IDA Announces Enterprise Documentary Fund and Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund Grantees

IDA announces Enterprise Documentary Fund and Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund Grantees

10 Feature-Length Documentary Projects Selected As The Inaugural Development Grantees Of The Enterprise Documentary Fund

IDA Grants $55,000 of Pare Lorentz Doc Fund to 3 Docs

The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced thirteen grants to films through its Enterprise Documentary Fund and Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund totaling $205,000.

Ten documentary projects have been selected as the inaugural development grantees of the Enterprise Documentary Fund. The film projects will receive $15,000 each. The Fund, with major support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, supports documentary film projects taking on in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories and integrating journalistic practice into the filmmaking process.

“Raising funds for research and development can be a serious challenge,” says Carrie Lozano, Director of the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund. “You have a great idea, but how do you show proof of concept to raise a full budget? Those who are in a position to invest their own time and funds can move their projects along, but that expectation contributes to inequities in the field. Recognizing this challenge, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund is committed to supporting filmmakers at an early stage, embracing both the risks and rewards of funding both experienced and emerging filmmakers at the beginning.”

Documentaries receiving Enterprise Fund development funding are:

● The Community Health Project (working title) - Chiemi Karasawa (director, producer)
● Untitled Border Project - Maisie Crow (director, producer); Heidi Reinberg (producer)
● Ernie and Joe (working title) - Jenifer McShane (director, producer)
● Life Overtakes Me - John Haptas (director, producer); Kris Samuelson (director, producer)
● Lighting Africa - Shayla Harris (director, producer)
● Mayor - David Osit (director, producer); Mohanad Yaqubi (producer)
● The Rashomon Effect - Lyric R. Cabral (director, producer); Jessica Devaney (producer)
● Searching for Kikhia - Jihan Kikhia (director, producer)
● Testament (working title) - Meena Nanji (co-director, producer); Zippy Kimundu (co-director, co-producer)
● Untitled Ramona S. Diaz Film - Ramona S. Diaz (director, producer)

In addition, three projects will receive grants totalling $55,000 through IDA’s Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, which was created in 2011 with support from The New York Community Trust to honor the legacy of legendary American documentary filmmaker Pare Lorentz. Grants are made to documentary projects that shed light on critical issues in the United States and focus on Pare Lorentz’s central concerns: the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems.

The three projects receiving funding through the Pare Lorentz Fund in 2017, joining 4 others announced previously, are:

● CripCamp - Jim LeBrecht (director, producer); Nicole Newnham (director, producer); Sara Bolder (producer)
● Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project - Joe Brewster, (director, producer); Michèle Stephenson (director, producer); Amilca Palmer (Producer)
● When We Walk - Jason DaSilva (director, producer); Richard O’Connell (producer); Leigh DaSilva (producer)

“The Pare Lorentz Documentary fund has a history of and firm commitment to supporting filmmakers whose artful, cinematic storytelling give Lorentz’s legacy deep contemporary relevance,” said Director of Filmmaker Services, Amy Halpin. “These three projects all tell timely and uniquely American stories about justice and equity; identity; and about activism and the role of art in social change.”

Inclusion and diversity, both in terms of the filmmaking team and subject matter, are a priority of both funds. This round, the 13 projects receiving funding include 11 female directors, 11 directors and/or producers of color, and two directors with disabilities.

As part of IDA’s collaboration with the new UCLA Documentary Film Legal Clinic, Enterprise Fund grantees will also receive pro bono legal services. The Clinic is staffed by second and third year UCLA law students, working under the guidance of two experienced media attorneys, including the Clinic's Director, Dale Cohen. “The Clinic was created to provide support for independent filmmakers and substantive legal experience for our student-practitioners,” Cohen says. “We are delighted to have this opportunity to work with this talented and diverse group of documentary filmmakers.”

The IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund is currently accepting applications for production grants up to $100,000. The application deadline is Sunday, April 1, 2018. Visit documentary.org/enterprise for the application and more information.