The International Documentary Association (IDA) seeks to deepen the discourse at Getting Real through our Getting Real Fellowship program. With the second cohort of this initiative, we spotlight emerging and mid-career documentary professionals who have inspired visions that will benefit their communities and the field at large.
From April 15-18, 2024, we will welcome 16 fellows — eight filmmakers and eight industry professionals – to Los Angeles for our biennial Getting Real conference. In addition to covering airfare, lodging, visa assistance, and registration, IDA offers its fellows a communal path through the conference. Fellows will share meals and participate in curated one-on-one meetings with industry delegates. Eligible industry professionals include but are not limited to emerging non-profit arts administrators, festival workers, programmers, writers, sales agents, distributors, publicists, etc.
The purpose of IDA’s Getting Real Fellowship is to create community amongst nonfiction writers, makers, and workers who would not normally have connected in such an intimate way. In addition to attending Getting Real, Fellows are required to attend zoom orientation meetings in the lead up to the conference. While there will be structured events for the Fellows at the conference, they are also encouraged to organize organically amongst themselves. After the culmination of the conference, Fellows will spend the next year organizing panels and conversations inspired by their time at Getting Real.
Getting Real offers an extraordinary opportunity to gather valuable information, encounter challenging ideas, and form long-lasting professional relationships. As we read applications, we hope to identify creative thinkers who will be generous participants in this space. Half of our fellows will be drawn from the US, and half will come from other countries.
IDA acknowledges that many in our field are precariously employed and/or underpaid. If you’re unable to afford Getting Real registration, we strongly encourage you to apply through this portal. We will extending up to 200 complimentary virtual registrations to applicants, which includes access to all streamed panels.
While our budget can only accommodate 16 fellows, we anticipate many more compelling applications. Due to the volume of applications, we will not be able to provide individual feedback.
If you’d like to read more about the Getting Real fellowship, you can read about our 2022 Cohort, and what they did, here.
Key Dates
Applications Open: October 27, 2023
Deadline: November 20, 2023 at 5:00 PM PT. Please note, late applications will not be accepted.
Notification: December 20, 2023.
For questions about this program, please email conference@documentary.org.