Five Documentaries Awarded Summer 2020 Grants

We are pleased to announce the Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund Summer 2020 award winners. The Fund awards grants totaling $200,000 annually through its Summer and Winter open calls.

Planet Z — The film follows a group of climate change youth activists as they mobilize their efforts to empower and inspire other youths and adults to create change within their communities, government and beyond. Director: Tom Donahue.

Untitled Prison Hunger Strike Film — In 2013, three men, trapped for decades in solitary confinement in, all arrived at the same decision – a hunger strike, the largest in US history. 30,000 people abolished indefinite solitary confinement in California prisons. Director: Lucas Guilkey.

In the Cold Dark Night — In 1983 in a small Georgia town, white men brutally murdered Timothy Coggins, a young black man, because of his relationship with a white woman. Authorities stopped investigating and witnesses received threats to remain quiet, the case went cold for nearly 34 years… until a new investigation opened in 2017. Director: Stephen Robert Morse.

STAYERS — The documentary follows the tight-knit crabbing community of Tangier Island, Virginia, through a dramatic year as the islanders are fighting for a sea wall to save their home. This all happens in the lead-up to one of the most anticipated presidential elections in US history. Director: Julia Dahr & Julie Lunde Lillesæter. www.differmedia.com/project/stayers

Untitled West Virginia Project — A meditation on the suffering and devastation resulting from the coal industry and its decline in West Virginia, as communities bear witness to a perfect storm of afflictions: a crumbling economy, an opioid epidemic, and environmental damage. Director: Lucas Sabean & Peter Hutchinson. www.bigtentproductions.nyc/west-virginia

“This year we’re all seeing the profound challenges we face as a society first-hand,” said Asher Rogovy, Foundation Vice-President. “Supporting these films is but one step towards progress. We can only face problems if we recognize problems, and documentary films are a powerful medium to illustrate them.”

Applications are now being accepted for the Winter 2020 Open Call, which ends November 15th.

Summer 2020 Awards

Six Documentaries Awarded Winter 2019 Grants

We are pleased to announce the Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund Summer 2019 award winners. The Fund awards grants totaling $200,000 annually through its Summer and Winter open calls.

To Use a Mountain — Seconds of exposure, generations of debate and epochs of geologic change all overlap in the landscapes that define the American nuclear legacy and the quest to isolate 77,000 tons of nuclear waste for 10,000 years. Director: Casey Carter.

Storm Lake Untitled — Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Art Cullen and his family fight to be the journalistic voice of their rural Iowan farming community—even as their biweekly newspaper hangs on by a thread. Director: Jerry Risius.

Untitled Utah Climate Change Denial Documentary — In a time when people are terrified about a climate apocalypse, this film spends an intimate summer with the one county which has less belief in climate change than anywhere else in the USA. Director: Ben Stillerman. 

Landlock — When a group of populist Brazilian farmers take control over a new area of the Amazon rainforest, a conflict erupts at the forest’s edge. The film follows this group of farmers as they fight for control of the Brazilian Amazon. Director: Alex Pritz. 

GenX: A Chemical Cocktail — Young filmmakers identify toxins and confront the cover-up of a 70-year-old public health crisis – man-made chemicals have found their way into the drinking water of their hometowns. Director: Elijah Yetter-Bowman. www.genxthefilm.org

Untitled Rural Healthcare Documentary — Since 2010, 120 rural hospitals have closed across the U.S. The film will explore the deteriorating healthcare options in the rural South and the looming threat of a full-blown crisis for communities. Director: Ramin Bahrani.

“Climate, environmental issues, and investigative journalism are themes from this round of awards,” said Hugh Rogovy, Foundation Founder. “We’re pleased to support raising awareness of these important topics.”

Applications are now being accepted for the Summer 2020 Open Call, which ends May 15th.

Winter 2019 Awards

Six Documentaries Awarded Summer 2019 Grants

We are pleased to announce the Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund Summer 2019 award winners. The Fund awards grants totaling $200,000 annually through its Summer and Winter open calls.

Our Land — In a time of growing income inequality in America, there is one asset that remains in the hands of the American people: the 640 million acres of America’s Public Lands. Powerful forces have aligned to attempt the largest land grab in modern history. Director: David Byars.

Weed Dreams — As California legalized recreational cannabis sales, Oakland became the first city in the nation to adopt a Cannabis Equity Program, an ambitious attempt to address racial inequality and rectify the injustices of the war on drugs. Director: Mathew Ramirez Warren.

Parkland — The film follows the high school students and families who became fierce leaders of a national movement for gun reform following the shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in 2018. Director: Cheryl Horner McDonough.

True Believer — An earnest pastor and a remorseful activist reveal how a religion was hijacked for political gain, underscoring what’s at stake for our Democracy if the evangelical community doesn’t reckon with its own history. Director: Kristen Irving-Jordan.

SORTED or: How I learned to stop worrying and save the world— A young Bangladeshi woman takes her uncertain future into her own hands to change the destiny of her family, her country and the planet. Director: Kurt Norton.

Stripped for Parts: American Journalism at the Crossroads — Hedge funds and private equity are plundering what is left of America’s newspapers. The film follows the struggle for the resources and soul of America’s news media. Production grant. Director: Rick Goldsmith. 

“Once again we’re overwhelmed by the outstanding projects independent doc filmmakers are producing,” said Hugh Rogovy, Foundation Founder. “We’re pleased to announce this summer’s winners, and look forward to the impact they will achieve.”

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

Summer 2019 Awards

Six Documentaries Awarded Winter 2018 Grants

We are pleased to announce the Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund Winter 2018 award winners. The Fund awards grants totaling $200,000 to between six and twelve film projects annually through Summer and Winter open calls.

Untitled Jefferson County Project — As states compete to attract multinational companies, with tax incentives for the promise of jobs, a West Virginia community fights to stop a manufacturing plant from being built in their backyard. Director: Jamie Coughlin.

NEVERTHELESS — A documentary that examines the sexual harassment crisis in the American workplace through interviews and personal stories, revealing truths about the intricacies of the issue while also offering solutions. Director: Sarah Moshman.

Fashion Reimagined: A Sustainable Odyssey — Horrified that the fashion industry is among the top most polluting in the world, Amy Powney of Mother of Pearl attempts to produce a sustainable collection that can be traced from field to finished garment. Director: Becky Hutner.

The Cannons —  The story of the largest junior African-American hockey team in North America, and four senior boys in their final make or break year of high school. A story about hope; the power of sport; and the pursuit of the American Dream. Director: Rob Ford.

The American Question — An apolitical story about the social and political divide in America, exploring the divisions between different citizens, religions, communities and people of different political viewpoints. Director: James Kicklighter. www.theamericanquestion.com

Stripped for Parts: American Journalism at the Crossroads — Hedge funds and private equity are plundering what is left of America’s newspapers. The film follows the struggle for the resources and soul of America’s news media. Director: Rick Goldsmith. 

“With so many excellent submissions, we’re thrilled to increase the size of our grants,” said Asher Rogovy, Foundation Vice-President. “These films all tackle important issues.”

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

Winter 2018 Awards