What is the core mission of your company and the types of content you specialize in?

Our core mission is to create new pathways forward for nonfiction storytellers. We welcome works in progress, across podcasts, docuseries, feature and short documentaries, and television formats for the hotlist, and completed works for brand curations, events, and screenings across the U.S.

We want to be part of the soil of the industry, finding new ways forward by working together. Instead of looking up to the gatekeepers, we want to look sideways at each other and create with community, kindness, generosity, and experimentation, discovering new ways of doing things and helping change how the industry works.

Amid media consolidation and risk-averse streamers, we’re seeing incredible smaller organizations emerge next to longstanding seasoned orgs experimenting, and trying new things. We want to collaborate with all of them because we believe that together, we can reshape the industry.

What’s your organization’s origin story and/or ethos, and how does it set you apart from industry competitors?

Nonfiction Hotlist was born out of frustration with the nonfiction marketplace, where extraordinary projects were being passed on amid risk-averse streamers, a shrinking industry, and mass layoffs. Adam Neuhaus posted on LinkedIn about starting a “Hollywood Black List for nonfiction”. The post went viral, and he quickly assembled 20 volunteers who raised their hands to help. Within 100 days, we created a submission process, reviewed the submissions, and released the inaugural 2025 Hotlist of 23 nonfiction works in progress.

Our ethos is rooted in kindness, collaboration, communication, and transparency. We love the idea of mission-aligned organizations helping each other out, and that spirit of working together is what sets us apart.

What projects and/or initiatives are you most proud of and why?

We’re proud of all our projects, which is easy to say when we’ve only been around for a year and a half!

Our inaugural 2025 Nonfiction Hotlist went from idea to launch in 100 days through an entirely volunteer-led effort. Since then, When We All Get to Heaven won a Peabody; Manhood premiered at SXSW and secured theatrical distribution starting on Halloween; The City in the Forest earned multiple jury awards; and Thank You for Listening closed its funding gap, joined the Oscar race, and was picked up by Yahoo.

Through Fresh Eyes, we offered every filmmaker not selected a free 45 minute zoom strategy and feedback session, with teams from 125 projects who weren’t selected for the 2025 hotlist.

Our Yahoo partnership created a new distribution platform for documentary shorts, paying filmmakers and reaching new audiences. We’re especially grateful to Yahoo because their partnership inspired us to grow from a volunteer-led initiative into a business, expanding our ability to create new pathways for filmmakers.

What’s one part of the video, television, and/or film industry you would change and why?

I would bring art and storytelling back to the forefront of film and television, ahead of profit. I want to see more support for risk-takers and daring stories over safe, “profitable” bets. Stories have the power to heal hearts and minds and create empathy across cultures and life experiences. I believe that if the industry prioritizes art and craft and puts trust back in the hands of makers, profit will follow, and the world will be better off with bold, creative, impactful stories shaping it.

How does your organization approach collaboration in your process, either with your membership, other creative teams, or your clients?

Collaboration is central to Nonfiction Hotlist. We welcome partnerships with brands, nonprofits, filmmakers, and other film organizations, starting with a conversation about their goals and where we align. As Adam Neuhaus likes to say, we take a “crawl, walk, run” approach: begin with a small, manageable collaboration, build trust and momentum, and let larger opportunities grow organically. Working together within the broader community has the power to get more down and reshape the industry with more support and generosity with less gatekeeping.

How can people join or learn more about what you do?

Stay in touch with the latest initiatives from the Nonfiction Hotlist by subscribing at: https://nonfictionhotlist.com/home#contact