Announcing Our Spring 2023 Grantees
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Image description: A mosaic of twelve square still images from the selected Moving Image Fund projects bordered in bright blue-green. |
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LEF has awarded 12 Moving Image Fund grants totaling $220,000 in support of feature-length documentary works in production and post-production.
The LEF Moving Image Fund invests in feature-length documentary films that demonstrate excellence in technique, strong storytelling ability, and originality of artistic vision and voice. The most recent round of awards includes eight grants of $15,000 to projects at the Production stage and four grants of $25,000 to projects at the Post-production stage.
Drawing on approaches that are lyrical, investigative, participatory, and often deeply personal, this year’s selected projects delve into memories and archives to reconcile past events and imagine different futures, while others rooted in the contemporary moment consider actions both individual and collective that have the potential to shape tomorrow.
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Production
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A Body To Live In (dir. Angelo Madsen Minax; prod. Lyle Ravi Kash)
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Chelsea (working title) (dir./prod. Sabrina Avilés + Jenny Alexander)
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Early Mourning, Tarpon Springs (dir./prod. Jodie Mack)
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From The Land (dir. John Hulsey; prod. John Hulsey + Ahsen Nadeem)
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The Fuck You Spark (dir. James Rutenbeck + Harmon dot aut; prod. Sabrina Avilés)
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Nine (dir./prod. Rachael DeCruz + Jeremy S. Levine)
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She Cried That Day (dir./prod. Amanda Erickson)
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Softly in all directions (dir. Anna Barsan; prod. Shannon Fitzpatrick, Patrick Brăila, + Charlotte Cook)
Post-production
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How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps (dir. Carolina Gonzalez Valencia; prod. Carolina Gonzalez Valencia + Brenda Avila-Hanna)
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Kaksori! (dir./prod. Shirley Kim-Ryu + Eben Portnoy)
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My Disability Roadmap (working title) (dir. Dan Habib + Samuel Habib; prod. Dan Habib)
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Night Fight (dir. Khary Saeed Jones; prod. Khary Saeed Jones + Kendra Taira Field)
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For more information on the Foundation or its funded projects, please contact Program Officer Matthew LaPaglia at matthew@lef-foundation.org.
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LEF Moving Image Fund Grantee News
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Image description: In this still from Jeff Bemiss and Lisa Molomot's film MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY, a small metal grave marker reading "Unknown Remains 629667" emerges from behind some white, orange, and purple flowers, surrounded by tall grass, and bathed in a soft warm light. |
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MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY, a LEF-supported project co-directed and produced by Jeff Bemiss and Lisa Molomot, won a Peabody Award in the documentary cate gory "for embodying the moral power of the documentary form." The film is about two families searching for lost loved ones who went missing in Texas after crossing the border from Mexico.
ISRAELISM, a LEF-supported project by Eric Axelman and Sam Eilertsen about two young American Jews joining the battle against the old guard over Israel’s centrality in American Judaism, won Best Documentary at the Arizona International Film Festival earlier in May. The film will have its New York premiere on June 6 at the Brooklyn Film Festival.
For the rest of May, DAWNLAND, a LEF-supported project directed by Ben Pender-Cudlip and Adam Mazo about the first official Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigating the removal of Native American children from their homes in Maine, is streaming for free in support of Wabanaki REACH.
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Are you a LEF grantee or fellow with news to share about your film? |
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Meet the 2023 LEF-Flaherty Fellows
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Image description: Four headshots of the 2023 LEF New England Flaherty Fellows, from left to right: Cam/a.c. Howard, Chloe Zimmerman, Enrique Rivera, and Stephen Wardell. |
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The LEF New England Fellows at this year's Flaherty Seminar are:
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Cam/a.c. Howard (they/them) is a writer, ‘zinemaker, and multidisciplinary artist, and the program coordinator at the Points North Institute in Maine, USA. Their work focuses on queer coming of age, community care, nature, music, and the future. a.c. has made short films, interactive workbooks, comics, podcasts, and fiction & nonfiction zines. Their writing has appeared in The Bollard, Oroboro, and their newsletter The Deal. They are currently working on an essay about Brian Eno, and a comic about trans-masculine lesbian identity. Cam studied radio and podcast production at the SALT Institute for Documentary Studies, and documentary filmmaking at the Rochester Institute of Technology. They live on Wabanaki land with their leopard gecko, Nero.
