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Aug 15 Deadline: Apply for the Sundance Institute's $1.2 million Doc Funding Initiative

Sundance Institute announced the opening of a Request for Proposals for STORIES OF CHANGE: SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN FOCUS THROUGH DOCUMENTARY.

The one-time funding initiative will provide $1.2 million in film project grants to enable the development and/or production of new feature-length independent documentary films that frame, examine and amplify social entrepreneurship as an innovative approach to the central questions of our time.

STORIES OF CHANGE is part of a $3 million, three-year partnership with the Skoll Foundation designed to explore the role of film in advancing knowledge about social entrepreneurship. The initiative builds on earlier work between the Skoll Foundation and Sundance Institute to combine the art of storytelling with the impact of social entrepreneurship. This partnership will help create new opportunities for leading social entrepreneurs and outstanding documentary filmmakers to collaborate and to create new projects that advance the innovative approaches found in both fields. The initiative anticipates funding up to 8 films in the range of $30,000-$150,000 per project, with editorial control being retained by the filmmaker(s).

"Documentary filmmakers and social entrepreneurs have much to contribute to the challenges we currently face as a global society,” said Cara Mertes, Director, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. "This initiative is the first of its kind to bring the two fields together to seek inspiration, innovation, and creative experimentation around our most urgent social concerns."

“The Sundance Documentary Film Program is designed to nurture film artists who tell vibrant stories about contemporary social issues,” said Ken Brecher, Executive Director of Sundance Institute. "Social entrepreneurs are, by definition, people who imagine and invent concrete new solutions to those issues. Together, filmmakers and social entrepreneurs can envision new possibilities for the future."

In addition to funding the creation of new documentary films, STORIES OF CHANGE supports convenings of leaders in both documentary film and social entrepreneurship at key gatherings over the course of the three year partnership.

Recent convenings have been held at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and at the 2008 Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England. The initiative aims to expand the audience for documentary films concerned with social entrepreneurship; create an online resource for social entrepreneurs and filmmakers to facilitate individual and community-level networking, collaboration and exchange of information, knowledge and expertise. It will also present case studies to frame and shape how those working in social entrepreneurship and film/media approach creative concept development.

Deadline for Submissions: August 15, 2008
Awards Announced: December 2008

Those with proposals for documentary films on topics in social entrepreneurship, including the work of specific social entrepreneurs, are encouraged to apply directly to Sundance online. Projects that demonstrate high potential for coproduction and distribution possibilities, including theatrical, broadcast, home and educational video sales, etc. are eligible. Films at any stage of development, production or post-production may apply. Completed films will not be considered. Interested parties are directed to visit sundance.org/skoll or sundance.org/DocSource or to query dfpskoll@sundance.org.

Starts	08/15/2008
Ends	08/15/2008
Issues	Criminal Justice, Economic Justice, Health/Health Advocacy, Human Rights, International, Politics/Government, Racial Justice, Religious Freedom, Death Penalty, Prisoner Rights, Poverty, Violence against women, Refugees, Africa, Asia, Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific, Canada, Central America, Europe, Middle East, South America, U.S./Foreign Relations, Peace/War, African-American, Arab-American, Asian-American, Indigenous Peoples, Jewish, Latino, Racial Hate Crimes, Adoption/Foster Care, Child Abuse
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Contact	dfpskoll@sundance.org

Posted on July 7, 2008 in Event / Call to action by brooksadd