Sundance: Documentary Program Gets $5M Grant From George Soros’ Foundation

Day 4 of the Sundance Film Festival saw socially conscious documentaries getting a multi-million dollar boost. The George Soros-founded Open Society Foundations announced today that is handing over a $5 million grant to the Sundance Institute to help foster films about social issues through the Institute’s emerging filmmaker Labs. “Documentary films profoundly impact our culture; they challenge the traditional role of journalism by illuminating stories that inform, inspire and connect us as members of a global community, said Sundance founder Robert Redford today in a statement about the matching dollar for dollar grant. “The continued support from George Soros and the Open Society Foundations speaks to our shared belief in the value and power of documentary film.” Eighteen years ago  Open Society started the Documentary Film Program. The program was incorporated into Sundance Institute in 2002.  “The Open Society Foundations have long been one of the world’s leading supporters of those defending and promoting human rights,” said Open Society president Chris Stone Sunday. “We believe that film can intensify conversations on rights, justice, and social ills.”