Resources

Launched in 2006, the ACE (Animal Content in Entertainment) Grant is awarded to filmmakers to fund the creation of feature-length documentaries that highlight animal advocacy. Each year, the $20,000 prize is awarded to the filmmaker who best succeeds in merging animal issues with a compelling narrative.

A helpful directory of film commissions from around the world!

The Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund is the first European-based outreach and engagement fund, and is open to filmmakers from around the world.

The fund is looking to support smart, strategic outreach campaigns for ambitious independent documentary films with a social issue at their core; films which have the ability to achieve real change on a local, regional or global level.

2012 Round 2 is now open, as of November 1st 2012. It will close on March 4th 2013, at 4pm UK TIME.

The new Bertha BRITDOC Fund for Journalism is an international film fund dedicated to supporting long form feature documentaries of a journalistic nature. The fund is looking to support smart, strategic outreach campaigns for ambitious, independent documentary films with a social issue at their core; films which have the ability to achieve real change on a local, regional or global level.

Grants will be in the range of £5,000 – £50,000. Applications can come at the planning, trial, delivery or evaluation stage of a campaign. Films can apply more than once, for different parts or phases of a campaign.

Apply for documentary film funding from the BFI Film Fund.

For the first time, the BFI Film Fund is considering applications from documentary filmmakers through twice yearly-pitching sessions – in London and Sheffield – with a panel of Fund executives, industry experts and peers.

Catapult Film Fund provides development funding to documentary filmmakers who have a compelling story to tell, have secured access to their story and are ready to shoot and edit a piece for production fundraising purposes. US based applicants only.

The Channel 4 Alpha Fund can fund from £1k up to £250k depending on the project. The aim of the fund is to support ideas, talent and emergent companies and to enrich Channel 4's reputation for creativity. It's described as a grassroots innovation and authorship fund which is intended to fund the very first stages of creative ideas.

When it was launched in January 2011 it was described as follows: "The Alpha Fund is designed to identify and support creative talent at its earliest stage. Our principles are to make the money count, not to tie it up in process and complex application systems." Channel 4 have deliberately avoided web-application systems, complex rules or over-bearing contractual hurdles.

The team works through a small task team of Media Project Managers who are hard-wired into creative communities across the UK, any approach with ideas or for funding would be through those staff members.

For further information contact:
Susie Wright
0141 568 7106

Financing to support independent filmmakers making doc projects that would not be commissioned by a UK broadcaster.

Since 2005, the Channel 4 BRITDOC fund has financed over 60 award winning films. The fund aims to support a diverse range of independent voices and ideas that UK TV can't. Your film project must have been passed on by a UK Broadcaster when you apply.

What they fund:
Independent, one-off films that will widen the spectrum of documentaries being made in this country.
Finding is given for production or completion on your documentary film is you are a British filmmaker or an international filmmaker living in the UK.

Each year Cinereach grants over $500,000 to feature-length films.

Cinereach supports feature-length nonfiction and fiction films that are at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry, and vital subject matter.

Grant amounts can range from $5,000 – $50,000 per project and can be awarded to support any stage of production, including development, production and post-production.

CPH:FORUM is CPH:DOX' international financing and co-production event, dedicated to supporting creative, visual and auteur-driven films. CPH:FORUM explores new, untested ways of breaking down conventional notions of genre. By inviting and connecting professionals from the worlds of non-fiction, fiction and visual art, we want to initiate new dialogues, open up new windows and enable new production and financing models.

Submissions for the 2012 CPH:FORUM are closed. Watch this space for 2013.

The Development Fund is open to individual writers, writer/directors and/or producers based in the English regions for the development of all types of feature films, including animation and documentary. Applications are also invited from writer/director/producer teams. Funding is available for the costs of developing a screenplay (or the equivalent for documentaries) such as research costs, writer's fees, script editor/developer support and script readings.

Funding is also available for screenplays that are ready to be presented to potential financiers, to help with budgeting, scheduling, casting, producing teaser trailers/pilots, and other expenses associated with raising finance and generating sales and distribution interest.

The Development Fund totals £250,000 in its current round and applications are welcomed on a rolling basis.

Awards will range from £2,500 to £25,000.

Crowdfunding sites are launching all the time, if you want to go down the route of crowdfunding your doc this list can help get you started. Crowdfunding can be useful in many ways, but it's worth bearing in mind that it's a full time job and if you don't have the time or passion to dedicate to promoting your project, you'll find it hard to get your project noticed. If you do have the time, your project might follow in the footsteps of docs such as Indie Game: The Movie (raised $71,335), Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry (raised $52,175), My Reincarnation (raised $150,000), and The Age of Stupid (raised $815,000)!

CROWDFUNDING SITES

IndieGoGo - You can choose Flexible Funding and keep the money you raise, regardless of whether you meet your goal. Or, you can choose Fixed Funding, which refunds the money back to your contributors if you don't meet your goal. If you choose Flexible Funding, you will lose 9% for not reaching your target.

