The Sundance Institute has announced a list of 28 projects to receive funding for documentary projects. Among these projects are Afromystic, a documentary with a Nigerian director and producer, as well as “Untitled Africa Project”, a project for which the institute has yet to provide details.
“The Documentary Fund seeks to serve as a stable source of support for inventive nonfiction works that create cultural and social impact by tackling a variety of timely and pressing issues,” the festival says. Its sponsors include Open Society Foundations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Sony Music’s Global Justice Fund, and the John Templeton Foundation.
The total grant amount comes to $1,450,000, which represents an increase of about $500,000 from last year. It covers five projects in development, 15 in production, seven in post-production, and one completed project.
As usual, the fund mainly supports artists from marginalised communities, with over half of proposals received proposals coming from outside the US. First-time directors of feature films are also well represented.
“During this challenging time for our industry, we are grateful to be able to deepen our support for the global documentary community,” Paola Mottura (Director of the Documentary Film Fund) and Kristin Feeley (Director of Documentary Film & Artist Programs) said in a joint statement from the institute.
“This work is urgent and it is an honor to be a part of these talented artists’ journeys and help them get closer to connecting with their audiences. We’re appreciative of our partners in making this support possible and we look forward to experiencing these risk-taking works.”
While not much is known about Afromystic, a short description provided by the institute gives its director as Seyi Adebanjo and says the film is a “lyrical documentary” that takes viewers across continents as it follows “LGBTQ+ Yoruba practitioners”. Afromystic is a co-production between Nigeria, Brazil, and the United States.
