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2025 Summer/Fall MIF Grantees
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The LEF Foundation has awarded 13 Moving Image Fund grants totaling $52,500 in support of feature-length documentary works by New England-based filmmakers.
The LEF Moving Image Fund invests in feature-length documentary films that demonstrate excellence in technique, a resonant story or idea, and originality of artistic vision and voice. The most recent round of awards includes eight grants of $5,000 to projects at the Pre-production stage and five grants of $2,500 to projects at the Early Development stage.
The projects this round reflect on our current moment: often precipitous, a turning point, a possibility for new directions. The cohort includes imaginative works that layer artifice onto the real to reveal larger truths, films that utilize verite modes to patiently observe the workings of life in front of the camera, and ambitious projects tracing the slow progress of thoughts and actions over time.
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PRE-PRODUCTION
Feu de Lune
Directed by Dominic Yarabe
Produced by Eliza Soros
Green Light
Directed by Anna Barsan
Produced by Paige Wood, Kate Levy
Letters of Elsewhere
Directed by Abhi Indrekar
Produced by Dakxin Chhara, Michaela Henry
Rompío Fuente en la Noche (Water Breaks at Night)
Directed and Produced by Rosalyn Negrón
The Eye of Eternity
Directed and Produced by Matteo Moretti
The Low Season
Directed by Bernardo Ruiz
Produced by Bernardo Ruiz, Andrea Patiño Contreras
The sea will bring the miracle
Directed by Felipe Esparza Pérez
Produced by Lady Vinces Cruz
The Swimmer
Directed and Produced by Sara Jordenö
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EARLY DEVELOPMENT
98 Days
Directed by Cashmere Jasmine
Produced by Andy Fraser, Cashmere Jasmine, RJ Dawson
Ancestral Days
Directed by Bronte Stahl
Produced Isabella Rinaldi
Combat Zones (Working Title)
Directed by Stephen Wardell
Produced by Matthew Hipps
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Directed and Produced by Asha Tamirisa
Writing for My Mother
Directed and Produced by Natalie Pattillo
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The next Moving Image Fund grant deadline will be Friday, January 16, 2026 for New England-based directors and producers seeking Production and Post-production support for feature-length documentaries.
Submissions will open in mid-November.
You can find more details regarding LEF Moving Image Fund guidelines and eligibility on our website.
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Moving Image Fund Grantee News
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LEF-supported project THE BEND IN THE RIVER (dir. Robb Moss; prods. Lisa Remington, Kristin Feeley) will have its New England premiere at the Brattle Theatre on October 26 at 4:00pm, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker, as part of GlobeDocs. The film is the third installment in a trilogy of personal documentary films about Moss and his longtime friends over fifty years, recontextualizing his old footage and juxtaposing three timeframes to offer a profound, deeply moving portrait of human maturation.
The GlobeDocs virtual program includes two shorts by prior LEF grantees, THE WILDGIRL OF BRUSHVALLEY TOWNSHIP by Heather Cassano (THE FATE OF HUMAN BEINGS), and THE RETURN by Jeremy S. Levine (NINE).
GlobeDocs will take place from October 22 through October 26 at venues across Boston.
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LEF-supported project HOW TO CLEAN A HOUSE IN 10 EASY STEPS (dir. Carolina González Valencia; prods. González Valencia, Brenda Avila- Hanna) received a grant from the Sundance Documentary Fund for post-production. The film is about a domestic worker and her filmmaker daughter who co-create the fictional character of a writer to uncover the slippage between truth and fantasy in a hybrid documentary that tells a story about immigration, labor, dreams, and the power of fiction to spark emancipation.
LEF-supported project REMAKE (dir. Ross McElwee; prods. Mark Meatto, McElwee), having picked up two awards at its premiere in Venice, will go on to screen at Doclisboa this month and IDFA next month. The film traces McElwee’s relationship with his son Adrian, and the fragile bond the camera created between them while Adrian was alive, and now that he’s gone.
LEF-supported project NINE (dirs./prods. Rachael DeCruz, Jeremy S. Levine) will be part of the first day of pitches at DOC NYC next month. A poetic exploration of family, community, and masculinity, the film follows a man and his father figure, who found each other in the harshest of environments, illuminating how love can serve as an act of resistance. Levine's short film, THE RETURN, is also part of the program. Prior LEF grantee Sam Eilertsen (ISRAELISM) also has a short, VS. GOLIATH, at DOC NYC.
