Sundance Institute grants almost $500,000 more in documentary funding this year

Photo: Sundance 2024 Documentary Grantees

LOS ANGELES, California — The Sundance Institute (SI) announced the 2024 grant recipients for the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund this month. This year, 28 projects from 25 countries will receive an unrestricted grant, with the total granting pool standing at $1,450,000. This granting cycle’s recipients represent all stages of the process, with five projects in development, 15 in production, seven in post-production, and one completed project in its impact campaign.

Documentary Fund supports nonfiction works creating cultural and social impact

The Documentary Fund seeks to serve as a stable source of support for inventive nonfiction works that tackle a variety of timely and pressing issues. Grants are made possible by Open Society Foundations, John Templeton Foundation’s new contribution of $500,000 per year, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and Sony Music’s Global Justice Fund.

New Sundance Institute | Sony Music Vision Initiative funds first grantees

Sony Music’s Global Social Justice Fund aims to elevate documentary film projects by BIPOC filmmakers that demonstrate a significant music component or innovative approach to audio and sound. The grantees are

– Songs from the Hole (U.S.A.) by director/producer Contessa Gayles and producers Richie Reseda and David Felix Sutcliffe

An incarcerated musician struggles for healing and peace as he comes of age in this documentary visual album composed behind bars.
– Jaripeo (Mexico, U.S.A.) by director/producers Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig and producer Sara Strunin

At the rural rodeos in Michoacán, México, a hypermasculine tradition is rife with hidden queer encounters. Jaripeo follows two rancheros as they navigate desire, machismo, and mass migration from one rodeo season to the next.

92% of grantees are from marginalized communities and 60% are first-time feature directors

Through careful craft and fearless vision, projects in this year’s slate have the power to instill resilience through family and community legacies, transcend new frontiers in ritual and belief, spotlight the impact of grassroots activism, explore tender reconnections with loved ones through the arts, and empower personal expression in the face of oppressive policies and governments.

While many of the projects supported this year are from early-career filmmakers, projects from mid-career storytellers include: Hawa, produced by Christian Popp, who also produced Becoming Cary Grant (2017); House of Earth directed by Ljubomir Stefanov (Honeyland, 2019); Leap of Faith directed by Nicholas Ma, who produced Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018); Stallions directed by Rita Baghdadi (Sirens, 2022); Untitled Philippines Project, the fifth feature from filmmaker PJ Raval (Call Her Ganda, 2018); and The First Plantation, directed by Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, who produced T, the 2020 winner of the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at Berlinale.

Early-career filmmaker documentary fund recipients:

– Basketball Heaven (U.S.A.) by director/producer Resita Cox
– Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Canada, U.S.A., New Zealand, U.K., Argentina) by  directors/producers Jonathan Qu, Kevin Feiyang Li and producer Nicholas de Pencier
– Strange Sea (Azerbaijan) by director Lala Aliyeva and producer Aysel Akhundova
– The Blue Sweater with a Yellow Hole (Ukraine, France, Czech Republic) by director Tetiana Khodakivska and producers Elena Saulich, Tetiana Khodakivska, and Maxim Asadchiy
– #WhileBlack (U.S.A., Canada) by directors Sidney Fussell and Jennifer Holness and producers Ann Shin and Geeta Gandbhir
– Afromystic (U.S.A., Nigeria, Brazil) by director/producer Seyi Adebanjo and producers: Nala Simone Toussaint, Bryan E. Glover, Felix Endara, and Zackary Drucker
– Untitled Africa Project
– Coach Emily (U.S.A.) by director/producer Pallavi Somusetty and producers Debra Wilson Cary and Jen Gilomen
– Conscious (U.K.) by director Suki Chan and producers Aimara Reques and Teresa Grimes
– Dreams of a Dark Sky (India) by director Anmol Tikoo and producers Mikaela Beardsley and Raghu Karnad
– Good Fire (U.S.A., Greece) by directors Roni Jo Draper and Marissa Lila and producers Jenn Lee Smith and Nicole Docta
– Life in the Shadows (Afghanistan, Belgium, Germany) by director K.D. and producer Ilyas Yourish
– Mother Wit (U.S.A.) by directors/producers Rajvi Desai and Te Shima Brennen
– Timepass (India, U.S.A.) by director Roopa Gogineni and producer Trevor Snapp
– Walker (U.S.A.) by director/producer Amy Bench and producers Mei Kennedy and Monique Walton
– Art After-Life (U.S.A., Argentina) by director/producer David Romberg and producers Rachel Dengiz and Adrian Elzy
– Backside (U.S.A.) by director  Raúl Paz Pastrana and producers Gabriella García Pardo and Patricia Alvarez Astacio
– Blacked Out Dreams (U.S.A.) by director Adeleke Omitowoju and producer Steven Pargett
– Cais (Brazil) by director Safira Moreira and producer Flávia Santana
– Vestibule (U.S.A.) by director Riley Hooper and producers Caitlin Mae Burke and Bryn Silverman