Fifteen of the recent 27 grants awarded went to women. Literally hundreds of applications are submitted and judged for their artistic storytelling, global appeal and relevance to social issues. Specific categories for the grants include films that are between development and pre-production, production to post production, and audience engagement.
Development grants award up to $20,000, and production grants up to $50,000. Each year, Sundance Institute Documentary Fund awards grants totaling $1-2 million. The Fund has supported more than 500 films in 61 countries since it began.
Started in 1981, the Sundance Institute formed to encourage the development of more independent films. It lead to the annual Sundance Film Festival where original independent films are shown to audiences around the world.
For more information, visit www.sundance.org/programs/documentary/
