Trailblazing lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer is paying it forward. The former Guggenheim Fellow is teaming up with NYC-based non-profit Queer Art to launch The Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant, Out reports. Hammer, who first started working in the medium in the ’60s, told the mag that “lesbian film really calls out for experimental work” because “working as a lesbian filmmaker in the ’70s wasn’t easy in the social structure [or] educational institution [she] was in.” The “A Horse Is Not a Metaphor” director is hoping to make that path smoother for the next generation. “I want this grant to make it easier for lesbians of today,” she said. “So you can make work that you want to make.”

The $5,000 grant “is application-based and will be awarded to benefit projects in any stage of development, from concept to exhibition,” according to Out. “Animation, documentary, narrative, cross-genre will all be considered, as long as they fall within the experimental genre.”

Hammer said that when she first picked up a camera, she “couldn’t find any” lesbians on-screen. There are certainly more portrayals of LGBTQ characters on the big and small screen than decades ago, but the numbers are still surprisingly — and disappointingly — low. A study from USC Annenberg’s Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative found that “not one lead or co lead was LGBT identified across the entire sample of 100 top films of 2015” and “82 of the 100 top movies of 2015 did not depict one LGBT speaking or named character.”

Applications for the first year will open August 1 and will be accepted until September 30. This year’s judges include Cheryl Dunye (“The Watermelon Woman”) and artist Dani Leventhal. The winner will be announced on December 4.

You can find more information about the grant on Queer Art’s site.

Hammer’s credits include “Welcome to this House,” “Nitrate Kisses,” and “Tender Fictions.”