Sundance Festival Institute, one of the most important awards of international cinema, is accepting applications for a new round of documentary scholarship program with grant support of up to 1 million US Dollars (R$ 4.8 million).
The aim of the initiative is to enable nonfiction films made by independent and emerging documentarians and filmmakers from around the world, including Latin America, that foster dialogue on cultural issues and break new ground in creativity and innovation.
- Advertisement -
Applications can be made until 6 June and are free of charge.
Scholarship enables documentaries with social impact
The Sundance Documentary Fund supports documentaries that combine cultural and social impact in their communities with high film quality.
- Advertisement -
One of the latest projects, “Writing with Fire” (2021), the only newspaper in India run by Dalit women or the “untouchables”, was nominated for an Oscar in 2022.
Indian Documentary ‘Writing with Fire’ (2021) Funded by Sundance Institute (Trailer Playback)
Filmmakers from Africa, China, India, Latin America and the Middle East are eligible to apply for the scholarship. Local filmmakers or refugees living in these places will have a preference in the selection of works.
The program seeks filmmakers with different visions and a meaningful connection to the object of creation. The Institute emphasizes its intention to give a voice. needy or underrepresented communities around the world in the service of building a more just, free and open society.
Creativity and editorial control will be handled by the film crews without Sundance’s involvement.
Projects are accepted at any stage of implementation, from development to post-production, but all proposals must clearly show what the film will look like when finished.
For application, candidates are required to submit a written proposal with a detailed budget and visual samples. Examples from previous documentaries made by the author can also be presented.
read it too
Two visions of indigenous peoples through the eyes of award-winning Brazilians
Photo: Lalo de Almeida | World Press Photo Contest 2022
Selection criteria for the scholarship
Applications go through a multi-stage review. Shortlisted candidates will be considered by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund committee, which is responsible for the final selection of documentaries to be funded.
Proposals will be judged on a number of criteria, including cinematic and artistic language, engaging storytelling, originality, feasibility, contemporary cultural relevance, journalistic rigor (if applicable), and potential to reach and connect with their target audience.
The full notification and application form is available at: domain from the program.
Indian documentary filmed with a bag nominated for an Oscar
Written by Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas and made possible by a grant from the Sundance Institute, the Indian documentary “Writing with Fire” chronicles a group of women who run an independent newspaper, breaking with tradition and challenging the men of their society.
The difficulty is compounded by the fact that they are Dalits, or the “untouchables,” a term designated for the marginalized Indians at the bottom of the social pyramid.
at the premiere, 2021 Sundance Film FestivalIt won the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award in the World Film Documentary category.
It has been awarded at other festivals and acclaimed by the specialist press. This Washington post He called it “perhaps the most inspiring journalistic film of all time”.
Write with Fire was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2022, but lost to “Summer of Soul.”
Watch the trailer of the Sundance-granted documentary
