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February 28, 2019

IDA Grants $245,000 to 16 Feature Documentaries

Los Angeles, CA (February 28, 2019) - The International Dcumentary Association (IDA) has announced sixteen grants totalling $245,000 to films through its Enterprise Documentary Fund and Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund. Eleven feature-length documentary projects have been selected as this year’s development grantees of the Enterprise Documentary Fund. The Fund supports documentary film projects taking on in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories and integrating journalistic practice into the filmmaking process. With major support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the IDA is granting a total of $150,000 in development funds.

"Over the past two years, IDA has significantly expanded its funding of documentary through the addition of the Enterprise Fund and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Elevate Grant being added to the existing Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund.” says Simon Kilmurry, Executive Director of the IDA. "Combined, these funds have given out over $2 million in grants directly to filmmakers during the last two years. To support this work, IDA has consolidated its grant-giving efforts into a new Grants department under the leadership of Carrie Lozano, Director, IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund and Program Officer, Dana Merwin."

"It’s incredibly gratifying to be able to support documentaries at all stages of the filmmaking process," says Carrie Lozano. "We recognize that each phase comes with a unique set of opportunities and challenges, and we hope that our Enterprise Development and Pare Lorentz funds help these talented filmmakers get their projects--which reflect an impressive range of content and creative approaches--to the next level."

The Enterprise Fund grantees share in common the goal of reframing contemporary and historical events through probing and provocative storytelling, as they focus their cameras on significant stories around political resistance and extremism, climate change, technology and authoritarianism. Documentaries receiving Enterprise Fund development funding are:

  • Borderlands (working title) - Pamela Yates (director), Paco de Onís (producer)

  • Cosricans - Edwin Martinez (director, producer), Jamie Gonçalves (producer)

  • Democrats II (working title) - Camilla Nielsson (director), Signe Byrge Sørensen, Joslyn Barnes (producers)

  • Hollow Tree - Kira Akerman (director), Chachi Hauser, Jolene Pinder, Monique Walton (producers)

  • Hossain - Taimi Arvidson (director), Brette Ragland, Neaz Mahmud Roni (producers)

  • Q - Jude Chehab (director)

  • Run With It - Dee Hibbert-Jones (director, producer),  Nomi Talisman (director, producer)

  • Untitled Documentary - Julia Bacha (director), Suhad Babaa, Daniel J. Chalfen (producers)

  • Untitled Michael Premo Documentary - Michael Premo (director)

  • Untitled Stasi Documentary - Gabriel Silverman (director, producer) Jamie Coughlin (director, producer)

  • USERS (working title) - Natalia Almada (director, producer), Elizabeth Lodge Stepp, Josh Penn (producers)

In addition, five projects received grants totalling $95,000 through IDA’s Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund. The Fund provides production and post production grants to be used in the creation of original, independent documentary films that illuminate issues in the United States. Each year the fund focuses on select issue areas that were hallmarks of Pare Lorentz's films. This year’s grants are made to documentary projects that shed light on critical issues around land or water.

The Fund was created in 2011 with support from The New York Community Trust to honor the legacy of legendary American documentary filmmaker Pare Lorentz. The five projects include:

For more information on each film fund, please visit www.documentary.org/funding