Redford Center Grants

The Redford Center Grants program supports independent environmental documentaries and their impact campaigns. Since launching in 2016, the program has supported 60 projects and awarded $2 million in funding. According to the International Documentary Association, only 8 of approximately 440 nonfiction film grants exclusively support environmental stories.

Program Structure: The grant operates on a two-year cycle. Year 1 provides $25,000 to support production and impact campaign expenses. Year 2 offers the opportunity to apply for additional funding to support production completion and impact.

Geographic Scope: Applications from anywhere in the world are eligible.

Focus Areas: Projects must be about or intersect with environmental issues and propose or activate solutions. The Center encourages stories about:

• Intersectional environmental issues and solutions for people and the planet
• Leadership, progress, solutions, possibility, hope, and innovation that transform defeatist narratives
• Fresh viewpoints or filmmaking artistry challenging conventional environmental storytelling boundaries
• Equitable, inclusive, and diverse environmental movements centering underrepresented and historically excluded communities
• Systemic bias, discrimination, and injustice in environmental policy and impacts on communities
• Pathways to direct action, groundbreaking achievements, or measurable impact
• Protecting and restoring land, water, biodiversity, and natural resources
• Cultural practices honoring traditional and ancestral knowledge
• Community power and civic engagement at the intersection of environmental justice and planetary health

Applicant Eligibility:

• Must be 18+ years of age
• Application must come from Director or Producer
• Previous filmmaking experience highly recommended
• Awardees expected to participate in professional development programming

Project Eligibility:

• New and ongoing nonfiction feature films or episodic docu-series
• At any stage of development, production, or post-production
• Projects that are picture locked are ineligible
• Must be a documentary feature film or episodic docu-series
• Must have clear impact goal and developed impact campaign idea
• Must be about or intersect with environmental issues with proposed or activated solutions

What is NOT Funded:

• Picture-locked projects
• Narrative films
• Non-environmental projects
• Projects without clear impact goals

Grantee Benefits:

• $25,000 financial support in Year 1
• Invitation to apply for Year 2 funding (more substantial investment)
• Travel and lodging covered for Redford Center Grants Summit (Spring 2025, US-based)
• Exclusive participation in learning sessions and networking with experts and industry leaders
• Support in refining project narratives and impact goals
• Presentation opportunity at intimate virtual film showcase with funders and industry leaders (Fall 2024)
• Promotional support and strategic advice from development to distribution
• Invitation to join fiscal sponsorship program at discounted rate
• Access to network of industry and environmental experts
• Professional development retreat
• Grantee cohort model with learning sessions and community building

Core Values: The Center seeks accountability to and representation of intersectional environmental advocates and artists, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color; Women; people with disabilities; immigrant and refugee communities; LGBTQ+ communities; and all people disproportionately impacted by environmental injustices.

Past Grantee Success: Grantee films have received awards, premieres, and distribution from Netflix, Hulu, HBO, PBS, National Geographic, Sundance Film Festival, Jackson Wild, and DC Environmental Film Festival. Notable projects include Youth V Gov (Netflix premiere 2022), Inventing Tomorrow (2019 Peabody Award winner), To The End (Sundance 2021 premiere, Roadside Attractions theatrical release), Path of the Panther (four Jackson Wild nominations), Adaptation (PBS), Exposure (Jackson Wild Breakthrough Film Award), and Manzanar Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust (PBS POV).

Application Process

Current Status: Applications are currently closed. The next open call is expected in 2026.

Previous Open Call Timeline (2024): Applications were open April 4 – May 12, 2024

Application Framework: The Redford Center takes recommendations from the Nonfiction Documentary Core Application, a collaborative effort to standardize application requirements for greater access and equity in the documentary field.

Required Application Deliverables:

• Project narratives and impact goals
• Demonstration of measurable ways to track project impact
• Realistic progress plans toward short-term and long-term goals

Evaluation Criteria:

• Deliverables reviewed for realistic progress toward short-term and long-term goals
• Measurable impact tracking demonstration required

Additional Requirements:

• Applicants must review Terms and Conditions
• Applicants should review Frequently Asked Questions

Support Available During Application:

• Information session recording available (watch recording for details)

Questions/Support: Contact grants@redfordcenter.org for questions about the application