Oakland, CA — California Humanities is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 California Documentary Project (CDP) grant awards. This year, ten outstanding film and audio projects have been awarded a total of $395,000 in support—$350,000 in Production grants and $45,000 in Research & Development grants.
“Since 2003, the California Documentary Project has supported storytellers whose work sparks reflection, dialogue, and connection,” said Rick Noguchi, President & CEO of California Humanities. “These new projects remind us that when one voice is lifted, it can echo across communities—helping us see ourselves in each other and deepening our understanding of what it means to live together in California.”
The 2025 California Documentary Project grant recipients are:
Production Awards
- Amargosa: Underground River (Chris Clarke and Matthew Crotty)
- Burrocracy (Asali Echols)
- Bury Me Standing (Sophie de Menil, Amy Hobby)
- The Day the Curtains Came Down (Deborah Svoboda)
- The Invisible Valley (Elivia Shaw)
- We’re Still Here (Jacob Kornbluth)
- You Should Never Blink (Jillian Schultz)
Research & Development Awards
- Access Point (Adam Larsen, Sue Schroeder)
- Łee-na-kul-dułai (Perry Lincoln, Brian Dykstra)
- Transcendent (Leonardo Neri, Alex Liu)
Over the years, the California Documentary Project has elevated hundreds of voices and brought California stories to audiences locally, nationally, and internationally. With federal funding in flux, the future of the program is uncertain, making this round of awards especially meaningful.
We congratulate these grantees for their vision and commitment to bringing urgent and compelling California stories to the screen. To learn more about the California Documentary Project and how it supports independent documentary makers, visit CDP page.
California Humanities has been the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities serving California since 1975.
