USA
Chicken & Egg Pictures
We operate from a basic belief that people respond to stories, not issues. Thus, we support women filmmakers who are actively stretching as storytellers and are committed to taking creative risks. When we choose a project it is because we firmly believe that this film needs to be made and this filmmaker is the one to make it. We engage in a full vetting process. We fund, knowing that the filmmaker, who is generally at a critical juncture in her career, is open to mentorship, collaboration, community building and strategic feedback and that the project will be completed and launched in step with the social movement that needs it most.
Cinereach
Cinereach is a not-for-profit film production company and foundation that champions vital stories, artfully told. Created and led by young philanthropists, entrepreneurs and filmmakers, Cinereach empowers fiction and nonfiction filmmakers from all over the world through Grants & Awards, The Reach Film Fellowship, an internalProductions department, and through partnerships with the Sundance Institute and other organizations. Since 2006, Cinereach has disbursed close to $5 million in grant funds to more than 100 projects at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry and vital subject matter.
Crowdrise
Crowdrise is an innovative, crowd-sourced community of volunteers and online fundraisers that are coming together to answer the call to service, create online fundraising projects for charity, and have the most fun in the world while doing it. Events and Charities use Crowdrise to raise money in new ways, turning their participants and supporters into effective, impactful online fundraisers.
Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund
www.tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/gucci_documentary
Impact Partners
Films that engage pressing social issues have never reached larger audiences or had greater social impact than they do today. From AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH to THE COVE, these films command an enormous cultural presence and influence. The goal of Impact Partners is to bring together the two groups that make these films possible: filmmakers and film investors/philanthropists.
For investors, our goal is to provide the opportunity to participate in financing great documentaries and independent films, and the structure to do so in a fiscally responsible and profitable way.
For filmmakers, our goal is to provide both financing and guidance. We provide the resources to get films made, the mentorship to make films the best they can be, and the strategic support to achieve the widest possible audience for each film.
IndieGoGo
Indiegogo is a crowdfunding solution that empowers ideas and enables people to seek out and donate funds easily. At Indiegogo you’ll find a welcoming, supportive community that embraces collaboration, fearlessness and authenticity. You provide the passion, we’ll provide industry leading tools and support to help you promote your campaign and raise funds quickly, easily and securely.
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Every week, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.
Sundance Institute
Since 1981, Sundance Institute has evolved to become an internationally-recognized nonprofit organization that actively advances the work of risk-taking storytellers worldwide. Originally founded by Robert Redford in the mountains of Sundance, Utah, Sundance Institute has always provided a space for independent artists to explore their stories free from commercial and political pressures. By providing year-round creative and financial support for the development of original stories for the screen and stage, Sundance Institute remains committed to its mission to discover and develop independent artists and audiences across the globe.
The Fledgling Fund
With approximately $1.5 million in funding disbursed annually, we are interested in making strategic grants and investments that help fledgling projects take flight. The fund sees opportunities where funding can play a key role in the life of a creative media project that has the potential to ignite social change. Typically, these are grants at a critical stage of a media project where timely funding could amplify its social impact.
The fund leverages resources by funding projects around a cluster of issues that we believe are critical including: girls’ empowerment and women’s leadership, health and wellness, and systemic poverty, among others.
The Ford Foundation
Catapult Film Fund
Catapult provides development funding to documentary filmmakers who have a compelling story to tell, have secured access to their story and are ready to shoot and edit a piece for production fundraising purposes. Our mission is to enable filmmakers to develop their film projects to the next level at a moment where funding is hard to find. We support powerful stories, and moving storytelling, across a broad spectrum of issues and perspectives.
Japan Foundation New York
The mission of the Japan Foundation is to promote international cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries.
Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Film
Since 1996, the Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Jewish Documentary Film has supported the completion of over 80 original documentaries that explore the Jewish experience in all its complexity. The fund was created with a lead grant from Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation and sustained over 10 years with major support from the Charles H. Revson Foundation. The priority of the fund is to support projects that address significant subjects; offer fresh, challenging perspectives; engage diverse audiences; and expand the understanding of Jewish experiences.
