The LEF Moving Image Fund is now accepting submissions of feature-length (40+ minutes) documentary films in Production or Post-production from New England filmmakers.

The deadline to submit a letter of inquiry form is Friday, January 22, 2021 at 11:59pm (midnight). Post-production funding is open only to projects that have received LEF funding at an earlier stage. Production funding is open to all eligible applicants in New England!

Submit your letter of inquiry form here.

Transgender Film Center, a new nonprofit organization established to support transgender filmmakers with resources and opportunities for their projects, announced its first initiative, the Transgender Film Center's Trailblazer Grant. The grant is open to all transgender people. There will be two selected grant recipients, who will each receive $1,500 towards their films.

The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2021. Apply here.

Applications are now being accepted for the second year of the Andrew Berends Film Fellowship.

Andrew Berends was a courageous and talented filmmaker who sought out stories in places which the mainstream media ignored. The Andrew Berends Film Fellowship was born out of the desire of Andy's family, friends and colleagues to keep his memory alive and active in the world of documentary where he himself thrived. The mission of this fellowship is to support emerging filmmakers from all walks of life that embody Andy's spirit and determination, with a focus on sharing unheard stories.

Submissions will be accepted until January 5, 2021. Learn more and apply here.

The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced their nominees for the 36th annual IDA Documentary Awards. CRIP CAMP, directed by Jim LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham, received five nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Writing and the ABC News VideoSource Award. LOS HERMANOS/THE BROTHERS, directed by Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider, has been nominated for Best Music Documentary.

The winners of the 2020 IDA Documentary Awards will be announced at a virtual ceremony on January 16, 2021.

Patchworks Film's LOS HERMANOS/THE BROTHERS will have its international premiere at the Havana Film Festival in December. Sadly, due to Covid-related travel restrictions, the filmmakers won't be there for the celebrations. They hope to hold a redux screening in Cuba in March to hear the soundtrack in a theater for the first time.

Music and trailer at www.hermanosbrothersfilm.info

CURED, a new documentary directed by Bennett Singer and Patrick Sammon, has won a $50,000 award in the 2020 Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film. This annual competition, which recognizes excellence in historical documentaries, provides funds for finishing costs and outreach campaigns. CURED is the first film about LGBTQ history to win a prize in this competition.

Described as "fascinating" (Hollywood Reporter), "striking" (USA Today), and "probably the best LGBTQ documentary of the year" (Bay Area Reporter), CURED tells the story of the activists who persuaded the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its manual of mental illnesses in 1973. The film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Frameline and NewFest and will be broadcast nationally on PBS' Independent Lens series in October 2021.

For decades, child welfare authorities have been removing Native American children from their homes to save them from being Indian. In Maine, the first official "truth and reconciliation commission" in the United States begins a historic investigation. Emmy®--winner DAWNLAND goes behind-the-scenes as this historic body grapples with difficult truths, redefines reconciliation, and charts a new course for state and tribal relations.

In DEAR GEORGINA a Passamaquoddy elder journeys into an unclear past to better understand herself and her cultural heritage.

On Tuesday, December 8th at 7pm ET/4pm PT, join Dawnland filmmaker Adam Mazo, Upstander Project Learning Director Mishy Lesser, Akomawt Educational Initiative's endawnis Spears (Diné, Ojibwe, Chickasaw, Choctaw), Dartmouth college professor and Dawnland producer N. Bruce Duthu (Houma), and special guests for a live Q & A after the films. 

Learn more about the films and watch the trailer at upstanderproject.org

Note the screening begins with the 54-minute broadcast edition of Dawnland followed by Dear Georgina.

Free registration with optional donations benefiting Upstander Project here.

Producer/director Dan Goldes signed an educational license for 5 BLOCKS with UC Berkeley. The campus licensed the film in perpetuity because of heavy local interest, and Dan spoke with a California urban studies class virtually on Nov. 19th to discuss the film and the issues it raises. 5 Blocks was also named a finalist in competition at the Istanbul International Architectural & Urban Film Festival, which streams online Dec. 5 - 8th.

The new trailer for SALLY is online and available to watch here!

Sally tells the story of Sally Gearhart, a once-beloved lesbian-feminist icon who fought center-stage with Harvey Milk during one of the most terrifying, thrilling, and revolutionary periods in the struggle for gay rights. Instead of a traditional bio-pic of a hidden figure, Sally is something between a wild lesbian safari and a timely and deeply moving meditation on the tensions inherent in revolutionary movements: Ideological principles versus human realities, separatism versus mainstreaming, and throwing down the gauntlet versus reaching across the aisle.

The DIAMOND DIPLOMACY production team is thrilled to announce the launch of three new dynamic support pathways for individuals, nonprofits, small businesses, and corporations, to join on the journey of bringing this feature-length documentary to life. This program is a wonderful opportunity to build a mutually beneficial relationship between the film and the community of supporters. For more information please see website or contact director Yuriko Romer at ygr@flyingcarp.net.

The Clowder Group began a decade ago when two guys left successful careers in Hollywood to use their powers for good. They are the creators of the LBGT aging film Gen Silent and other widely used documentaries. Their small team creates more impact with each donation, in part, because they all do a little bit of everything to make it happen!

Their new film, ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE, uncovers the growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation facing us after COVID. They were nearly finished when the pandemic hit and they were forced back into production to capture this new part of the story.

This groundbreaking documentary about loneliness and isolation is now scheduled for release in early 2021 - just when it's needed most!

Earlier this fall, THE G WORD team launched "Conversations with The G Word," a series of five panel discussions featuring experts and thought leaders in gifted education. The next talk in the series will cover "Giftedness, Trauma & Mental Health" and happens on Wednesday, December 2nd at 11am PT on Facebook Live. As part of their ongoing partnership crowdfunding campaign called, "The Future Is Gifted," this initiative is proving to be instrumental to fundraising efforts as they aim to grow their National Partnership Network and work towards finishing the film, now in post-production. All of our talks are freely available as an archive on Vimeo.

UNSCARRED launched its 2020 fundraising campaign and needs your support. The feature-length film will tell the story of seven survivors who have been physically scarred by trauma or illness, and have found empowerment and reclamation through the art of tattoo. Their scars, while still existing under art, have become "Unscarred." The filmmakers are looking for support to reach their goal of $50,000 to make the film a reality. For more information, visit www.unscarredfilm.com.

WALKING CINEMA is in production on Free & Equal, an immersive documentary exploring Reconstruction history in the Sea Islands, South Carolina. The team is working with Darius Brown, a man in his early twenties who has traced over twenty ancestors back to the first African American troops in the Civil War. Through Darius' genealogical journey and his third great-grandfather Isaiah's role in history, the project will look at the region's unique Reconstruction story in relation to the current quest for Black civil rights. Free & Equal is in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Humanities, University of South Carolina, and the National Park Service.

Watch the full recording here (you must create a Sundance Co//ab account, but it is free.)