NBC News Studios Announces ‘Love Birds’ As Winner Of Original Voices Fellowship Grant

Ted Johnson
·1 min read

Love Birds, a development project directed by Angel Morris and Elliott Kennerson, has been selected as the grant recipient of the Original Voices Fellowship from NBCU Academy and NBC News Studios.

The filmmakers will receive a $100,000 investment from NBCU Academy and a commission deal from NBC News Studios, having competed against five other finalists. Each of the teams received a $6,000 grant for their documentary projects.

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Love Birds is the story of George Hunt and Molly Warner, whose 1972 discovery of homosexuality in seagulls had an impact on scientific research and the LGBTQ+ movement. Morris and Kennerson worked alongside archival producer Katy Garrity on the project.

The Original Voices Fellowship held an open call for short documentaries addressing social issues, with a panel of judges then hearing pitches from the filmmakers. The judges included Sarah Amos of Conde Nast; Keesha Boyd of Comcast; Robert Chang of POV; Alexandra Garcia of The New York Times Op-Docs; Molly O’Brien, head of documentary at NBC News Studios; Paul Moakley at The New Yorker; and Amanda Spain, VP of longform acquisitions at MSNBC Films.

Morris has worked on projects for PBS, Smithsonian Channel and the World Wildlife Fund, among other outlets. Kennerson won three Emmys for Deep Look, a co-production of KQED and PBS Digital Studios, and originated Animal R&R, a wildlife rescue series for KPBS in San Diego.

The grant recipient was announced today at DOC NYC 2023.

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