FORD FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES MAJOR INVESTMENT IN DOCUMENTARY FILM

The Ford Foundation has announced the creation of JustFilms, a new $50 million initiative designed to “advance social justice worldwide through the talent of emerging and established filmmakers.” The initiative will support filmmakers’ work (including film, video and digital works) and help them find and reach audiences.

The Foundation will invest $10 million per year over a period of five years, divided equally among: partnerships with major organizations, an ongoing open application process and partnerships with other Ford Foundation grantmaking programs. Partners include the Sundance Institute and the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

JustFilms is led by Orlando Bagwell, who most recently served as Diector of the Ford Foundation’s Freedom of Expression work, overseeing grantmaking for public media, media rights and access, arts and culture, and religion issues. He is an award-winning independent filmmaker and producer, having served as lead producer and director of Blackside Inc. (“Eyes on the Prize”) and later as executive producer and director at WGBH Educational Foundation, where he supervised all aspects of production for “Africans in America.”

Application information for JustFilms is available here.