Ford Foundation JustFilms Grants Program 2025 (up to $100,000) – YOA

Deadline: April 10, 2025

Are you a documentary filmmaker captivated with social justice? The Ford Foundation JustFilms Grants Program is now accepting functions for function-size documentary tasks that creatively intersect with important social justice points. This is your OPPORTUNITY to obtain substantial funding and international recognition in your work.

JustFilms helps artist-pushed, function-size documentaries (50 minutes or extra) that align with the Ford Foundation’s mission to advance justice, fairness, and inclusion. Each 12 months, this system funds 25-30 new documentary tasks at varied phases of manufacturing—improvement, manufacturing, or put up-manufacturing.

Benefits

• Funding Opportunities: Grants sometimes vary from $25,000 to $100,000, relying on the scope and stage of your venture.
• Global Reach: Projects from filmmakers worldwide are welcome, with a concentrate on areas the place the Ford Foundation has places of work (e.g., Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East).
• Creative Independence: The program prioritizes unbiased productions the place filmmakers retain artistic management.
• Recognition and Impact: Successful candidates will achieve visibility throughout Ford Foundation platforms and networks, amplifying their social and cultural affect.

Eligibility

• JustFilms accepts submissions for function documentary movies solely (operating time 50 minutes or extra) from filmmakers globally, specializing in areas the place the Ford Foundation has places of work.
• Applicants will be manufacturing firms (US or International), sole proprietors/single-member LLCs, or organizations/tasks with fiscal sponsorship.
• The open name doesn’t help pupil movies, quick movies, commissioned movies the place the filmmaker shouldn’t be the rights holder to the venture, episodic collection, new media (AR, VR), podcasts, movies which have already premiered or broadcast, or affect campaigns.
• While the JustFilms Open Call is open to eligible venture functions from filmmakers at any profession stage, profitable candidates are sometimes ready to present a deep connection to the unbiased documentary movie ecosystem and have acquired related help for his or her previous or present work.

Requirements

• To be thought-about for funding, your venture have to be a documentary function movie (operating time of at the least 50 minutes) wherein the filmmaker/s have artistic management. They welcome functions for direct content material improvement, manufacturing, or put up-manufacturing.
• The open name doesn’t help pupil movies, narrative movies, quick movies, commissioned movies the place the filmmaker shouldn’t be the rights holder to the venture, episodic collection, new media (AR, VR), podcasts, movies which have already premiered or broadcast, or affect or outreach campaigns.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will likely be assessed based mostly on:

• Alignment with Ford Foundation Priorities: Does your venture deal with themes corresponding to gender justice, racial fairness, incapacity inclusion, or energy dynamics?
• Intersectional Representation: Does your movie present various views and interact underrepresented communities?
• Innovation in Storytelling: Does your venture creatively problem standard narratives?
• Production Viability and Independence: Is your venture possible given its price range and timeline? Are you geared up with the sources and abilities to full it?

Application

Submissions for documentary movie manufacturing grants will shut at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, April 10, 2025. Submitters will likely be notified by September 2025 of their inquiry standing.

Click here to apply

For extra info, go to Ford Foundation JustFilms Grants.