The International Documentary Association (IDA) is funding feature documentaries that reflect the spirit and nature of Pare Lorentz's work. This year, the Fund is providing production and post-production grants up to $25,000 to social-issue films exploring symptoms of systematic

racism.

The applicant does not need to be a US resident, but the project must focus on Challenging

White Supremacy in the U.S. Films can shine a light on the impact of white supremacy in many

areas, including but not limited to policing, banking and finance, education, health care, land

rights and housing.

Deadline is June 28, 2021. Apply here.

Deadline for applications is June 14, 2021. Apply here.

Deadline for applications is July 5, 2021. Apply here.

The Firelight Media Documentary Lab is an 18-month fellowship program that supports filmmakers in the United States from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities working on their first or second feature-length documentary film. The Lab provides filmmakers with customized mentorship from prominent leaders in the documentary world, as well as funding, professional development workshops, and networking opportunities.

Deadline for applications is June 28, 2021. Apply here.

Center for Independent Documentary has been approved for a $20,000 Grant for Arts Project to support LOS HERMANOS/THE BROTHERS by Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider, and a $20,000 Grant for Arts Project to support SHIRLEY CLARKE DOCUMENTARY by Immy Humes.

CID's projects are among the more than 1,100 projects across America totaling nearly $27 million that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2021 funding. Read more here.

The LEF Foundation has awarded 10 Moving Image Fund grants totaling $190,000 in support of feature-length documentary works by New England-based filmmakers.

NIGHT FIGHT, directed by Khary Saeed Jones and produced by Khary Saeed Jones and Kendra Taira Field, has received a Production Grant in the amount of $15,000. Night Fight explores the interior life of a man living while Black in the United States as it seizes and convulses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial reckoning catalyzed by the police killing of George Floyd, and the countdown to the most consequential election in the nation's history.

Khary Saeed Jones was also selected as the 2021-22 recipient of the Film Study Center-LEF Foundation Fellowship with his project Night Fight. The FSC-LEF Fellowship aims to foster connections between Harvard filmmakers and those in the surrounding filmmaker community.

HIGHER 15, a film by Ameha Molla and Rajal Pitroda, was one of five winners at Black Public Media's PitchBLACK Forum! The team was awarded $100,000.

Higher 15 tells the story of a former Ethiopian revolutionary turned lead witness in an FBI investigation against his murderous prison guard in war torn Addis Ababa.

Mitch McCabe's short film CIVIL WAR SURVEILLANCE POEMS - PART 1 will have its UK premiere at the Sheffield Doc/Fest which takes place June 4-13. It will also screen at the Dresden International Short Film Festival in July (July 13-18). Begun in 2018, the short film is the first iteration of a five-part speculative nonfiction feature project about impending civil war in the U.S., recently wrapping production after following 2020 events in Michigan leading up to the election and January 6 insurrection. The film has been made possible due to support from MASS MoCA, MacDowell, Yaddo, the Sarah Jacobson Award and the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts.

LOS HERMANOS/THE BROTHERS is making it out into the world! The film about family and music stymied by geopolitics is playing in theaters nationwide through First Run (playdates here) and at an in-theater screening at the Boulder Film Festival on June 27th. The film garnered the Best Editing prize at the Ashland Film Festival and the musicians were featured on NPR's Here and Now.

Locked in during the pandemic, young filmmakers across five continents document their lives during the time of Covid-19 — telling stories of family, loneliness, revolution, disappointment, and unexpected discovery in COVISIONS: YOUNG VOICES IN THE TIME OF CORONA, premiering as an installation at DocEdge in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand starting June 3rd.

ACTIVIZED, directed by Eric Stange, is now available on Kanopy, the educational streaming giant. This short documentary about six ordinary Americans becoming activists in the areas of gun violence prevention, voting rights and immigrants’ rights, premiered at the Thin Line Film Festival in March of 2019 and went on to a year-long impact tour with 100+ screenings and over 20 film festival selections. Learn more and watch the film on Kanopy here using your public library card or university login. ACTIVIZED is also newly available for home rentals on Vimeo, here.

SOMETHING IN THE WATER completed principle photography in March 2021 and is presently in the process of post-production for their feature documentary about America.

The thirty-two state, 16,500 mile journey from October 2020-April 2021, captured the perspectives, places, and experiences of 180 diverse people who are living under the pressure of a divided country, a contentious election, and in the midst of a global pandemic.

Producers Jeri Wachter and Joseph C. Stillman are in the midst of weaving their incredibly complex vision of our country as told through the testimonies of Americans across our land.

In May, The New York City International Film Festival (NYCIFF) awarded Ted Reed Productions' THE BLUES TRAIL REVISITED with Best Documentary. The Telly's also announced The Blues Trail Revisited won three awards - Gold for Writing, Gold for Use of Archival Footage, Gold for Documentary and Bronze for General Education. 

The Blues Trail Revisited is available to rent here.

Ken Paul Rosenthal discusses the making of his in-progress documentary JULIA VINOGRAD: BETWEEN SPIRIT AND STONE in an interview with Erica Goss for Sticks & Stones. Read the interview here.

Jonathan Skurnik's YOUTH AND GENDER MEDIA PROJECT film BECOMING JOHANNA will have a national broadcast on PBS in June. It will also premiere on the World Channel on:

PAINTING AT THE EDGE is now back in pre-production for shoots in the Canyonlands National Park Wilderness in October and Cornwall England in November.

Schendel Films has also resumed post production after a year of pandemic delays on The Monterey Petitions Documentary now titled ENDURING DEMOCRACY. They will be including two recently shot pivotal interviews with Mike Jones(change.org) and Don Tamaki(civil rights lawyer).

They have also resumed production on THE MUSIC BUS with London shoots ongoing and a production trip to Romania planned for the fall.

Alexis Clements has launched a new podcast called "The Answer Is No." It features conversations with artists, writers, and filmmakers about how they sustain their careers and stay sane by saying no to bad gigs in order to say yes to the good ones. Alexis' hope is to help build knowledge through the stories we tell in order to empower listeners to say no to gigs that are not benefiting them and to work towards a more equitable field for everyone. The podcast is available on all of the major apps, and you can also listen on the website.

PLAYING FRISBEE IN NORTH KOREA, a film by Savanna Washington, has been picked up for distribution by Kino Lorber! Learn more and license the film here.

Learn Storytelling, Video Production & Editing through in-depth summer workshops taught by Michael Sheridan through MassArt continuing education. More info here.

Learn more here.