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October 11, 2019

IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund Announces 2019 Slate of Journalistic Docs Grants Totalling $850,000 to Twelve Projects

Los Angeles, C.A. (October 11, 2019) – The International Documentary Association (IDA) announced today its latest cohort of 12 films receiving its Enterprise Documentary Fund production grants at the Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival in Washington, D.C. With major support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund supports feature-length documentary films telling urgent, revelatory stories underpinned by rigorous journalistic approaches and exemplary artistic achievement. 

The films selected are to receive a total of $850,000 in funds. In addition, grantees will receive additional resources and expertise through IDA and its partners Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the UCLA Documentary Film Legal Clinic, and Freelance Investigative Reporters and Editors.

“These films, which were selected through an extensive review process, examine their subjects with a depth and artistry that is truly remarkable,” says Carrie Lozano, Director of the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund. “While they are crafting radically different stories, what they share in common are sophisticated and nuanced approaches that are as insightful as they are gripping, provoking audiences to contemplate the contradictions and  complexities of the modern world.”  

IDA’s Enterprise Documentary Fund was launched in 2017 and has now provided nearly $3 million in funding to 60 documentary projects in both production and development including, Knock Down the House, One Child Nation, Always In Season and the Emmy-winning film Crime + Punishment. “The Enterprise Fund continues to be one of MacArthur’s most significant investments in the documentary field,” said Kathy Im, Director of Journalism and Media at the MacArthur Foundation. “The twelve film projects selected to receive production support in 2019 are ambitious documentaries that explore important issues in both the United States and across the globe from new perspectives. We look forward to the cinematic and journalistic approaches of these films resulting in new understanding of critical subjects and ideas.”

With additional support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Fund also presents panels and workshops around the country geared toward developing and enhancing the journalistic practice of documentary filmmakers. 

"The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is honored to support the International Documentary Association's documentary journalism initiative as part of our ongoing support for freedom of the press,” says Lorenzo Soria, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. “We salute the global community of documentary filmmakers."

Documentaries receiving funding are:

Inclusion and diversity, both in terms of the filmmaking team and subject matter, are a priority of all IDA funds.