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Chloe Zimmerman (she/her) is an artist, filmmaker, writer, and educator engaging with ecologies, documentary poetics, collaborative learning, and making across disciplines. She currently teaches film, writing, and fungi-based workshops at RISD, MassArt, and Brown University. She is the curator of an upcoming film and poetry series called ESSAI. Chloe was a UnionDocs Collaborative Fellow and recently completed an MFA at Brown University.
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Enrique Rivera (he/him) is a Puerto Rican filmmaker born and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He uses his passion for research-driven documentary and archival preservation to highlight and empower stories from BIPOC and marginalized communities. While elevating nuanced and inclusionary perspectives, his practice revisits conversations surrounding decolonization, abolition, and our relationships with land and agriculture. His documentary work on legal institutions, belief systems, trafficking, and cultural icons has appeared on Netflix, HBO Max, National Geographic, CNN, and The Atlantic. Most recently he was the producer of the HBO Max documentary series Menudo: Forever Young. He is a graduate of Emerson College.
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Stephen Wardell is an American filmmaker whose experimental narratives move fluidly between fiction, documentary, and essay. Their playful films investigate systems of power and explore the contemporary forces that construct queer identity. Recent screenings include: Visions du Réel, L’Alternativa Independent Film Fest Barcelona, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival. From the Midwest, currently they live in Boston, MA.
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Upcoming Film Opportunities
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Image description: White text on blue background banner reading Nonfiction Access Initiative on the left hand side of the banner and on the right side: curved, circular objects that are intertwined with each other in dark blue, light green, and grey colors. |
Consider filling out a survey created by the International Documentary Association inviting nonfiction media makers with disabilities to share where they are in their practice, what hurdles they experience, and how best to support their work.
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Image Description: Collective Futures Fund Logo |
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Collective Futures Fund (Deadline: May 31)
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Collective Futures Fund supports visual artists and artist-run activity in the Greater Boston area through grants between $2,000 and $6,000. Applications are open in three categories: Sustaining Practice, New Work/Projects, and Ongoing Platforms. Visual artists, independent curators, and collectives across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties are welcome to apply.
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Image Description: Chicken & Egg Pictures Logo |
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Chicken & Egg Pictures Eggcelerator Lab (Deadline: May 31)
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The (Egg)celerator Lab is focused on identifying and supporting nonfiction directors working on their first or second feature-length documentary. This program brings together ten projects, with a special focus on self-identifying women and non-binary directors. Ten projects will receive $40,000 in grant funding for production and a variety of peer-based and career-building opportunities.
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Image Description: Ji.hlava Logo |
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Ji.hlava New Visions Forum: U.S. Docs (Deadline: May 31)
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Ten U.S. documentary projects in development as well as in production and post-production will be presented at the 27th Ji.hlava IDFF on October 27–29, 2023. The Ji.hlava New Visions platform is open to diverse genres and audiovisual formats – such as fiction films with documentary aspects, hybrid, cinema expanded, experimental and short films.
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Image Description: Denver Film Logo |
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MOFFOM Documentary Grant Program (Deadline: June 1)
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Denver Films' Music on Film-Film on Music (MOFFOM) Documentary Grant provides up to $20,000 annually in finishing funds for scoring, composition, and music licensing efforts for feature-length documentaries directly related to music in post-production.
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Image Description: Center for Independent Documentary Logo |
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Kopkind/CID Fellowship (Deadline: June 2)
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Eight filmmakers will be chosen to spend a week at Treefrog Farm in Guilford, VT where they will have the opportunity to come together, share their work, and support one another. The seminar will take place the week of July 16–23, 2023.
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Image Description: Hot Docs Logo |
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CrossCurrents Doc Fund (Deadline: June 2)
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The CrossCurrents Fund is an international fund for filmmakers who are members of—or have a deep connection to—the underrepresented and marginalized community. Project funding support will include $15,000 CAD for up to two short or interactive films; and up to $35,000 CAD for up to two feature films. Applicants must be a (co)director and an emerging filmmaker with three or fewer professional directing credits.
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Image Description: Firelight Media Logo |
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William Greaves Research and Development Fund (Deadline: June 6)
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The William Greaves Research and Development Fund resources talented, mid-career nonfiction storytellers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities in the United States, as well as filmmakers from Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Colombia with a particular interest in those who identify as being of Indigenous and/or of African descent. Grants are up to $40K each to support research and development on a feature-length nonfiction film and any essential need grantees have, including healthcare and childcare costs.
