CALIFORNIA DOCUMENTARY PROJECT
California Stories, National Audiences

Production Grant Overview and Application Instructions
Application Deadline: Wednesday, November 1, 2023, 5 pm PT
Grant Portal: https://ch-grants.smapply.io

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
California? It’s complicated—almost 40 million people and 40 million stories. The California Documentary Project (CDP) is a competitive grant program that supports documentary film, audio, and digital media projects that explore California in all its complexity and tell stories from every corner of the state. We seek compelling projects that bring new and previously unheard perspectives to light; reveal the breadth and range of California’s cultures, peoples, and histories; and use the humanities to provide context, depth, and perspective. Projects should be suitable for both California and national audiences through public and educational screenings and presentations, broadcast, streaming, community screenings, and other forms of distribution. Eligible formats include, but are not limited to, features, shorts, podcasts, web series, broadcast series, VR (Virtual Reality), etc.

For over 45 years, California Humanities has been the leading funder of documentaries by, for, and about Californians. Since 2003, we have awarded almost $8 million through the CDP grant program to nonfiction film, audio, and interactive media projects. Each CDP project adds a new layer to a growing portrait of this state, and together help us better understand who we are and where we live. Some recent documentary media projects supported through CDP include the films I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE, MIJA, FREE CHOL SOO LEE, CRIP CAMP, TRY HARDER!, FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK, and NO STRAIGHT LINES: THE RISE OF QUEER COMICS; podcasts A PRAYER FOR SALMON and WHAT FIRE REVEALS; and the interactive, 360-degree video installation A LIFE IN PIECES: THE DIARY OF STANLEY HAYAMI; and many more.