Green Light Productions
At Green Light Film Funding we pride ourselves on honesty and our ability to structure unique funding solutions that are not available in the traditional lending arena. Whether your film has most or none of the funding required we can provide solutions that exist outside the traditional sources. Whether you are a filmmaker or potential investor we look forward to sharing your vision and working together with you and your team in the near future.
Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund
The Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund is a program of the International Documentary Association (IDA) and is made possible by The New York Community Trust. The fund supports full-length documentary films that reflect the spirit and nature of Pare Lorentz’s work, exhibiting objective research, artful storytelling, strong visual style, high production values, artistic writing, outstanding music composition, as well as skillful direction, camerawork and editing.
www.documentary.org/parelorentz
Bridging Cultures through Film: International Topics
National Endowment of the Humanities’ Division of Publics Program encourages the exploration of innovative nonfiction storytelling that presents multiple points of view in creative formats. This program supports documentary films that examine international and transnational themes in the humanities through documentary films. These projects are meant to spark Americans’ engagement with the broader world by exploring one or more countries and cultures outside of the United States.
www.neh.gov/grants/public/bridging-cultures-through-film-international-topics
Arthur Vining Davis Foundations
The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations based in Jacksonville, Florida are a national philanthropic organization established through the generosity of the late American Industrialist, Arthur Vining Davis.
CAAM Documentary Fund
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. We do this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media.
Jerome Foundation
The Jerome Foundation seeks to contribute to a dynamic and evolving culture by supporting the creation, development, and production of new works by emerging artists. The Foundation makes grants to not-for-profit arts organizations and artists in Minnesota and New York City.
Independent Filmmaker Project
IFP Minnesota’s mission is to advance a vibrant and diverse community of independent film and media artists through networking, education, funding, and opportunities for showcasing their work. IFP MN envisions a world where expression through images is encouraged and valued. It is the goal of IFP MN to lead the way in supporting the independent filmmaker by creating a healthy and viable filmmaking community in Minnesota.
Native American Public Telecommunication Producer Opportunity Fund
The Producer Opportunity Fund encourages participation in professional development activities that enhance skills in areas such as TV production, marketing, business development or involvement in Public Broadcasting-sponsored workshops.
The Oppenheimer Cine Rental New Filmmaker Equipment Grant Program
The Oppenheimer Cine Rental provides grants to support new filmmakers in producing their first serious film project. The grant awards the use of our Grant Program Arriflex 16SR2 camera package to senior and graduate thesis students and to independent filmmakers for a scheduled period of time.
oppenheimercinerental.com/grant
Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC) Media Fund
The goal of Pacific Islanders in Communications is to support the development of national public broadcast programming that enhances public recognition of and appreciation for Pacific Islander history, culture, and society. PIC accomplishes this by nurturing and supporting filmmakers through its Research & Development (R&D), Production, and Completion funds.
Latin Public Broadcasting Public Media Content Fund
The Public Media Content Fund (PMCF) is an open invitation to independent producers to submit proposals for a program, limited series or short web-based digital video projects (no longer than 20 minutes) on any subject that relates to or is representative of Latino Americans that is appropriate for public television and/or one of its platforms.
San Francisco Film Society Documentary Film Fund
The Documentary Film Fund supports riveting documentaries distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters and innovative visual approach
Animal Content in Entertainment Documentary Film Grant
The Humane Society presents the Animal Content in Entertainment (ACE) Documentary Film Grant for films with a focus on animal advocacy. The ACE is awarded to filmmakers to fund the creation of feature-length documentaries that highlight animal advocacy.
www.humanesociety.org/about/departments/hollywood/ace/animal-content-in-entertainment
The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation
Since 1995, we have searched for strategic ways to support the arts, to meet urgent human needs, to defend liberty and to promote social justice. Our grantees are notable for leadership, imagination and energy.
CANADA
National Film Board of Canada
The Alter-Cine Foundation
The Foundation offers a yearly grant to young film and video makers from Africa, Asia and Latin America to direct a documentary film on the theme of rights and freedoms, including social and economic rights, women’s rights, the right to culture and artistic creation.
