By Kristin Feeley
Chilean director Patricio Guzm n said, A country without documentary cinema is like a family without a photo album. We understand who we are from the stories we're told, myths created and challenged by each successive generation. Documentaries offer us the ability to see the world in new ways; it is an artistic medium of expression as well as a tool that sparks empathy and reflection. As we dive into fall, I have been reflecting on the importance of the work we do at the Documentary Film Program through the incredible stories we've been able to uplift.
Despite difficult times in the industry at large, there has been so much to celebrate this year. So far in 2024, over 40 films from 18 countries supported by Sundance Institute's DFP have screened in cinemas, streamed on platforms, and reached millions of people through public TV around the world. Some of these stories have involved literal family albums - stories of families over generations like A Photographic Memory (Rachel Seed), Light of the Setting Sun (Vicky Du), and Sabbath Queen (Sandi DuBowski) - to stories that document resistance by and for communities who carry hope that a different world is possible - IGUALADA (Juan Mej a Botero), Our Land, Our Freedom (Meena Nanji and Zippy Kimundu), Rising Up at Night ( Nelson Makengo), Standing Above the Clouds (Jalena Keane-Lee), and Fire Through Dry Grass (Andres Jay Molina and Alexis Neophytides).
To have a rich family album, it takes so many people to come together and share their stories. At the Institute, we're working to build bridges for these films to get made. This year our team reviewed close to 2,000 works-in-progress from around the world, selecting over 40 films that received $1.8 million dollars in grants as well as significant resources that go directly to artists through fellowships offered in the Artist Accelerator program - strengthening support networks and nurturing creative communities that bolster artists in difficult times.
DFP-supported artists have achieved incredible things in the face of challenges and contractions in documentary financing and distribution. As filmmakers assume more and more responsibilities to make and disseminate work, continued financial support and strong support networks are crucial to ensuring that filmmakers who come from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds can continue to make work. It's also imperative that they have the resources to care for themselves as well as participants in front of the camera. We continue to partner with groups that are committed to ethical documentary practices, including organizations like Peace is Loud, which recently published a guide called Beyond the Lens: The State of Participant Care.
We continue to learn from the ways that these audacious and courageous filmmakers reimagine how work is made and, in turn, influence the ecosystem around these films to be more inclusive and collaborative. As filmmakers redefine the way they work, we are listening and responding as field partners - constantly evolving our own practices. We believe that a diverse range of storytellers and an increasingly equitable ecosystem is the only path to ensuring we have a healthy family album for future generations.
Join us in celebrating another year of the Documentary Film Program - and look forward to the powerful nonfiction works we'll see in the coming months!
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
23/08/2025
At IBC2025 (12-15 September, RAI Amsterdam, stand 1.B73), Imagine Communications is expanding its Selenio Network Processor (SNP) line with the launch of SNP-X...
23/08/2025
At IBC2025, TSL will introduce a series of workflow-driven enhancements across its control, audio monitoring, and power distribution solutions, engineered for i...
23/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - Lightware, industry leaders in signal management, have seen growing demand for their Taurus Smart Dock since its launch in Janu...
23/08/2025
PALO ALTO, Calif. The streaming technology solutions provider Wurl has named Dave Bernath as its new chief executive officer....
23/08/2025
WASHINGTON Newsmax founder and CEO Christopher Ruddy has come out against reducing broadcast ownership caps in a filing with the Federal Communications Commissi...
23/08/2025
$2.2 Million Donation Fuels Next Phase of Berklee Bridge The anonymous gift will amplify the impact of the student success initiative built to support student...
22/08/2025
Utah Scientific Releases NBOSS Software-Based NMOS Control Solution for Hybrid S...
22/08/2025
(L-R) Writer-director Alex Russell, Th odore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, and Havana Rose Liu on stage for the premiere of Lurker at Eccles Theater in Park City....
22/08/2025
The wait is over: Stray Kids return with their fourth full-length album, KARMA. ...
22/08/2025
With their new album, hickey, out now, Aussie indie darlings Royel Otis decided ...
22/08/2025
We recently spoke with MixedbyEL, a rising force in the world of audio engineering, celebrated for his dynamic work in rap, R&B, and pop. From his early days re...
22/08/2025
BitFire (bitfire.tv), a leader in software-defined live production and IP transmission, today announced the addition of cloud-based live master control capabili...
22/08/2025
Utah Scientific today announced NBOSS, a new software-based control solution designed to streamline the management of NMOS-compliant devices in hybrid SDI/IP en...
