The second year of Firelight Media’s William Greaves Fund will kick off with an open call for applications on March 15, a press release announced. The fund is designed “to support documentary filmmakers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities” and “address the persistent structural challenges many filmmakers face after producing their first films so that they are able to remain in the field and continue to create vital stories focused on underrepresented people and topics.”
Named for the prolific documentarian and “Black Journal” producer William Greaves, the fund will provide grants up to $40,000 each to support research and development on nonfiction features. Applications will be accepted from filmmakers based in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Colombia, “with a particular interest in those who identify as being of Indigenous and/or of African descent.”
The release details, “When Firelight Media launched the William Greaves Fund early last year, it was in response to a pressing need the organization observed where mid-career filmmakers of color – even those who have had early career successes – were not receiving enough support or funding to launch into their second or third films. The pandemic then exacerbated the situation, making an already precarious career in filmmaking even more difficult,” the press release added. “To address the devastating toll that the pandemic has had on the independent film community, and how unstable work in the industry can be for filmmakers of color, moving forward the post-pandemic William Greaves Fund will include a basic care stipend that can be put toward any essential need grantees have, from healthcare and childcare costs to any other necessary resources which Firelight Media sees as fundamental to producing creative work.”
“We know there is a lot of work to do to make the nonfiction film industry a more just one, especially for filmmakers of color,” said Loira Limbal, “Through the Night” filmmaker and SVP for Programs at Firelight Media. “The pandemic has exacerbated so many persistent issues and inequities within the industry, which should force all of us to think of new and better ways forward. The basic care stipend is one step toward normalizing programs that support the artist, not just their project.”
The William Greaves Fund’s submission period will run through May 1, and applications will be made available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. You can find more information and a link to the application at Firelight Media’s website. Questions can be sent to grants@firelightmedia.org.
Firelight Media is also accepting submissions to the 2021 Impact Campaign Fund, which bolsters audience engagement and impact campaigns for films from past or present Firelight fellows.