The Foundation particularly supports documentary films that dare to go against the tide, that take the side of the defenceless and question common assumptions by giving a voice to the voiceless, enriching our understanding of the world and helping us reflect on the possibility of changing the world from a perspective of peace, justice, equality and respect for differences.
In the past 11 years, 1,039 film projects from 75 countries have been submitted to the Foundation. 35 filmmakers, including 16 women, have received grants to assist in the production of their vitally important documentaries. A jury of Quebec filmmakers, producers, human rights activists and international development experts convene each year to select the winners.
OMDC
Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport is the central catalyst for the province’s cultural media cluster including book publishing, film and television, interactive digital media, magazine publishing and music industries.
Canadian Media Fund (CMF)
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) champions the creation and promotion of successful, innovative Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging digital platforms through financial support and industry research. Created by Canada’s cable and satellite distributors and the Government of Canada, the CMF aspires to connect Canadians to our creative expressions, to each other, and to the world.
Telefilm Canada
Dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada’s audiovisual industry, Telefilm, through its various funding and promotion programs, supports dynamic companies and creative talent here at home and around the world.
OMNI 2 Rogers Media Television
OMNI Television is a part of Rogers Broadcasting Limited, a division of Rogers Communications Inc. which is a diversified Canadian communications and media company. OMNI is a free, over-the-air multilingual/multicultural television system committed to reflecting Canada’s diversity by broadcasting an array of ethnocultural programming, serving multiple language communities. OMNI also delivers star-studded international series and films, including Bollywood blockbusters, Asian Cinema, as well as Italian and Portuguese telenovelas.
Hot Docs
Hot Docs is an organization with a mandate to showcase and support the work of Canadian and international documentary filmmakers and to promote excellence in documentary production. Throughout the year, Hot Docs supports documentary filmmakers through Doc Ignite, an online crowd-funding service. Hot Docs also administers several production funds including the Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds and the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Group Documentary Fund.
Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office
CAVCO co-administers two federal tax credit programs with the Canada Revenue Agency: the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) program and the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (PSTC) program.
SaskFilm and Video Development Organizations
As the film commission and funding agency for the province, the Saskatchewan Film and Video Development Corporation (SaskFilm) is responsible for establishing a vibrant film and television industry in Saskatchewan by promoting the province’s resources and locations as a competitive, experienced production center for local and visiting producers. SaskFilm has played a significant role in the film and television industry’s success through the delivery of funding programs, management of the state-of-the-art Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios and the facilitation of co-venture/co-productions with visiting producers. As a non-profit corporation, SaskFilm is governed by a Board of Directors whose knowledge, education and expertise of film, television and interactive sector influence the decision making process and overall strategic management of the organization
Winnipeg Film Group
The Winnipeg Film Group is an artist-run education, production, exhibition and distribution centre committed to promoting the art of cinema.
INTERNATIONAL
Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation
The BRITDOC Foundation empowers documentary filmmaking. The foundation promotes great documentary initiatives by enabling great films with global ambition, by brokering new partners and by helping to build new business models for filmmakers to deploy.The Foundation is generously supported by Channel 4 TV and other sponsors, both in the UK and internationally.
Eurimages
Eurimages’ first objective is cultural, in that it endeavours to support works which reflect the multiple facets of a European society whose common roots are evidence of a single culture.
The second one is economic, in that the Fund invests in an industry which, while concerned with commercial success, is interested in demonstrating that cinema is one of the arts and should be treated as such.
Bearing this in mind, Eurimages has developed four funding programmes:
- Assistance for co-production;
- Assistance for distribution;
- Assistance to cinemas;
- Assistance to digitisation of theatres which are members of the Eurimages network
The majority (almost 90%) of the Fund’s resources – which originate from member States’ contributions – goes to supporting co-production. Since it was set up in 1988, Eurimages has supported the co-production of 1349 full-length feature films and documentaries as at 31/12/2010. A number of these have received prestigious awards (Oscars, Palme d’Or, Golden Lion…). The rules and conditions under which assistance is awarded are revised each year in order to reflect developments in film-making in the member States and to respond better to the needs of those working in the industry.
