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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
    1,633
  • 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 Spring 2021
    Learn about Open Call

    Featured Open Call Projects

    See all 566 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 Summer 2021
    Learn about DDF

    Featured Diversity Development Fund Projects

    See all 76 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 Summer 2021
    Learn about Short-Form OC

    Featured Short-Form Open Call Projects

    See all 22 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.


    Featured Series and Special Projects

    See all 198 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. Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

      February 19-28, 2021
      Missoula, MT
      Initiatives and Field Relations Manager

      Jannette Bivona

      Director, Content & Initiatives

      Keri Archer Brown

    2. South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW)

      March 16-20, 2021
      Austin, TX
      Supervising Producer

      Michael Kinomoto

      Senior Manager, Short-Form Content

      Pamela Torno

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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.

    Filmmaker Resources

    From our blog

    1. Three Quick Questions with 2021 Sundance Filmmakers

      February 5, 2021

      We asked ITVS-supported Sundance filmmakers—Debbie Lum, director of Try Harder!, and Ailey director Jamila Wignot and producer Lauren DeFilippo—3 quick and light questions about how they're doing while they ramped up to premiere their films.

    2. Independent Lens Brings "Stories for Justice" to PBS

      February 4, 2021

      Documentary storytelling pipeline will support increased understanding of the inequities in the justice system and inspire local civic dialogue about reform

    3. The Attack on Our Democracy

      January 8, 2021

      As an organization that exists to strengthen our democracy, ITVS condemns the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and all that it exemplifies.