AWARDS
The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the eight women selected for the 2023 Sundance Women to Watch x Adobe Fellowship. They were all chosen for their exceptional talent and commitment to furthering their creative practice.
The Intl. Documentary Association (IDA) has announced three $25,000 grants for upcoming films through its Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund. The three documentaries are: Adamu Chan’s “What These Walls Won’t Hold”; Jalena Keane-Lee’s “Standing Above the Clouds”; and Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía “Beba” Contreras’s “Hummingbirds.”
The Sundance Institute | One House Filmmakers Fund provides $10,000 in unrestricted financing as well as mentorship, training and programmatic promotion. The filmmakers were chosen by a selection committee comprised of Gold House, Sundance Institute, the East West Bank Foundation (which is providing the monetary support) as well as executives from GLAAD, the NAACP Hollywood Bureau, Latinx House and RespectAbility.
Sundance Narrative Short Film Jury Award for Rest Stop, written and directed by Crystal Kayiza and produced by Jalena Keane-Lee and Brit Fryer.
The DocLands DocPitch Industry Award is a $40,000 grant to help finish Jalena’s feature documentary directorial debut Standing Above the Clouds. The California Film Institute fundraising initiative DocPitch is designed to aid filmmakers in completing a feature-length documentary project currently in development/production. Out of 130 submissions, five projects were selected by two committees of industry professionals to participate in DocPitch 2022.
Through Her Lens, The Tribeca CHANEL Women's Filmmaker Program, promotes emerging and independent voices. Winners of Tribeca Through Her Lens receive full funding for their narrative short film.
Breaktide Productions was named on YBCA’s 2019 100 list. This list recognizes the artists, activists, and leaders who are using their creative and political power to ensure the well-being of individuals, communities, cities, and our planet.
The Sally Burns Shenkman Woman Filmmaker Fellowship at the Jacob Burns Film Center, supports an emerging filmmaker to make two short films. Previous Burns projects have premiered at SXSW, HotDocs, and Sundance.
NeXt Doc is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for some of the most talented young documentary filmmakers in the country at the beginning stages of their careers. The year-long Fellowship kicks off with a week-long gathering in June that is intended to be an intensive skills and community building experience. This is followed by a year of mentorship and development for the entire cohort designed to elevate their capacity to succeed creatively and professionally and closes with a re-convening of the Fellows the following spring.
PRESS
Interview with director Jalena Keane-Lee and film protagonist Pua Case for Video Consortium’s Story Power series.
Variety Magazine exclusive interview with director Jalena Keane-Lee at the premiere of her feature documentary Standing Above the Clouds at the 2024 HotDocs film festival
Profile on film director Jalena Keane-Lee for the California Film Institute CA Stories magazine.

Every year the film festival DOC NYC curates a list of 40 documentary filmmakers to watch that are under 40 years old. Jalena was featured on the list this year and her debut feature documentary Standing Above the Clouds had a sold out screening on the closing night of the festival.