Kickstarter -  Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing, whereby if the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers' credit cards are charged when time expires, and if the project falls short, no one is charged.

Sponsume - Creators always retain the funds they raise during their campaign. You do not need to reach a target to access your funds.

Kiss Kiss Bank Bank - Another all-or-nothing platform. A total of 8% commission is included.

Buzzbnk - a Social Enterprise backed and owned 63% by leading charities and foundations in the UK. They focus on projects that can bring about positive social change.

HINTS AND TIPS

Crowdsourcing - The leading industry resource offering the largest online repository of news,
articles, videos, and site information on the topic of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding.

Daily Crowd Source - learn how to do it better!

Click here to read some top tips about crowdfunding from the producers of The Age of Stupid.

A non-profit initiative that allows audiences and friends in the industry to encourage those filmmakers with the best doc ideas to get produced.

How? By reversing the old dynamic, allowing the public to:

1. Watch documentary pitches worldwide
2. Vote for the best pitch and sometimes the favourite broadcaster
3. Crowd-fund the project by contributing a donation or pledge to the hat.

Since 2009, Diego Briceño and Giulia Frati have been attending international TV pitch forums around the world. This is where most decisions are made about which documentary project gets support from which broadcaster. In this selection process, the commissioners representing the most important broadcasters in the world decide what kind of reality goes on TV for the enjoyment and enlightenment of millions of spectators. Is at these events that it all started, Diego and Giulia would pass around a hat (a Cuban one indeed!) and ask the observers to vote and donate for the best project, hence the name: the Cuban Hat Project.

Their mission is to connect strong and beautiful film projects with potential partners, by allowing audiences to encourage their favourite film ideas. We want to stimulate debate and collaborative decision-making by combining the power of both offline events and online tools. We use democratic, open and cost-efficient means to achieve our goal.
We keep it small, grassroots and constantly evolving.

A private investment fund which participates in financing great docs with the power to reach a wider audience.

Their aim is to expand the range of high-quality documentaries broadcast on major international channels by supporting films that are often considered 'high-risk' in the current broadcast landscape: one off documentaries by outstanding talent, featuring compelling stories and innovative approaches.

The Documentary Company is an Enterprise Investment Scheme fund that will produce and co-finance new relevant topical Feature and TV documentaries with universal resonance, that cross cultural boundaries and exploit worldwide markets.

The Documentary Company focuses primarily on documentary films from one or more of the following narrative categories: Human Interest, Politics, Music, and Nature and the Environment.

Aimed at independent film-makers and companies developing and raising finance for creative feature documentaries and considering international co-production.

Film London directly runs several production schemes - supporting local grassroots film-making talent, artists working with the moving image. Award-winning films have been produced through these varied programmes that were all introduced to encourage creativity and develop skills within London-based film-making communities.

The Fledgling Fund supports innovative media projects that play critical roles in igniting social change.

Their goal is to support projects that are timely, tell compelling and important stories, represent a unique perspective or an intriguing solution to an entrenched social problem, and have strong potential as a vehicle for social change.

They encourage the innovative use of media, such as Web 2.0 strategies, and short form videos, to engage new audiences around important social issues.

On 19 January 2011 Ford Foundation announced a five-year, $50 million initiative to help find and support a new generation of filmmakers whose works address urgent social issues.

The foundation said JustFilms would focus on film, video and digital works that show courageous people confronting difficult issues and actively pursuing a more just, secure and sustainable world. The initiative will pursue three distinct funding paths:

• Partnerships with major organizations such as the Sundance Institute, the Independent Television Service and the Tribeca Film Institute.
• Collaboration with other Ford Foundation grant-making programs where the introduction of documentary film could help draw attention to an issue or advance a movement, and
• An on-going open-application process that will help JustFilms stay attuned to fresh ideas and stories wherever they may emerge.

Good Pitch brings together filmmakers with NGOs, foundations, philanthropists, brands and media around leading social issues – to forge coalitions and campaigns that are good for all these partners, good for the films and good for society.

Six to eight filmmaking teams pitch their film and associated outreach campaign to the assembled audience with the aim of creating a unique coalition around each film to maximise its impact and influence. Presented by Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation and the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.

Watch this space for details of how to apply for Good Pitch 2013!

The Hot Docs-Blue Ice Group Documentary Fund is a grant program providing financial support to African documentary filmmakers for development and production. Development grants of $3000 - $8,00 and Production grants of $5000 - $40,000 are awarded to approximately four to 10 projects annually.

The IDFA Fund, formerly known as the Jan Vrijman Fund, supports documentary filmmakers and festivals in developing countries. Its goal is to stimulate local film cultures and to turn the creative documentary into a truly global film art.

Impact Partners is committed to financing independent documentary cinema that address pressing social issues. The goal of Impact Partners is to bring together the two groups that make these films possible: filmmakers and film investors/philanthropists.

All submissions must be sent via email to submissions@impactpartnersfilm.com.

