Get Funded

You have a powerful story to tell—let’s bring it to life together. We offer development and co-production funds for both short and feature documentaries.

1,455 Funded Projects
48 Peabody Awards
49 Emmys
23 Oscar Nominations

ITVS funds groundbreaking documentary projects that spotlight a range of lived experiences from across the country.

With a deep commitment to independent storytelling, ITVS-funded work has gone on to earn prominent awards—recognition that reflects the impact, excellence, and relevance of the stories we help bring to the American public.

Woman with dark hair and fair complexion wearing headsphones and camera gear around waist holding phone in one hand and two bobas in the other

Independent Lens Creator Lab

Closed December 19, 2025

Co-production support for independent storytellers on social media.

Bring your ideas to life with the team behind Independent Lens on PBS, ready to make content that matters and shape what storytelling looks like next. The Independent Lens Creator Lab is a six-month program to develop bold new storytelling approaches—from serialized shorts to narrated experiences—that reimagine what public media can be.

Six-month program for six standout creators
Vertical social “micro-series” and hybrid visual forms
Up to $36k in production funding, mentorship, and industry support

Learn About the Creator Lab

Stanley Nelson looking into camera in audio recording studio

Incubator Fund

Opens January 2, 2026

Early development support for nonfiction web series and features, plus an incubator to advance program materials.

We’re championing documentarians who are ready to deepen their craft, strengthen their materials, and build stories that foster understanding, empathy, and connection. The ITVS Incubator Fund offers early development support and a three- to six-month incubator for nonfiction features and web series crafted for public media’s streaming platforms.

Three- to six-month incubator alongside other storytellers
Up to $10k in funding for an early-stage nonfiction feature or web series
Potential for additional funding up to $30k

Learn About the Incubator Fund

Person holding camera shooting a woman with dark brown hair and medium tan skin tone who is preparing food

Open Call

Not currently accepting applications

Funding and co-production support for exceptional documentaries in progress.

Open Call supports independent documentary storytellers completing nonfiction projects for public media. If you have a compelling, original project ready for production or post-production, we’d love to hear from you.

Single, nonfiction projects only (sorry, no series or pilots)
Short or feature projects over 10 minutes in length
In production or post-production (no development or R&D)

Learn About Open Call

Man holding a camera while sitting in a shopping cart with a woman also wearing camera gear both smiling

Series and Special Projects

Commissioned funding for innovative and timely nonfiction projects.

We provide development and production support for a select number of invited series and special projects.

Invitation-only development and/or production funding
Focus on innovative and timely series and features
Over 200 projects funded to date

We ensure public media distribution.

As your documentary nears completion, we collaborate closely with public media distributors to ensure we reach the widest, most engaged audience possible.

Where We Stream

Four ITVS funded films are headed to Sundance 2026!

Incubator Fund

Independent Lens Creator Lab

Featured Film

TheyDream

Our Work

Get Funded

Independent Lens Creator Lab

Incubator Fund

Open Call

Series and Special Projects

We ensure public media distribution.