The International Documentary Association is announcing an open call for applications to its flagship Enterprise Documentary Fund and the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, with more than $500,000 to be awarded.
The application window runs from May 29 to June 25 for non-IDA members; for IDA members, the application window remains open until July 9.
The Enterprise Documentary Fund âseeks to support crucial facts-based storytelling while helping filmmakers retain their independent voices and artistic visions,â according to a release. The fund, established in 2017, âprioritizes projects attempting to combat the misinformation being shared on social media and other internet platforms, using journalistic principles (such as fact-checking and rigorous, methodical research) to arrive at a verifiable truth.â
Since its launch, the Enterprise Documentary Fund has made grants totaling $5 million to 79 projects.
The Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund, established in 2011, is named for the 20th century filmmaker who began his career by documenting FDR and New Deal projects. It was formerly nominations-based but this year moves to an open call model. The fund has granted $1,285,000 to 69 projects since its inception.
Previous Pare Lorentz grantees include Standing Above the Clouds, What These Walls Wonât Hold, Black Mothers, Not Going Quietly, Hummingbirds, After Sherman, and Oscar nominee Crip Camp.
The nonprofit IDAâs mission is to support âthe vital work of documentary storytellers and champions a thriving and inclusive documentary culture.â Dominic Asmall Willsdon serves as the organizationâs executive director, a post he assumed in January.