Marking its fifth year of grants The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) and Gucci today announced the 2012 recipients of the $150,000 of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. Included in these grants are the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights Spotlighting Women Documentary Award. The films highlight social justice and human rights projects from around the world, and the Women Documentary Award illuminates the courage, compassion, extraordinary strength of character, and contributions of women from around the world.

Eight projects will receive a total of $150,000. Six of the eight films have women directors attached. The list and descriptions (from the press info) are below:

E-Team (Directors Katy Chevigny & Ross Kauffman)

The E-Team follows the intense and courageous work of three intrepid human rights workers on the frontlines of identifying international human rights abuses. Dramatic and crucial, Human Rights Watch’s Emergency Team work is custom-made for a compelling documentary film with a global perspective.

First to Fall (Director Rachel Anderson)

First to Fall follows a group of young civilian expatriate ‘rebels’ on their 8-month journey to liberate their home country. They give up comfortable, stable lives in order to take up arms against a corrupt regime and risk their lives in a brutal, chaotic war.

Mercy Mercy (Director Katrine W Kjaer)

International adoption seems like the perfect solution to a heartbreaking imbalance: Poor countries have babies in need of homes, and rich countries have homes in need of babies. Unfortunately, a lot of the orphans are not orphans at all.

Two Children of the Red Mosque (Director Hemal Trivedi)

After attending Pakistan’s most notorious madrassah, 12-year-olds Zarina and Talha pursue different dreams. Zarina attends school while trying to avoid marriage; Talha remains a madrassah student preparing for Jihad. Their stories personalize Pakistanis’ ideological war.

Spotlighting Women Documentary Award

Stargazing (working title) (Director Berit Madsen)

A young Arabian girl wants to become an astronaut. But at her age the nightly stargazing excursions in the desert are a thorn in the side of family and traditions.

The Supreme Price (Director Joanna Lipper)

The Supreme Price tells the story of Hafsat Abiola. Following the annulment of her father’s victory in Nigeria’s Presidential Election and her mother’s assassination by the military dictatorship, Hafsat faces the challenge of transforming a corrupt culture of governance into a democracy capable of serving Nigeria’s most marginalized population: women.