European Film Promotion
In 2011, EFP celebrates its 15th year as a key European promotion organisation. EFP was launched in 1997 with 10 founding members and has meanwhile become a leading international promotion organisation in Europe. With an extended membership of 32 organisations, representing 33 different European countries, EFP has throughout the years sought to address the critical issue of improved marketing and promotion of European films. The network promotes European cinema through its joint initiatives, and at the same time, respects and encourages the individuality and richness of each national cinema of Europe.
Hubert Bals Fund
www.filmfestivalrotterdam/en/about/hubert_bals_fund
ITVS – International Call
ITVS funds, distributes, and promotes new programs primarily for public television. We work with independent producers to create and present programs that take creative risks, advance issues and represent points of view not usually seen on public or commercial television. ITVS is committed to programming that addresses the needs of underserved and underrepresented audiences. We look for programs that bring new audiences to public television and that expand civic participation by bringing diverse voices into the public sphere.
Jan Vrijman Fund
IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund supports documentary filmmakers and festivals in developing countries. Its goal is to stimulate local film cultures and to turn the creative documentary into a truly global film art.
www.idfa.nl/industry/markets-funding/vrijman-fund.aspx
Movies That Matter Support Programme
Movies that Matter believes that the film camera is a powerful weapon against social indifference. Film has an unprecedented capacity to open eyes. What cannot be accomplished by spoken and written language, is sometimes achieved by motion picture. Cinema fascinates, stimulates, inspires and raises awareness. It serves as a mirror and helps us to become familiar with other cultures. Inspired films incite to compassion, reflection and discussion. Films have an emotional appeal and serve as a mouthpiece for victims of injustice.
For all those reasons, film is an excellent way to stir debate and promote human rights education. And that is no luxury, since research from the Human Rights League and the University of Amsterdam has shown that (young) Dutch citizens know little about human rights.
Paul Robeson Fund For Independent Media
Named to honor singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson, the Fund supports media activism and grassroots organizing by funding the pre-production and distribution of social issue film, video, radio and print projects. The Fund solicits projects of all genres that address critical social and political issues, combine intellectual clarity with creative use of the medium and demonstrate understanding of how the production will be used for progressive social justice organizing.
The Rockefeller Foundation
To achieve our goal of the well-being of humanity through smart globalization, the Rockefeller Foundation funds a portfolio of initiatives that link and interlink to achieve meaningful and measurable impact.
All our initiatives draw on the Foundation’s commitment to nurture innovation, pioneer new fields, expand access to and distribution of resources, empower beneficiaries to cultivate and spread progress in their countries, and, ultimately, generate sustainable impact on individuals, institutions, and communities.
Step Beyond – European Cultural Foundation Mobility Fund
STEP Beyond Travel grants fund up-and-coming artists and cultural workers – with a priority to individuals up to 35 years and/or in the first 10 years of their career – to travel between EU and countries bordering the EU. Since 2003, STEP – which stands for ‘Supporting Travel for European Partnerships’ – Beyond Travel Grants have supported the movement of hundreds of people across European borders by providing between €250 and €700. In 2011, we awarded 261 individual travel grants of between €250 and €700.
Funding mobility and exchange links closely to ECF’s overall objectives and specifically to our European Neighbourhood programme, which currently works with organisations in Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey. Also high on our agenda is support for people and projects in the following countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Syria and Tunisia. We especially welcome applications for STEP Beyond Travel Grants from these regions.
TFI Documentary Fund
In 2012, the TFI Documentary Fund is providing grants totalling $150,000 to ten exceptional, character-driven feature documentaries that aim to take audiences into someone else’s world.
Ranging from the inspirational to the provocative, these films examine real human-interest stories: idiosyncratic circumstances of how passion, exploration, love, and success shape characters and lead them to stand out in society.
This year’s recipients are in various stages of development through post-production, and cover topics as wide-ranging as Richard Nixon’s presidency, love and marriage, a Kim Jong-il-ordered abduction and a family-owned strip club. See a list of all ten 2012 TFI Doc Fundees here.
