Five Documentaries Awarded Summer 2022 Awards

We are pleased to announce the Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund Summer 2022 award winners. The Fund awards grants totalling $200,000 to a selection of film projects annually through our Summer and Winter Open Calls.

The Fund’s five selection of award winners for this Summer period are:

UNEARTH — Two young fishermen in remote Alaska investigate a mining company steamrolling local opposition to build North America’s largest mines and uncover the reality of an industry essential to our everyday life and the future of our planet. Director: Hunter Nolan.

Colors of White Rock — Sweeping over the Gobi Desert wastelands wrought by Mongolia’s mining boom, Maikhuu, one of the rare women truck drivers, fights for survival along the country’s hazardous coal roads. Director: Khoroldorj Choijoovanchig.

Undamming the Klamath — Century-old dams that have all but annihilated California’s Klamath River Watershed will be demolished in 2023, resulting in the largest dam removal and river restoration project the world has seen. Director: Shane Anderson.

No Home Here —  Sacramento’s most compelling unsheltered individuals are portrayed, emphasizing the homelessness crisis as a heartbreaking, yet solvable, issue. Director: Lisa Klein.

Inversion: The Unfinished Business of Pittsburgh’s Air —  After a catastrophic fire at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works pushed the region’s air quality from bad to worse, the community rallies to assert its right to clean air. Director: Mark Dixon.

“Documentaries raise awareness about difficult issues affecting people around the globe,” said Asher Rogovy, Vice-President. “We are thrilled to support filmmakers telling these stories.”

Applications are now being accepted for the Winter 2022 Open Call, which ends November 15th 2022.

Summer 2022 Awards

Four Documentaries Awarded Winter 2021 Grants

The Rogovy Foundation is pleased to announce the Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund Winter 2021 award winners. The Fund awards grants totalling $200,000 to a selection of film projects annually through its Summer and Winter Open Calls.

The Fund’s four selection of award winners for this Winter period are:

In Plain Sight — Minnesotan Amish farm girl-turned-activist Lizzy Hershberger confronts her past abuse and becomes a leader of Amish sexual assault survivors. Director: Sarah McClure and Co-Director: Jessie Deeter. 

Coldwater Kitchen — Chef Jimmy Lee Hill runs a highly regarded culinary training program out of a prison in Coldwater, MI., demonstrating the potential that trust and compassion can offer the incarcerated. Directors: Brian Kaufman and Mark Kurlyandchik.

Nothing Gold Can Stay — After narrowly surviving California’s deadliest wildfire, two longtime friends navigate loss in divergent ways – one rebuilds his community and the other rejects society in search of solitude. Directors: Erin Brethauer and Tim Hussin.

Merkel —  Driven by extensive archive material and interviews with those who know her, this is the astonishing story of how a triple outsider – a woman, a scientist, and an East German – became the de facto leader of the Free World. Director: Eva Weber.

“The past two years of pandemic have added additional burdens on documentary filmmakers,” said Hugh Rogovy, Foundation President. “In a difficult environment, we’re pleased to be able to support these stand-out projects.”

Applications are now being accepted for the Summer 2022 Open Call, which ends May 15th 2022.

Winter 2021 Awards

In August 2018, The Rogovy Foundation provided a developmental grant to Beyond the Light‘s solar project in Nicaragua, installing energy kits for homes without electricity, providing lights and USB charging for cell phones, fans and radio. In addition, they are adding solar kits to the local water system, which will add sustainable access to clean drinking water for the village of El Tomate. Plans are also in place to assemble and install sustainable solar energy in El Carmen and La Mora in Nicaragua at the end of the year. Read their September Update Report.

Beyond the Light’s mission is to end energy poverty by providing the resources necessary to bring electricity to homes and training locals to build and repair solar systems for their communities. The dedicated staff at Beyond the Light leave behind a process to provide sustainable energy solutions and job creation.

In July 2018, The Rogovy Foundation partnered once more with The Center of Investigative Reporting. This year, a Frontier Grant was awarded for their (Un)Scientific Method project. We are in awe at their continued impact and dedication to investigative reporting and are thrilled to support such hard work and commitment.

In 2017, CIR launched The (Un)Scientific Method, an investigative reporting beat focused on publishing investigative reports exposing conflicts between science and government during a time of significant political upheaval in Washington, D.C. The focus of this work is on uncovering new stories that are relevant to the science and technology ecosystem and the powerful way in which Washington influences scientific progress. In particular, they have sought to examine the politicization of scientific decision making at the federal level, the impact of anti-science appointees to the cabinet and federal agencies, and conflicts of interest that inhibit scientific innovation, research and regulation that would be in the public’s best interest.

