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Moving Image Fund Grantee News
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LEF-supported project BACKSIDE (dir. Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana; prods. Gabriella García-Pardo, Patricia Alvarez Astacio) will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 7. BACKSIDE offers an intimate and tender glimpse into the lives of immigrant workers who begin their days at 2 a.m., seven days a week, year-round, caring for some of the world’s most prized racehorses at Churchill Downs' "backside".
LEF-supported project BANNED TOGETHER (dirs. Kate Way, Tom Wiggin; prods. Way, Wiggin, Jennifer Wiggin, Allyson Rice) is available to stream on Apple TV and Amazon Prime, and became library streaming service Kanopy's first original film, beginning a new division at the streamer dedicated to seeking out and distributing original films and series. The film follows three students and their adult allies as they fight to reinstate 97 books suddenly pulled from their school libraries.
LEF-supported project THE GUYS NEXT DOOR (dirs./prods. Allie Humenuk, Amy Geller) is screening at the West Newton Cinema on May 15 (tonight!), to be followed by a Q&A with the directors as well as the subject of the film Rachel Segall, a Newton resident.
LEF-supported project JOONAM (dir. Sierra Urich; prods. Urich, Keith Wilson) is streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Prior LEF grantees Erin Ramirez (KOWLOON!) and Luis Arnías (TONADA MENGUANTE) have work screening at the Third Horizon Film Festival: Ramirez's "St. Andrews" on May 30, and Arnias's "Bisagras" on June 1.
2019 LEF Flaherty Fellow Carl Elsaesser and 2020 North Shorts Fellow Jessica Bardsley were named 2025 Guggenheim Fellows.
2024 LEF/CIFF Fellow Arielle Knight look part last month in Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies 2025 DocX Residency–Another World is Possible.
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Are you a LEF grantee or fellow with news to share about your film? | | | | Image description: A graphic from MASSCreative featuring the Lincoln Memorial statue on a bright yellow-orange background with different colored triangles. | | |
It seems that every day we've been greeted with more anticipated reductions in funding and actual terminations of grants for the arts and artists. The federal government's proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in its FY26 budget proposal is a daunting thing to face down. MASSCreative has posted a useful guide for navigating the current moment, including steps for appealing the termination of funding, surveys to help track losses of funding, and resources for action. As the piece states, "Advocacy and broad coalition building are essential to protect federal funding for arts, culture, and the humanities."
Included in what MASSCreative shares is the Film Festival Alliance's Guidance for NEA Grantees Facing Termination or Withdrawal of Funds, and in addition to the regional survey featured, there is also this NEA grant termination tracker, as well as this national pulse survey about the impact of executive orders. Advocacy groups like Americans for the Arts, Protect My Public Media and National Humanities Alliance also have calls to action, and Massachusetts Cultural Council's list of opportunities to take action is another resource to check out for artists in and outside of Massachusetts.
We hope these advocacy resources can be a helpful start for anyone feeling daunted by what to do as an artist or a supporter of artists. Staying connected and informed, and keeping up with the latest from organizations dedicated to preserving arts and culture is a sure way to keep moving forward. If you're a film funding entity or an arts nonprofit and you're looking to connect, please reach out to LEF and we'd be happy to exchange resources.
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Upcoming Film Opportunities
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Image Description: Arts Action Consortium logo.
The 2025 Capacity-Building Cohort is a new 6-month opportunity from Assets for Artists offering $2,000 grants and individualized professional development and capacity-building support for Boston-area artists. This opportunity is one of many resources offered in conjunction with the Arts Action Consortium a newly-launched initiative from six Boston-area arts/culture organizations seeking to strengthen and support Boston's creative workforce.
This opportunity opens July 1 and will have a deadline of August 14.
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Image Description: New England Foundation for the Arts logo.
Every month, the New England Foundation for the Arts posts a list of professional development opportunities, calls to artists, and cultural events.