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Image Description: ITVS Logo |
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ITVS Diversity Development Fund (Deadline: June 16)
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Diversity Development Fund gives directors of color up to $35,000 in research and development funding to develop a documentary for public media. The documentary can be on any subject, viewpoint, or style as long as it is in development or pre-production.
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Image Description: Rhode Island State Council on the Arts Logo |
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General Operating Support for Artists (Deadline: July 1)
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The RISCA General Operating Support for Artists (GoSA) program provides grants of $6,000 for each of three consecutive years (total of $18,000) for Rhode Island-based artists to work towards large, specific, self-identified goals in their art practice. This funding is unrestricted, meaning artists can use the funds to support their goals however they need.
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Image Description: Assets For Artists / MASS MoCA Logo |
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Studios at Mass MoCA 2024 Residency (Deadline: July 8)
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Three general application options are open: general application (typically awards applicants 3-9 months out from the award date); early application (for artists who could benefit from additional lead time to plan their stay or to apply for outside funding); and
an alumni application (for prior artists-in-residence). Artists of all disciplines, at all career stages, and from all walks of life are welcome to apply. Fellowships and financial aid available.
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Image Description: AXS Film Fund Logo |
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AXS Film Fund (Deadline: July 31)
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Applications for the AXS Film Fund’s 2023 Cycle will open on June 1. Creators of color in documentary filmmaking or nonfiction new media who identify as living with a disability are encouraged to apply. Up to five creators will be awarded a one-time grant of up to $10,000 to assist in advancing their projects in any stage of production.
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Image Description: Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy Logo |
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Job Opportunity: Harvard Shorenstein Center Documentary Film Special Projects Manager
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The Shorenstein Center is expanding the team for its new documentary film initiative examining the form and its role in our media ecosystem. The center is looking for an experienced documentary film professional with a background in film-related artist support, festival or prize management; programming; and/or film promotion.
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Image Description: Strikers holding signs that read "WRITERS GUILD ON STRIKE!" and "WRITERS GUILD of AMERICA EAST".
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On May 2, over 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike, calling for higher pay and better working conditions and protections from their employers, including Hollywood studios, streaming platforms, and corporate media companies, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The strike began after the 2020 contract between the WGA and AMPTP expired before the two sides could reach an agreement on the WGA’s contract proposals for a new three-year contract.
This is happening at a moment when makers of independent documentary and nonfiction work are facing shrinking options for distributing their films as commercial outlets continue to move away from outside acquisitions of independently-produced work. In this recent article for Variety, Addie Morfoot asked several leaders in the documentary field about whether the current strike might lead to a higher demand for independent non-fiction programming “to fill the void” left by striking writers, as it did during the last WGA strike in 2007. The responses were mixed.
However, to only view the situation as a potential opportunity for independent documentary filmmakers would overlook an opportunity to be in solidarity with writers who are advocating for a more equitable field for filmmakers and film workers in general. As WGA-East representative Christopher Kyle shared in this MovieMaker interview, independent filmmakers who aren't a part of the WGA can support the strike by not agreeing to pitch to, meet with, or sell / option work to any company that the WGA is currently striking against until after the strike is over.
Additionally, the WGA website offers a number of other ways to support the strike by sharing their efforts on social media, picketing with them, contributing to a solidarity fund for striking writers and other impacted workers, and writing to AMPTP companies directly to urge them to adopt the WGA's contract proposals.
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Thanks for reading and 'til next time,
The LEF New England team
Lyda, Gen, & Matthew
LEF Foundation
PO Box 382066
Cambridge, MA 02238
617.492.5333
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A private family foundation dedicated to the support of contemporary arts, LEF was established in 1985 with offices in Massachusetts and California. The Moving Image Fund was launched in 2001 through the LEF office in Cambridge, MA to support independent film and video artists. Since its inception, the Moving Image Fund has awarded over 400 grants to New England-based independent filmmakers with approximately $4.7 million in funding. The goal of LEF New England is to fund the work of independent documentary film and video artists in the region and to broaden recognition and support for their work locally and nationally. It also supports programs that highlight the rich history and ongoing legacy of innovation within New England's independent film community. The overarching goal of LEF New England's philanthropic investment is to help build a sustainable and strong community of support for artists and their work.
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