This New Orleans-based filmmaker just won an $800,000 ‘Genius Award’ recognizing her work

Garrett Bradley is a 2025 recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation grant , better known as the MacArthur “Genius Award.” The $800,000 grant is meant to foster Bradley’s career as an innovative filmmaker who has been lauded for her blend of experimental technique and her devotion to authenticity. Bradley was one of 22 recipients this year.

Bradley was born in New York City in 1986, and has made movies in New Orleans for more than a decade. Her 2014 film “Below Dreams,” was a study of the challenges faced by three 20-somethings making their way in the Crescent City. The New York Times review of “Below Dreams,” noted Bradley’s “impressionistic style” and her use of “mostly nonprofessional actors.”

In 2020, her full-length documentary “Time” followed the struggles of a woman raisi