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Rhizome Fellowship (Deadline: May 16)
The Rhizome Fellowship is an eight-month journey designed to equip narrative practitioners, artists, academics, journalists, storytellers, and activists with tools and accompany them through a process of narrative-led systems change. Rooted in the Culture Hack Method, this fellowship provides a structured yet experimental space to develop and prototype narrative interventions that disrupt extractive models and seed regenerative futures.
Learn more
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Building Bridges Documentary Fund (Deadline: May 18)
The Building Bridges Documentary Fund provides funding for independent documentary films about the Muslim experience in the United States. The Fund’s goal is to support filmmakers and works that contribute to a fuller spectrum of narratives that need to be told in the context of what it means to be Muslim in the United States.
Learn more
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Film Independent Documentary Producing Lab (Member Extended Deadline: May 19)
The Documentary Producing Lab, held during the Fall, is designed for producers working in the nonfiction space. For one week, producers with projects in active development, production or post-production will be paired with creative and business consultants, learning strategies and practices that will benefit them not only on their current projects, but throughout their careers.
Learn more
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Opportunity Fund (Deadline: May 20)
The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) Opportunity Fund 7.0 provides $3,000 in project-based support to Boston-based artists and cultural workers to create and present community-centered arts experiences that expand access to creative expression across all neighborhoods.
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Lightpress Grant (Deadline: May 31)
Every six months, in January and July, the Interbay Cinema Society gives grants to 10 filmmakers working in 8mm, Super 8mm, 16mm or 35mm film to have 2 and 4K high resolution scans of their work made through Lightpress, a transfer house in Seattle.
Learn more
| | Image Description: Center for Independent Documentary Logo | |
Kopkind/CID Film Seminar + Retreat (Deadline: June 1)
Eight filmmakers will be chosen to spend the week of July 20th through July 27th at Treefrog Farm in Guilford, VT, where they will have the opportunity to share their work and support one another.
Learn more
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Collective Futures Fund (Deadline: June 1)
The Collective Futures Fund is an initiative directly supporting visual artists and artist-run activity in the Greater Boston area through grants of $2,500 and $7,500. We help incubate artists’ visions for their own independent platforms and research to support the futures of our vibrant local artist communities.
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Music on Film-Film on Music (MOFFOM) Documentary Grant (Deadline: June 2)
The MOFFOM grant provides up to $20,000 annually in finishing funds for scoring, composition, and music licensing efforts for feature-length (70+ min) documentaries directly related to music in post-production.
Learn more
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Expand Massachusetts Stories: Promises of the Revolution (Deadline: June 9)
This year, the theme focuses on legacies of the American Revolution, offering grants of up to $20,000 for projects that collect, interpret and/or share narratives about the commonwealth, with an emphasis on the voices and experiences that have gone unrecognized, or have been excluded from public conversation. Read more about expansive potential projects on the grant website.
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SFFILM Documentary Film Fund (Regular Deadline: June 23; Final Deadline: July 7)
The SFFILM Documentary Film Fund (DFF) supports engaging documentaries in post-production which exhibit compelling stories, intriguing characters, and an original, innovative visual approach. 3-4 projects each year are awarded with grants of $10,000 – $15,000 and access to numerous benefits through the comprehensive and dynamic SFFILM Makers artist development program.
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Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant (Deadline: July 2)
The Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant is an annual grant of $5,000 awarded to lesbians for making visionary moving-image art. Work can be experimental animation, experimental documentary, experimental narrative, cross-genre, or solely experimental.
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AXS Film Fund (Deadline: July 31)
This program is for creators of color in documentary filmmaking or nonfiction new media who identify as living with a disability. The fund seeks to bring visibility to creators who are oftentimes overlooked. Each year up to five creators are awarded with grants of up to $10,000 each to assist them in finishing their projects in any stage of production.
Opens June 2.
Learn more
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Assets for Artists Professional Development Workshops
Free online and in-person professional development workshops through July are available to artists of all disciplines in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine.
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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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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 nearly 500 grants to New England-based independent filmmakers with over $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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