22/08/2025
Amagi, a cloud-based SaaS technology solutions provider for broadcast and streaming TV, today announced the release of its 15th Global FAST Report, offering ins...
22/08/2025
Hitomi Broadcast, the market leader in audio/video alignment and latency solutions, announces that ORF ( sterreichischer Rundfunk), Austria s national public br...
22/08/2025
This Berklee Program Turns Class Projects into Career Breakthroughs Experiential Design Lab students take on creative briefs from Red Bull, Disney, and more, ...
22/08/2025
NEW YORK Although FAST channels are becoming ever more omnipresent in the streaming universe, the vast majority of them will need to start providing more live c...
22/08/2025
NEW YORK Independent sell-side advertising company Magnite today announced an integration with Acxiom, the connected data and technology foundation of global ad...
22/08/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has announced that six of its channels are now streaming as part of Peacock's 24/7 channel offering and are available to...
22/08/2025
ESPN launched today its new direct-to-consumer streaming service and a set of new features on an enhanced ESPN App, making ESPN's full suite of 12 networks ...
22/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission is once again pressing the delete button as part of its Delete, Delete, Delete regulatory initiative to remov...
22/08/2025
OXFORD, U.K. Solid State Logic will unveil its System T plug-and-play IP-native MPL 16-8 stagebox offering cost-effective connectivity for touring flypack and i...
22/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corporation has officially launched Fox One, a new streaming service that brings together the full portfolio of Foxs sports, news a...
22/08/2025
As the latest member of the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture family, the NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPU builds on core innovations to accelerate training and AI reason...
22/08/2025
Little League Baseball World Series: As Championship Weekend Approaches, ESPN Re...
22/08/2025
Friday 22 August 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To do so, click Privacy Options below and Accept All
Privacy options
The Brassi...
22/08/2025
Starr Parodi and Jeff Fair rebuild studio life with help from Focusrite and ADAM...
22/08/2025
AI reasoning, inference and networking will be top of mind for attendees of next...
22/08/2025
Join Jacqui Hurley as she leads RT 's television coverage of the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, with reporting from the Irish camp by Clare MacNamara. Co...
21/08/2025
Spotify and amra, the world's first and only global digital licensing collection society, have entered into a direct multi-territorial, multi-year licensing...
21/08/2025
Spotify is making it easier than ever to connect with your friends on Instagram ...
21/08/2025
From enemies-to-lovers banter to star-crossed soulmates battling curses, romanta...
21/08/2025
Statement on Acting Managing Director arrangements at SBS
21 August, 2025
Insights & articles
The SBS Board of Directors has today confirmed it will appoin...
21/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik speaks at the opening of the 94,000-square-foot satellite integration and test facility. The company ...
21/08/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
21/08/2025
DENVER At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Imagine Communications will introduce the SNP-XS, a versatile addition to its Selenio Network Processor (SN...
21/08/2025
HUDSON, Mass. BitFire, a provider of software-defined live production and IP transmission, today announced the addition of cloud-based live master control capab...
21/08/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has laid out plans for launching a new cutting-edge, hyper-personalized streaming platform that will start going live in Grays markets in Jan...
21/08/2025
NEW YORK and ZURICH Chyron, a provider of broadcast graphics and live production solutions, has announced a partnership with Asport, a leading sports tech innov...
21/08/2025
NEW YORK swXtch.io has amplified its support for SRT workflows with a new specialized gateway solution primarily targeted at the live event market. To be introd...
21/08/2025
AMSTERDAM Rise Academy, the charity dedicated to delivering practical media technology experiences, careers resources and sharing work experience opportunities ...
21/08/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the appointment of Courtney Cowper as a special assistant in his office. As a special assistant in the Office of ...
21/08/2025
COLUMBUS, Ohio Live Media Group has launched its latest mobile production unit, the MU-28, which is a SMPTE 2110-7 IP-based truck built specifically for remote ...
21/08/2025
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Sling TV has launched a new offering called Select that provides a package of cable channels for $19.99 a month....
21/08/2025
IRVINE, Calif. CTV and programmatic ad provider Viant Technology Inc. has announced a new integration of its DSP with Wurl that provides advertisers with scene...
21/08/2025
TORRANCE, Calif. Marshall Electronics will highlight several new products at IBC2025, including the CV612 PTZ camera, RCP Plus camera controller and VMV-402-3GS...
21/08/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spolight: MyCaseBuilder's Steve Holand on Creating Custom Ca...
By Kristin Feeley
