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Get Funded

We join forces with visionaries like you from across America to bring risk-taking independent film to the public.

  • FUNDED FILMS
    1,528
  • PEABODY
    35
  • EMMY AWARDS
    35

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    Open Call

    Open Call provides documentary funding and co-production support so you can complete your nonfiction work in progress, then air it on public television.

    The deadline for this round was July 31, 2018 11:59 PM PDT
    Learn about Open Call

    Recent Open Call Projects

    See all 536 Open Call Projects

    Digital Open Call

    Digital Open Call offers research and development funding for you to pilot a story on public media digital platforms. Pre-production nonfiction projects only.

    The deadline for this round was March 2, 2018 11:59 PM PST
    Learn about Digital OC

    Recent Digital Open Call Projects

    See all 11 Digital Open Call Projects

    Diversity Development Fund

    DDF gives producers of color up to $25,000 in research and development funding so you can develop your documentary for air on public television. Pre-production nonfiction projects only.

    The deadline for this round was September 14, 2018 11:59 PM PDT
    Learn about DDF

    Recent Diversity Development Fund Projects

    See all 62 Diversity Development Fund Projects

    Series and Special Projects

    We commission a limited number of innovative and timely projects for public media, providing development and production funding. Submissions for Series and Special Project funding are by invitation-only. This collection also encompasses documentary films funded through limited special open calls held over the years.


    Recent Series and Special Projects

    See all 176 Series and Special Projects

    Get in touch.

    Questions about what we do? We’re happy to talk.

    itvs@itvs.org

    (415) 356-8383

    ITVS in the Field

    We’d love to meet you! Join the ITVS programming team at an event. We want to hear about your latest projects.

    1. IDA Getting Real Conference

      September 25-27, 2018
      Los Angeles, CA
      Senior Vice President of Content

      Jim Sommers

      VP of Marketing & Communications

      Lisa Tawil

      Executive Producer of Independent Lens

      Lois Vossen

      Senior Manager of Content and Initiatives

      Monika Navarro

      Vice President of Content

      Noland Walker

      Senior Director of Engagement & Impact

      Sherry Simpson Dean

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    Filmmaker Resources

    From our blog

    1. Diverse Stories From The Field

      August 30, 2018

      Starting a new project can be daunting for even the most veteran of filmmakers. From research and development to acquiring archival footage, where does one begin? The answers may lie in ITVS’s Diversity Development Fund, which provides you seed funding for all of the above and more.Hear from our filmmakers on how the Diversity Development Fund was…

    2. Filmmaker, Festival Director, and Academic Gita Saedi Kiely Joins the ITVS Board of Directors

      August 1, 2018

      Elected in July, Gita Saedi Kiely has joined the ITVS Board of Directors. She is an accomplished leader who brings to the Board extensive experience in the documentary world.From 2012 to 2016, Saedi Kiely served as the Executive and Festival Director at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, in Missoula, MT, the premier non-fiction film destination in the…

    3. Approaches from Insiders and Outsiders

      July 11, 2018

      Illuminating the human condition: it’s a theme that pervades some of the most effective documentaries. Getting there has multiple paths and as a filmmaker, you have baggage you bring. For The Judge, filmmaker Erika Cohn was a complete outsider in her story and had to build trust with strangers. Bing Liu, on the other hand, mined his own community…