are delighted to welcome her to New York for this residency.”

Godfrey Peoples’ was selected through an invite-only application process. In collaboration with Neon, UFO identified filmmakers whose first feature films reflected Neon and UFO’s shared investment in boundary-pushing, creative risk-taking, and bold cinema across a spectrum of genres and approaches. Their curation focused on filmmakers from historically underrepresented experiences and backgrounds who had not yet had a second feature project greenlit at the time of selection.

Neon recently released “Anora,” the highly-anticipated new film from Sean Baker starring Mikey Madison, which won the coveted Palme d’Or in Cannes and opened in select theaters October 18 to the highest per-screen average of 2024; Osgood Perkins’ horror film “Longlegs;” and “Immaculate” starring Sydney Sweeney. On November 27, Neon will release “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, which they picked up at the Cannes Film Festival and has been selected as the German entry for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards. They recently announced Boots Riley’s highly anticipated next feature “I Love Boosters” which is set to star Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore, Eiza González, Poppy Liu, Taylour Paige, and Will Poulter.

About NEON
In only seven years, Neon has garnered 32 Academy Award nominations (7 this year), 6 wins, including Best Picture, and has grossed over $300M at the box office. The company continues to push boundaries and take creative risks on bold cinema such as Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” which made history winning four Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English-language film to claim Best Picture. The film also unanimously won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and grossed over $54M at the domestic box office.

Recent and upcoming Neon releases include: “Anora” from Sean Baker, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes and released in theaters on October 18 to the highest per-screen average of 2024; “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” from Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, which Neon picked up out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been selected as the German entry for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.

As a burgeoning leader in the production space, Neon’s recent and upcoming in-house productions include: David Robert Mitchell’s “They Follow” starring Maika Monroe; Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool;” Bishal Dutta’s “It Lives Inside;” and Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End,” a golden-age musical starring Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton.

Neon launched its international sales outfit ahead of the Venice Film Festival in 2023, handling titles including: Michael Angelo Covino’s “Splitsville” starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona; Kogonada’s “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell; Jason Buxton’s “Sharp Corner” starring Ben Foster and Cobie Smulders, which premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival; and Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence,” which made its world premiere in Sundance, where Neon picked up the worldwide rights.

Neon has amassed a library of over 110 films, with noteworthy releases including: “Anatomy of a Fall” from Justine Triet, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and earned Neon its fourth consecutive Palme d’Or win at its world premiere in Cannes; Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” which was the Japanese nomination for the 96th Academy Awards; and “Robot Dreams” from Pablo Berger, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. It also includes the Oscar-nominated documentaries “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and “Fire of Love;” 2022’s highest grossing documentary, “Moonage Daydream;” and three-time Academy Award nominee Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness;” “Flee,” which made history becoming the first film to score an impressive trifecta of Oscar nominations; “The Worst Person in The World,” which was nominated for Original Screenplay and International Feature Film at the Academy Awards; Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winner, “Titane;” and Craig Gillespie’s “I, Tonya,” which garnered multiple Academy Award nominations, one win for Allison Janney and amassed over $30M in domestic box office.

Following a successful collaboration on “I, Tonya” in January 2018, 30WEST (Dan Friedkin’s and Micah Green’s strategic venture) partnered with Neon’s Tom Quinn (Founder & CEO) and Tim League (Co-Founder) to become majority investors in the company.

About UFO
Guided by a culture of care, UFO is a donor-supported nonprofit organization that gives time, space and money to filmmakers at under-resourced career stages. Through filmmaker support programs that emphasize in-person, inclusive community-building, UFO creates opportunities for filmmakers from wide-ranging, intersectional backgrounds to develop and produce uncompromising, boundary-pushing films. In coalition with partner organizations, UFO helps build a more equitable, sustainable, and interdependent film ecosystem.

The UFO Short Film Lab supports early-career directors as they each produce two short film projects from development through distribution. In this 18-month intensive program, filmmakers are empowered with financial support, in-kind resources, in person mentorship and connections to UFO’s inclusive, collaborative community to generate new work while advancing and refining their voice and craft. Participants have included Tahiel Jimenez Medina, Bren Wyona, Brydie O’Connor, Kevin Xian Ming Yu, Samuel Wright Smith, Arielle Knight, and Emily May Jampel.

UFO’s Family Residency gives time and space to filmmaker parents and their families every summer. In addition to UFO’s standard support for all residents, UFO fully covers the cost of childcare to allow parents focused time for deep, creative work. Participants have included Picho Garcia, Gabriela Pena, Emelie Mahdavian, and Navied Mahdavian.

UFO, American Documentary and Chicken & Egg Films partnered to create Shorts in Session, which brings filmmakers with short documentary projects to the Camden International Film Festival to participate in the festival and present their works-in-progress to a panel of industry experts for feedback. Mentorship and financial support is offered beyond the festival dates.

Participants included Elana Meyers, Katie Heiserman, Paloma Martinez, and Bree Nieves Robert.

Through all their work, UFO aims to carve out meaningful pathways of support in an industry with fewer and fewer entry points. UFO continues to develop new programs and partnerships including offerings throughout the US.