Live Chat on DDF Funding

This year’s deadline for the Diversity Development Fund (DDF) falls on November 11. On Tuesday, November 1 at 1PM PT / 4PM ET, ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad will be taking questions from interested applicants in a live chat on BTB.

The DDF provides up to $15,000 in research and development funding to independent producers of color to develop single documentary programs for public television. Projects should speak to the ITVS mission to serve underserved audiences with programs that take creative risks, explore complex issues, inspire dialogue and express points of view seldom seen on commercial or public television.
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Tags: diversity, documentaries, documentary, film, film schools, filmmakers, financing, funding, independent, producers

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

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

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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Tags: documentary, filmmakers, financing, funding, international, PBS, producers, public media, public television

Deadline for ITVS International Call on Dec. 9, 2011

ITVS International Call promotes the exchange of compelling documentary films between the United States and other nations, going beyond stereotypes and headline news.

ITVS International enables independent producers from outside the United States to create documentaries for U.S. television. Through International Call, global storytellers introduce U.S. audiences to their world, their neighbors, opening a window into unfamiliar lives, experiences and perspectives.

International Call provides production and/or post-production funds for single non-fiction television documentaries that bring international perspectives, ideas, stories and people to a U.S. audience. This initiative is for non-U.S. producers and filmmakers who live outside the U.S.

Please note: ITVS International Call 2012 will be an all digital submissions process.

For more information about guidelines, eligibility and how to submit, please visit www.itvs.org/funding/international

Tags: deadline, documentary, filmmakers, financing, funding, international, non-fiction, post production, producers, Production, public television

Notes from Orientation 2011: A Filmmaker’s Take

Doc filmmaker Reuben Atlas reflects on ITVS’ latest producers orientation for Open Call funding

Filmmaker Reuben Atlas

I heard the letters I-T-V-S for the first time about three years ago, sitting in the audience at a panel on documentary financing. One of the panelists, an Oscar winner, had just responded to the question of how he financed his film by holding up his MasterCard.

The moderator then asked, “Have any of you received funding from ITVS?” The crowd collectively gasped and all side conversations paused. A few people raced for the Q & A line. The young woman next to me flung open her Mac laptop and braced her fingers at the keyboard.

“What’s the acronym stand for?” I whispered. Keeping her shoulder’s facing forward, she swiftly turned her head towards me. “ITVS?” she said. “It’s the Holy Grail.” A man next to her immediately scoffed, letting us know he felt quite differently.

Four Open Call applications, many proposal revisions, and countless work sample cuts later, and here I am, a first time filmmaker at ITVS’ Open Call Producers Orientation.

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Tags: filmmakers, financing, funding, ITVS, orientation

Hey Filmmakers – The LINCS Deadline is on June 18th

Hey filmmakers — the LINCS deadline is on June 18, so if you haven’t already contacted a potential station partner, now is the time to do so.

Do you have questions about LINCS funding and how to successfully partner with a public television station? Recently ITVS Director of Programming Erica Deiparine-Sugars and LINCS Production Manager Robby Fahey joined DocuMentors for their ongoing expert interview series Doc Talks. The ITVS team revealed strategies for a successful LINCS application and station partnership.

Also joining the conversation was filmmaker Monika Navarro, whose film Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas) was funded by LINCS and was produced in association with WGBH-Boston. Lost Souls aired this season on Independent Lens.

Listen to the LINCS Doc Talks interview here >>

Tags: documentary, film, financing, funding, independent film, Producer