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You’ve found a story and you’re committed to telling it—no matter what. Let’s do it together.

  • FUNDED FILMS
    1,665
  • PEABODY
    42
  • EMMY AWARDS
    45

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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.

    Reopens Winter 2022
    Learn about Open Call

    Recent Open Call Projects

    See all 568 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.

    Reopens August 9, 2021
    Learn about DDF

    Recent Diversity Development Fund Projects

    See all 80 Diversity Development Fund Projects

    Short-Form Open Call

    Short-Form Open Call offers development and co-production funding to help you complete your short nonfiction film or series for distribution on public media's web-based platforms.

    Reopens June 21, 2021
    Learn about Short-Form OC

    Recent Short-Form Open Call Projects

    See all 26 Short-Form Open Call 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 199 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 team at an event. We want to hear about your latest projects.

    1. Tribeca Film Festival

      June 9-20, 2021
      New York, NY
      Headshot of Jannet Nuñez
      Sr. Manager, Content & Development

      Jannet Nuñez

    2. Frameline Film Festival

      June 17-27, 2021
      San Francisco, CA
      Headshot of Michael Ehrenzweig
      Supervising Producer

      Michael Ehrenzweig

    3. AFI Docs Film Festival

      June 22-27, 2021
      Washington, DC
      Headshot of Royd Chung
      VP of Production

      Royd Chung

      Headshot of Sherry Simpson
      Sr. Director, Engagement and Impact Innovation

      Sherry Simpson

    Get Funded

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

    Filmmaker Resources

    From our blog

    1. "Free Chol Soo Lee" Filmmakers Share Desire to Tell Complex, Nuanced Stories of Asian Americans

      May 31, 2021

      Julie Ha and Eugene Yi talk about the journey their film "Free Chol Soo Lee" has already made and the road that lies ahead, the importance of this story to Asian American activists, and impart some wisdom to doc makers about the process of applying to and working with ITVS.

    2. Philly D.A. and the Power of the Prosecutor

      May 21, 2021

      A series of engagement events led by Independent Lens and Fair and Just Prosecution for Philly D.A. concluded with a survey around the criminal legal system. Read the results from more than 750 participants.

    3. What Your Peers Want You to Know About Making Docs

      May 13, 2021

      Experienced documentarians offer advice gleaned from their own journeys as filmmakers, from how to stick with it when it all seems so overwhelming, to finding your own support network, to how learning all the technical tricks of the trade will make your project stronger.