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Jin Yoo-Kim, Speaker
Articulating the purpose and promise of your documentary is a foundational step in advancing your project. Writing the Nonfiction Core Application is a process that doesn’t just apply to grants—it is a powerful development tool that helps you clarify your film’s intention, structure, and impact, and teaches you how to communicate those ideas clearly to others. The language you develop through this process becomes the backbone of how you share your film with funders, creative partners, collaborators, and audiences across the life of the project.
Through a series of short-form video presentations, IDA’s own Maria Santos and Katy Hurley—who have been working in the nonfiction funding space for the past ten and four years, respectively—will break down the Core Application questions into four distinct sections. This approach is designed to support both application writing and the development of language that will be useful both for marketing and for sharing your film with others. Drawing on their experience as funders, Maria and Katy will offer insight into how applications are read and evaluated, and what funders are looking for when assessing a project’s clarity, strength, and potential.
In this series, you will learn:
- What each question of the Core App is asking you
- The right type of language to describe your project
- Questions to ask yourself and your team before completing the Core App
- The production details you need to have in place for applying
- How to answer questions at different stages of production
- What funders are looking for in a work sample
- The amount of budget detail you need
This video series will be released on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
On Thursday, February 26, IDA will host an in-person Core App evening workshop. At the IDA offices, filmmakers in LA seeking to edit and hone their application language are welcome to attend. Submit an interest form with a sample of your writing to register for the event—everyone is invited to attend and peer workshop their projects. Come meet other filmmakers who are developing their writing to describe their projects at different stages of production.
Facilitated by Maria Santos (IDA’s Artist Services Manager) and Jin Yoo Kim (Co-Director of the BAVC Mediamaker Fellowship and an independent producer), the program will start with the large-group workshopping of a selected IDA Member project**, with recommendations for giving helpful feedback. Then, attendees will be broken into small working groups so everyone can give and receive feedback from their peers.
Then, on April 22, Maria and Katy will facilitate a virtual Core App workshop for IDA Members only! Depending on the interest and feedback, we will hold more in the future.
**Only IDA Members at DocMaker level or above will be considered for workshopping as part of the large group, but anyone is invited to attend and peer workshop their applications.
Core App Video Series Release
February 19, 2026 | documentary.org
In-Person Workshop - Open to the Public
February 26, 2026 | 7 PM - 9 PM PT | IDA Offices in Los Angeles
Capacity: Up to 50 people in person / no virtual component
Virtual IDA Members Only Event
April 22, 2026 | 7 AM - 9 AM PT | Virtual on Zoom
Capacity: Up to 300 people
Eligibility
The in-person workshop is open to anyone, so if you are interested in attending, please fill out this Interest Form. We want to pair you with projects similar to yours to get critical peer feedback.
Only one Member Story Summary will be selected for workshopping in the large-group in-person session.
The Virtual Workshop Session in April is only open to Members who are Doc Maker or above.
Access:
If you have any access needs to share with us, please email access@documentary.org at least two weeks before the event. We will do our best to accommodate.
The video series will have ASL interpretation, and the virtual event will have automatic Zoom captions.
Code of Conduct
All participants agree to read and approve the IDA Events Code of Conduct here.