LEF-supported project RECOVERY CITY (dir. Lisa Olivieri; prods. Angela Brisk, Marga Varea) will be part of GBH's Local Lens program, premiering on October 23. THE HOUSE, a film by prior LEF grantee Tim O'Donnell (LIFE WITHOUT BASKETBALL), will air November 27. Learn more about Local Lens in the Opportunities section below.
Prior LEF grantees Heidi Burkey and Julie Hook (SALT SISTERS) will screen the short film FINAL FRONTIER at the Portland Museum of Art on November 1, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker and film participant.
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Are you a LEF grantee or fellow with news to share about your film? | | | | |
Upcoming Film Opportunities
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Image Description: Purple-tinted image of two people in row boats with the GBH Local Lens Logo | |
Submit your Film to GBH's Local Lens
GBH seeks films by filmmakers from the New England region or stories pertinent to New England audiences, who want to share their work with their viewers. With a rolling open call process, GBH is currently accepting submissions for completed non-fiction feature length, short films, and series for Local Lens.
Learn more
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JFI Filmmakers in Residence Program (Deadline: October 20)
The JFI Filmmaker Residency provides creative support and professional development for independent documentary filmmakers whose projects expand and evolve the Jewish story. Residents meet virtually throughout the year and convene in person for workshops and more at the annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Filmmakers from all communities are encouraged to apply.
Learn more
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The Dirt Palace Residency (Deadline: October 21)
Located in Olneyville Square, Providence, the space comprises studios and shared facilities that include: seven live/work artist in residence spaces, a library, a large shared kitchen, a print shop, a music rehearsal space, a wood shop, an animation/film editing suite, and a workspace for large projects.
Learn more
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Grants for Creative Individuals (Deadline: October 28)
Grants for Creative Individuals are unrestricted grants of $5,000 to Massachusetts artists, culture bearers, and creative practitioners to equitably advance creative expression throughout diverse communities in the Commonwealth.
Learn more
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JustFilms Grants (Deadline: October 30)
Through its open call, JustFilms supports artist-driven, feature-length (50+ mins) documentary films that creatively intersect with the social justice issues that are central to the Ford Foundation’s mission.
Learn more
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Roy W. Dean Fall Grant (Deadline: October 31)
For over 30 years, the Roy W. Dean Grant funds independent films that are unique and make a contribution to society that, without its help, might otherwise never get made. Open to filmmakers from any country, films can be in any phase of production from development to post-production, any length, and with a budget under $500,000.
Learn more
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Studios at MASS MoCA Residencies (Deadline: November 1)
Applications are being accepted for residencies from July to December 2026, from artists at all career stages, income levels, and geographic locations. We primarily seek applications from visual artists (including video/new media artists) and writers in all literary disciplines.
Learn more
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Perspective Fund (Deadline: Rolling)
The Perspective Fund supports filmmakers and strategists for whom entrenched forces and systems are most apparent in their lives and communities, who can most acutely construct films and campaigns to respond. Areas of funding include production, impact planning and campaigns, and participant compensation.
Learn more
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Assets for Artists Fall Professional Development Workshops
Free online and in-person professional development workshops through September are available to artists of all disciplines in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine.
Learn more
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Artist Residency Open Calls (Deadline: Rolling)
Artist Communities Alliance (ACA) provides two types of lists to help with the residency search process.
Learn more
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Thanks for reading,
The LEF New England team
Lyda, Gen, & Matthew
LEF Foundation
PO Box 382066
Cambridge, MA 02238
617.492.5333
lef-foundation.org
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A private family foundation dedicated to the support of contemporary arts, LEF was established in 1985 with offices in Massachusetts and California. The Moving Image Fund was launched in 2001 through the LEF office in Cambridge, MA to support independent film and video artists. Since its inception, the Moving Image Fund has awarded over 500 grants to New England-based independent filmmakers with over $5.5 million in funding. The goal of LEF New England is to fund the work of independent documentary film and video artists in the region and to broaden recognition and support for their work locally and nationally. It also supports programs that highlight the rich history and ongoing legacy of innovation within New England's independent film community. The overarching goal of LEF New England's philanthropic investment is to help build a sustainable and strong community of support for artists and their work.
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