Short-Short Documentary Film $5000 Award/Grant. Submissions may be in two possible categories:

1. Documentary "Short-Short" Feature — a documentary film (original
subject) with a running time of 10 to 20 minutes including credits

2. Documentary "Short-Short" Historical — a documentary project
(historical stock footage/images) with a running time of 10 to 20
minutes including credits

Entires close on May 31st 2013.

To promote human rights film screenings worldwide, Movies that Matter has provided an additional incentive for the wider distribution of human rights films. Through its Support Programme, Movies that Matter offers modest financial assistance (up to € 5,000) to human rights film events in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

"Artangel lets artists do what no one else will. It's as simple as that." Jeremy Deller

Open is a £1 million initiative by Artangel and BBC Radio 4 for new site-specific commissions across the UK. It's a call for artists working in any media to share proposals for ground-breaking projects that will transform the UK's cultural landscape. Open proposals are encouraged from UK-based visual artists, filmmakers, writers, composers, theatre makers, choreographers and producers.

The deadline for this Open call runs from 14 January until 6pm (BST) on Monday 29 April 2013.

Reel Art is an Arts Council scheme designed to provide film artists with a unique opportunity to make highly creative, imaginative and experimental documentaries on an artistic theme. Operated in association with Filmbase and the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, Reel Art will support two films with a grant of €70-80,000 per project. Reel Art films will be premiered at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival in February 2014.

The Shaw Media-Hot Docs Development Fund is a loan program designed to help producers get specific projects developed, researched, written and/or packaged and ready for market. The Fund will provide no-interest loans averaging between $10,000 - $15,000 in the early development stage, when projects are at the highest risk and may have not yet secured a market partner. The Development Fund is expected to support on average 10 to 12 projects per year.

WorldView is a CBA [Commonwealth Broadcasting Association] Project that aims to improve UK public understanding and awareness of the developing world via the mainstream broadcast and digital media. They have a number of funds available including the Project Development Fund.

Broadcast Development Awards support the development of broadcast proposals in any genre that engage the audience with issues around biomedical science in an innovative, entertaining and accessible way. Broadcast Development Awards are up to £10 000, for a maximum of one year. Development funds might be used to undertake thorough research, create a taster tape, develop a script, or build a game prototype or mood reel.

Your WorldView has teamed up with the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, the largest documentary festival, market and conference in North America, to launch an exclusive online pitching opportunity to be awarded a £1,000 grant to fund a short film, as part of the Your WorldView Thought for Food season.

16 short docs to watch before you make one! Powered by Channel 4 BRITDOC, Channel 4 and Shooting People.

Browse over 300 short films.

Feast your eyes on thousands of spectacular clips, constantly updated and never before available to the outside world. The vast footage archive contains hundreds of thousands of hours of incredible content available to use, and is growing daily.

A creative partnership with 6 key European festivals, CPH:DOX Copenhagen, DOK Leipzig, FID Marseille, Jihlava IDFF, Planete Doc Film Festival and Visions du Réel Nyon. A large collection of over 700 quality docs available to download at a low cost. Watch out for free streaming!

A collection of the best short docs around!

Strong catalogue of political and social commentary films that are not available to view elsewhere.

One of the few curated search engines on the internet. They've researched and indexed thousands of films, hundreds of websites, and many databases from around the world. The films have been organized and tagged and sifted through for education and awareness.

A vast collection of documentaries spanning across every genre

Documentary lovers was created in late 2011 with the intention to provide people around the globe a place to watch and talk about their favourite documentary films.

Join the Dogwoof TV Club to gain access to a wealth of excellent documentaries, if you're a documentary enthusiast it's well worth it!

INDUSTRY FILM FOLK TAKE NOTE - here is an amazing resource to find out about new films and share your own films with a huge network of films. You will be able to watch films, discover new talent, contact rights holders and directors, and view exclusive content. Features films & documentaries, shorts, works in progress. All on one website!

A catalogue of over 900 of the best films and videos that can be watched free online. A great resource!

A website dedicated to showcasing new and interesting feature films, short films, documentaries, music videos, web series, and experimental films.

Delve into the archives; Folkstreams aims to build a national preserve of hard-to-find documentary films about American folk or roots cultures.

A MiniMovie is an episodic documentary consisting of a series of 8 to 10 episodes of 3 to 7 minutes each. Put together, the episodes form a self-contained story.

Sign up and you can stay tuned with international festival goings on, plus view lots of docs and shorts for a small fee. But keep an eye and there's the odd freebie!

An animated series providing an accessible and unique way of illustrating and sharing world-changing ideas.

A non-exclusive promotion program for filmmakers looking to build an online audience. You can watch a great variety of short docs, and submit your own short film.

A great website that allows you to watch award-winning films on demand and for free.

A wealth of top documentaries, split into thematic categories.

A place for Vimeo's documentaries including full documentaries, single chapters, or extended trailers, over 3 minutes in length.