Deadline: Tuesday, July 12 @ 11:59pm eastern
POINTS NORTH AMERICAN STORIES DOCUMENTARY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 2022
CHAMPIONING A NEW GENERATION OF FILMMAKERS TELLING AMERICAN STORIES!
In 2022, the American Stories Documentary Fellowship will support five filmmaking teams from underrepresented backgrounds making creative, cinematic and character-driven documentaries about modern America.
Fellows will each receive a $10,000 grant to support production or post-production costs. From September 11-18, they’ll participate in an immersive, creative retreat on the coast of Maine, where they’ll workshop their stories with experienced mentors and industry leaders in the week leading up to the Camden International Film Festival. Fellows also have an opportunity to connect with dozens of funders, distributors and creative partners via industry meetings during CIFF and a virtual market following the festival.
The American Stories Documentary Fellowship is a collaboration between Points North and CNN Films. The program got its start 7 years ago as the Camden/TFI Retreat — a week-long story lab in Maine produced in partnership with Tribeca Film Institute. Since 2015, the Camden/TFI Retreat and American Stories programs have supported 35 documentary works-in-progress, a diverse but intersecting body of films that maps the social, cultural and economic shifts happening in American life today.
Alumni include I Didn’t See You There, Mija, Aftershock, Landfall, Two Gods, The Reagan Show, The Cage Fighter, No Man’s Land, Border South, Truth or Consequences, and Roll Red Roll.
Eligibility – POINTS NORTH AMERICAN STORIES DOCUMENTARY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 2022
CONTENT We’re looking to support documentary projects that tap into narratives or themes that explore “American Stories,” in a myriad ways – consideration of American identities, movements, geographies, etc. Stories don’t need to be developed or filmed exclusively in the US – but these should be core themes that the project discusses.
LENGTH Feature films with an intended runtime of 70 minutes or more.
STAGE Films in production and post-production
MAKEUP OF TEAM The program is open to filmmakers from backgrounds that have been historically marginalized in the film industry by virtue of their ability, citizenship status, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
The American Stories Documentary Fellowship includes the following support:
- A $10,000 grant per project
- (1) Round trip flight to Camden
- (7) Nights of accommodations for one (a private room in a shared house for Fellows)
- (2) All Access Passes to the Camden Film Festival*
Note: While we’re only able to cover travel expenses and guarantee accommodations for one person per filmmaking team, we welcome additional collaborators such as co-directors and producers to participate in the workshops if they are able to attend.
