HBO & Independent Filmmaker Project Launch Non-Fiction Storyteller Funding Initiative

HBO Documentary Films and the Independent Filmmaker Project have launched the New True Stories Funding Initiative for emerging non-fiction storytellers. The initiative seeks to support and foster relationships with new voices in a range of formats, cultivating adventurous and diverse new storytelling and storytellers, according to HBO and IFP.

HBO will sponsor grants for multi-format, non-fiction storytellers with development funds at the earliest stage of bringing new work to a visual format. The initiative will identify a wide variety of emerging filmmakers and journalists working across a spectrum of non-fiction genres, including print, audio and video, and will support storytellers in developing their work visually via short-form, feature-length and serialized content.

“We are excited to be expanding our partnership with HBO Documentary Films to include joint programmatic support for filmmakers and content creators on this important initiative,” says Joana Vicente, executive director of IFP. “HBO has been a longtime supporter of the IFP, and with HBO Docs’ rich history of championing non-fiction work, this grant will allow us to continue a strong tradition of supporting projects that are exploring even broader, new formats in non-fiction media.”

“The HBO Documentary Films team is thrilled to be partnering with IFP on this exciting new initiative,” state Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, executive vice presidents of HBO Documentary and Family Programming. “Our team has a long history of working closely with IFP, which has an amazing capacity for identifying and supporting emerging talent with fresh ideas, and we’re honored to work with them to discover some exciting new voices coming from the non-fiction field.”

Submissions are considered on a rolling basis by a team of curators identifying and recommending work. Funding for the initiative is sponsored by HBO Documentary Films and initial grant amounts are dependent on the scale and scope of the projects selected. For more information, visit IFP.org.