With this fund, TFI looks for films that specifically sit outside of the social-issue landscape by painting a dynamic portrait of compelling individuals and uplifting stories. By playfully engaging in these unexplored perspectives, TFI seeks to spotlight the journey of the individual.
www.tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/tfi_documentary
Women in Film Foundation’s Film Finishing Fund
Women In Film is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women achieve their highest potential within the global entertainment, communications and media industries and to preserving the legacy of women within those industries.
Founded in 1973, Women In Film and its Women In Film Foundation provide for members an extensive network of contacts, educational programs, scholarships, film finishing funds and grants, access to employment opportunities, mentorships and numerous practical services in support of this mission.
World Cinema Fund
Together with the Federal Foundation for Culture and in cooperation with the Goethe Institut, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Deutsche Welle / DW Academy, the Foreign Ministry and German producers, the World Cinema Fund works to develop and support cinema in regions with a weak film infrastructure, while fostering cultural diversity in German cinemas. TheWorld Cinema Fund supports films that could not be made without additional funding: films that stand out with an unconventional aesthetic approach, that tell powerful stories and transmit an authentic image of their cultural roots.
The World Cinema Fund has an annual budget of approximately 400,000 EUR and supports exclusively the production and distribution of feature films and feature-length documentaries. Thesupport is focused on the following regions: Latin America, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caucasus.
MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is one of the nation’s largest independent foundations. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media. The Foundation makes grants and loans through four programs: International Programs, U.S. Programs, Media, Culture, and Special Initiatives, and the MacArthur Fellows Program.
Göteborg International Film Festival Fund (GIFFF)
GIFFF primarily supports young filmmakers in development countries and emerging economies.
www.giff.se/us/public/industry/film-fund
Vision Sud East Fund
Vision Sud East supports film productions from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, aims at making them visible worldwide and guarantees their distribution in Switzerland.
The New Fund for Cinema and Television (NFCT)
The NFCT promotes and encourages cinema in Israel, specializes in documentary films and also supports dramatic, feature and experimental cinema. It supports and nurtures outstanding Israeli filmmakers as well as educating the public to appreciate Israeli cinema in general and creative documentaries in particular.
Doha Film Institute
Doha Film Institute (DFI) financing aims to support filmmakers in their storytelling, unlock creativity, connect regional and international talent and create a sustainable film financing model in Qatar. DFI provides MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Grants as well as local and international co-financing for filmmakers in the creation of compelling, culturally relevant stories with global resonance and commercial potential.
www.dohafilminstitute.com/financing
New Zealand Film Commission – Documentary Development Fund
We invest in feature films, short films, script and career development and marketing and promoting New Zealand films and filmmakers both here and overseas. We are committed to telling New Zealand stories through the medium of film. We look to support feature documentary projects that are distinctly cinematic, with clear appeal to New Zealand and international theatrical audiences.
Le Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC)/the National Center of Cinematography and the moving image
The CNC is a public administrative institution under the supervision of the Minister of Culture
Spier Films
Spier Films is the only production company in South Africa that is able to cash-flow the South African production rebate and pre-sales, and in its last seven films has provided both equity and gap finance. In addition to providing financial services in the form of both loans and equity, we also work with a range of high net-worth individuals who invest in films to take advantage of tax incentives available to South African investors in film & television production. We also have very good relationships with state funding institutions including the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) who can invest up to 49% of a budget of a feature film or television project in a combination of loans and equity.
Filmregion Stockholm-Malardalen
Film Region Stockholm-Malardalen is the capital region’s production center for film. A collaboration between the public and private sectors to encourage film production in the Stockholm-Malardalen. Thus we strengthen the region’s visibility and competitiveness.
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF)
The National Film & Video Foundation is a statutory body mandated by parliament to spearhead the development of the South African film and video industry. The vision of the NFVF is to strive for a quality South African film and video industry that is representative of the nation, commercially viable and encourages development. The NFVF aims to support this by creating an environment that develops and promotes the South African film and video industry, domestically and internationally.
