Mountainfilm 2024 Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship Announcement
Telluride, CO – Mountainfilm announces Kendi King as the recipient of this year’s Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship, with her film From Rodeo to Polo: The First HBCU Polo Team. This short film tells the story of the first-ever HBCU polo team as it begins its inaugural season at Morehouse College. This ragtag team of rodeo-riding cowboys, who have never played the sport, strive to transform into tournament-winning polo stars.
As an Emerging Filmmaker Fellow, King has access to mentorship, festival networking, and development assistance from the team at Mountainfilm. Additionally, she will have the opportunity to travel to Telluride for the 2025 Mountainfilm festival over Memorial Day weekend.
“Mountainfilm is first and foremost a film festival and through our Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship program, Mountainfilm gives a boost to budding filmmakers working to make the world a better place,” said Crystal Merrill, Mountainfilm’s Festival Director. “We believe in Kendi’s film From Rodeo to Polo and are excited to support her work over the next year as she molds it into an impactful film.
Kendi King began her studies at NYU Tisch Film School, with a minor in Adolescent Psychology. She is now completing her final semester at Spelman College as a Film major. She is a passionate writer and director of both stage and screen, and a skilled sound designer and mixer.
“From Rodeo to Polo is not just a documentary—it's a tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Morehouse Polo Team players, whose resilience and passion uphold the weighted legacy of being the first HBCU polo team,” says King. “To have Mountainfilm recognize the significance of their journey means the world to me. This fellowship offers invaluable support at such a crucial stage in my directing career, and I'm honored to receive mentorship and guidance from a community that champions powerful, transformative storytelling. As I type this out, I'm waiting for a delayed flight from the Yale x Morehouse polo match where I've just shot what I (hope) to be the final sequence of the film. Even in terminal B of a crowded Laguardia airport, I'm buzzing at the idea that I really do seem to be carving out a life for myself as a filmmaker. I have Mountainfilm to thank for this wave of confidence and validation.”
Mountainfilm launched the Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship program in 2018, thanks to the groundwork by Mountainfilm’s former Festival Director and filmmaker, Suzan Beraza. The Fellowship provides support and resources to filmmakers working on their first or second film. King will be the 7th Emerging Filmmaker Fellow. Previous fellows to receive this award are Mitra Ghaffari whose film Bicycle Island screened at Mountainfilm 2024, Alina Simone, Fiz Olajide, Madeline Gordon, Gabrielė Urbonaitė, Ahmed Mansour and Matthew Maxwell.
About Mountainfilm:
Established in 1979, Mountainfilm is one of North America’s longest-running documentary film festivals, held annually over Memorial Day weekend in Telluride, Colorado. Mountainfilm is dedicated to using the power of film, art and ideas to inspire audiences to create a better world. The festival offers an immersive experience featuring a wide range of filmmakers, speakers, adventurers and activists in addition to screening cutting-edge, award-winning documentary films from around the world. Mountainfilm is an Academy Award® Qualifying Festival in the Documentary Short Film category. Mountainfilm on Tour also reaches audiences year-round through its global film program, and through Mountainfilm for Students, an educational outreach initiative for youth. Simply put, Mountainfilm has the power to change lives. To learn more, visit www.mountainfilm.org. To join the conversation, please read Mountainfilm’s news and follow @mountainfilm on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
The 2025 festival will take place from May 22 – 26, 2025. For more information on Mountainfilm, please visit www.mountainfilm.org.