Category Archives: Recently Funded

2011 Slate of Diversity Development Fund Films

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ITVS has announced the eleven documentary projects selected as part of the 2011 Diversity Development Fund.

This year’s selections provide extraordinary access and insight into the daily lives and struggles of people around the world, from military veterans threatened with deportation in the U.S. to women’s human rights struggles in Nigeria.

The productions were selected through a competitive application process, which resulted in 138 submissions.

Check out the complete list of funded projects after the jump >> Continue reading →

Newly Funded: ITVS is Pleased to Announce Funding for Christina Ibarra’s Marthas

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ITVS recently approved funding for the documentary Marthas by filmmakers Christina Ibarra (Director/Co-Producer) and Erin Ploss-Campoamor (Co-Producer).

Marthas is a one-hour documentary that follows the year-long preparations of Mexican American teenagers debuting in the annual Martha Washington Society Ball in Laredo, Texas. The Ball, a unique 112-year-old colonial-themed celebration of George Washington and exclusive to daughters of Society members, is the stage where privilege and legacy are on display, provoking questions about patriotism, tradition, history, identity and the role of women along the border.

Watch an interview with Christina Ibarra (Director/Co-Producer) and Erin Ploss-Campoamor (Co-Producer) after the jump>> Continue reading →

Newly Funded: ITVS is Pleased to Announce Funding for Charles Dye’s Indian Relay

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ITVS recently approved funding for the documentary Indian Relay by filmmaker Charles Dye (Director/Producer).

“I’m perpetually in awe of the work I see on other ITVS-supported programs. To have Indian Relay now associated with that quality of work is an incredible honor.”
-Charles Dye, Director/Producer, Indian Relay

From the bitter-cold of winter on the Rocky Mountain front to the heat and mayhem of the summer’s championship races in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon, Indian Relay follows several teams from three different American Indian communities as they prepare for and compete across a grueling Indian Relay season — all hearts set on the glory and honor of winning this year’s National Championship.

The hope and determination of modern-day American Indian life is revealed in this story about what it takes to win one of the most exciting and dangerous forms of horse racing practiced anywhere in the world today.

Join ITVS is congratulating filmmaker Charles Dye!

NEWLY FUNDED: ITVS is Pleased to Announce Funding for Jehan S. Harney’s The Lost Dream

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ITVS recently approved funding for the documentary The Lost Dream by filmmakers Jehan S. Harney (Director/Producer) and Laura Poitras (Executive Producer).

The Lost Dream examines the lives of two Iraqis who supported the U.S. mission in their own country and came to America, only to find themselves strangers in a strange land. Nazar and Salam both helped the coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom and were forced to flee their homes. As they begin new lives in the United States, they are left to wonder if their sacrifice was worth the costs.

The Lost Dream reflects a rarely seen Iraqi refugee community in the U.S., a population still paying the price for a war that was supposed to liberate them.

Join ITVS in congratulating the filmmakers and watch an interview with filmmaker Jehan Harney after the jump.

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NEWLY FUNDED: ITVS is Pleased to Announce Funding for Lacey Schwartz’s Outside the Box

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ITVS recently approved funding for Outside the Box by filmmakers Lacey Schwartz (Producer/Director), Mehret Mandefro (Producer), and James Adolphus (Director).

Outside the Box by Lacey Schwartz

Outside the Box follows the life of Lacey Schwartz, a young woman who grew up in an upper-middle-class household with two loving Jewish parents. When she discovers that the man she’s always assumed was her father is not her biological parent, she unlocks a powerful family secret.

What defines our identity, our family of origin, or the family that raises us? How do we come to terms with the sins and mistakes of our parents? Lacey discovers that answering those questions means understanding her parents’ own stories as well as her own.

ITVS Announces Funding for Eight International Productions through The Global Perspectives Project

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ITVS has contracted with eight international documentary projects from its 2011 International Call. The next International Call Deadline is December 9, 2011.

In the Shadow of the Sun by filmmakers Harry Freeland and Brian Hill are among the eight international projects slated to receive ITVS funding.

ITVS announced that it has contracted with eight international documentary projects from its 2011 International Call as part of the Global Perspective Project. This year’s selections provide extraordinary access and insight into the daily lives and struggles of people who live in Uruguay, Iran, China, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Myanmar, and India.

The productions were selected through a competitive application process, which resulted in 476 submissions from 118 countries representing 72 languages.

All eight documentary projects are slated for eventual broadcast, including primetime slots on the Emmy® Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens, P.O.V., and the international series, Global Voices.

Check out the complete list of funded projects after the jump >>
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NEWLY FUNDED: ITVS is Pleased to Announce Funding for Brad Lichtenstein’s Doc, As Goes Janesville

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ITVS recently approved funding for As Goes Janesville, which tells the the story of what happens when GM leaves Janesville, Wisconsin. From laid off workers to political and business leaders, the documentary shows how a community rebuilds and reinvents itself.


As Goes Janesville follows the lives of dislocated workers, business entrepreneurs and politicians from the Janesville, Wisconsin area to see how they reinvent their lives and the local economy to survive the loss of their century old GM plant in the larger economic downturn.

Watch an interview with Director/Producer Brad Lichtenstein after the jump >>
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ITVS Announces Funding for 30 Mosques in 30 States Project

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30 Mosques in 30 States is a unique, multimedia portrait of diverse Muslim communities throughout America.

Part travel blog, part photo essay, part video diary, and part mobile application, 30 Mosques in 30 States is an original documentary experience developed by digital media producers Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq – two young Muslim Americans who set out to visit a different mosque in a different U.S. state for each of the 30 days of Ramadan. The two’s 13,000-mile route will essentially take them across the entire country before they end up back home in New York City. Through their journey, we learn about the first mosque built in the U.S. in the tiny town of Ross, North Dakota in 1929 as well as what life is like for Muslim Americans in Alaska.

There are an estimated 3 million to 4 million Muslims living in the United States – a number that is expected to double by the year 2030. Muslims in the U.S. come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds including African Americans, South and East Asians, Europeans, Arabs, and East Africans. 30 Mosques in 30 States is a glimpse into the mosaic of Muslim life that can only be told with today’s new forms of digital storytelling. Join Aman and Bassam on their journey, here: http://30mosques.com/
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NEWLY FUNDED: ITVS is Pleased to Announce Funding for Filmmakers Reuben Atlas and Carol Bash

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The Two newly funded ITVS documentaries — Brothers Hypnotic (Reuben Atlas) and Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band (Carol Bash) look at the past, present, and future of  jazz.

Brothers Hypnotic by filmmaker Reuben Atlas

Brothers Hypnotic follows the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, a Chicago-based brass group featuring the eight sons of legendary jazz trumpeter Phil Cohran, whose music ties the currents of jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Reuben Atlas’ film follows the brothers as they make their way on the streets of New York and in the music business, but with stardom on the horizon, they must test their father’s ideals against their own brotherly vision.
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ITVS Announces Funding and Production of Half the Sky for Primetime PBS Broadcast

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Based on the bestselling book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the series will premiere as a special presentation on Independent Lens in Fall 2012. The project is a cornerstone of the recently announced Women and Girls Lead campaign.


ITVS announced today that it, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has made a significant investment in Half The Sky, a primetime television special and multi-platform project based on New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s widely acclaimed book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.
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