The Global Film Initiative was created to promote cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema. Although American film continues to thrive in the global marketplace, developing world filmmaking has suffered from shifting economic conditions in film financing and distribution. As a result, audiences in the United States have been denied the rich cultural lessons these films have to offer.

The Initiative has developed four complementary programs, all involving film from the developing world, to address this situation:

• Granting
• Applications & Guidelines
• Acquisitions
• Distribution
• Education

For more information regarding our Granting Program, visit the Frequently Asked Questions section for Granting.

Granting Program | Acquisitions Program | Distribution Program | Education Program

Philanthropic efforts in the developing world are normally concerned with providing the impoverished with food, shelter and other basic necessities. While this mission continues to be of utmost importance, it has become clear that cultural outreach needs to supplement these efforts. Authentic self-representation can be a vibrant partner to economic growth, providing a structure to understand global change while remaining true to a rich cultural heritage. Self-sufficiency and sustainability are not achieved through financial and industrial assistance alone; specifically supporting original filmmaking in the developing world celebrates the power of local storytelling traditions and acknowledges that a powerful fusion with modern cultural media can sustain and nourish these traditions.

The Initiative will be awarding 10-20 grants of up to $10,000 per year. These funds are made available to filmmakers once the Initiative selection committee evaluates applicants' scripts and early footage of their films. The Initiative supports films that promise artistic excellence, exhibit accomplished storytelling and offer American audiences a variety of cultural perspectives on daily life around the world. The Initiative also seeks films that substantially contribute to the development of local film industries. Filmmakers use monies received from the Initiative to complete initial production and to pay for post-production costs, such as laboratory fees, sound mixing and access to modern editing systems.

Click here for Granting Applications and Guidelines

Current grant recipients for the Winter 2010 funding cycle:

MISS LOVELY, dir. Ashim Ahluwalia (India)
Two brothers working in Mumbai's seedy C-movie industry come to odds when one decides to make a romantic feature about a mysterious, young ingenue he meets on a train.

NINAH'S DOWRY, dir. Victor Viyuoh (Cameroon)
A headstrong woman leaves her village and resists her husband's attempt to reclaim his rights of dowry after she becomes pregnant with another man's baby.

RED PRINCESSES (PRINCESAS ROJAS), dir. Laura Astorga Carrera (Costa Rica)
During the height of the Sandinista movement, a young Costa Rican girl pretends to be the leader of a secret revolution, unaware that her game has tragic similarity to the real-life activities of her parents.

SHADOWS AND FACES (GÖLGELER VE SURETLER), dir. Dervis Zaim (Turkey)
In a bucolic village, the disappearance of an elderly puppeteer sets in motion a series of events that lead to a violent conflict between otherwise peaceful neighbors.

TRAMP (TRAMPAS), dir. Eduardo Villanueva Jimenez (Mexico)
A drug-addicted wanderer forms an unusual friendship with a beggar, leading the pair on an elliptical journey through Mexico that includes, of all things, a life-changing trip to the circus.

For a list of past grant recipients, click here.