Six Documentaries Awarded Summer 2018 Grants

We are pleased to announce the Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund Summer 2018 award winners. The Fund awards grants totaling $150,000 to between six and ten film projects annually through Summer and Winter open calls.

These six selections represent a cross section of interests that the Foundation supports:

Lady Buds — Six women are transitioning from the black market cannabis industry in California. These modern-day superheroes put principles before profits and challenge the cultural stigma around cannabis. Director: Chris Russo. www.ladybudsmovie.com

Bastards’ Road — Walking almost 6,000 miles, Marine Veteran Jonathan Hancock fights PTSD and other demons from the war. In the solitude of the road and in the company of his fellow Marine brothers and gold star families, Hancock discovers his survivable self. Director: Brian Morrison. www.bastardsroad.com

Safer Stuff: Green Chemistry Gets Down to Business — Highlighting solutions to problems of toxic chemicals in everyday products, a passionate group of green chemists and entrepreneurs adopt green chemistry solutions and safe products. Director: William Hemminger. 

Healing from Hate: Battle for the Soul of a Nation — An examination of the root causes of hate group activity through the work of Life After Hate – an organization founded by former Skinheads and Neo-Nazis now engaged in de-radicalizing and transforming violent extremists. Director: Peter Hutchinson. www.bigtentproductions.nyc

Eternal Harvest — Hundreds of Laotians work to clear their country of millions of deadly unexploded bombs from a U.S. bombing campaign 50 years ago; one American, a retired Wisconsin school principal, Jim Harris, works among them in the field. Director: Jerry Redfern. www.eternalharvestfilm.com

Trumphobia: What Both Sides Fear — Fervent supporters and scared opponents were hypnotized by Trump’s rhetoric and the media’s interpretation, increasing a dangerous political division. Can they stop and listen to each other before they tear apart democracy as we know it. Director: Carolina Sosa. 

“These documentaries all raise awareness about very timely issues.” said Asher Rogovy, Foundation Vice-President. “We are glad to be supporting them.”

Applications are now being accepted for the Winter 2019 open call, which ends November 15th.

Summer 2018 Awards

“It’s alarmingly easy for a total stranger to gain total control over the life of a senior citizen.” John Oliver features our supported film: The Guardians on last week’s episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

The segment exposes the flaws with court-appointed guardians and includes clips from the film and its characters.

We couldn’t be more proud. Congratulations to the team!

Our sponsored film: False Confessions – In the Closed Room​ has just won the ‘Politikens Publikumspris’ at CPH:DOX in Denmark. The Politiken Audience Award celebrates freedom of expression. Congratulations!

The Rogovy Foundation Announces New ‘Focus Fund’
Development Grants for Targeted Topics

The Rogovy Foundation announces a new grant opportunity for documentary filmmakers. The Focus Fund provides $15,000 in development capital for specific documentary film topics selected by The Rogovy Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to encourage awareness, debate and solutions on issues it has identified as ripe for further discussion.

Already providing $150,000 annually in grants through its Miller / Packan documentary fund, the Foundation is committing an additional $60,000 per year for projects curated by its staff.

Currently there are nine topics listed on the Web site that are soliciting Requests for Proposals. In addition to the Topic, the listing includes other elements such as Suggested Logline, Story Premise, Impact Potential and possibly some initial reference material or links. Periodically, the Foundation will be adding new topics.

Some of the topic working titles are: The Empathy Gene; Cannabis vs. Opioids; The Ark of Taste; The Arms Race of Higher Education; The People vs. K Street; Before You Know it; Missing Public Heroes; Medicare for All – The Business Case; The Coming Digital Privacy Crisis.

Candidates who wish to develop one of these projects further are asked to submit a brief proposal using our online submission page. The entire proposal will be roughly two pages in length. If a filmmaker submits a compelling and winning proposal, the funds will be disbursed immediately. The topic idea plus all legal rights to the proposed documentary film reside with the filmmaker.

There is no time limit or deadline to these Request for Proposals. Once a filmmaker submits a proposal that the Foundation feels properly handles the development of this project, we will grant the $15,000 and close the topic to further submissions.

“As huge fans and supporters of documentary films, we’re keen to contribute topic ideas that may have a significant impact,” says Hugh Rogovy, Foundation Founder. “We’ll be curating new topics during the coming year,” added Asher Rogovy, Foundation Vice-President “periodically adding them to our Focus Fund listings.”

Miller / Packan Focus Fund

Schedule and details can be found on the Big Sky website.