Clockwise from top left: HANGTOWN; WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN; UNTITLED VALE PROJECT; MAKING HISTORY/HACIENDO HISTORIA: LATINAS/OS IN MENDOCINO.
In the lead up to the 2024 California Documentary Project (CDP) November 4 deadline, we want to take time to look back at the past year’s highlights and accomplishments, while also looking forward at the new opportunities to come. It was a year full of new grants, new partners, and new audiences, and of bringing increased perspective and deepened understanding of the stories and issues that define this state.
We want to congratulate all our CDP grantees for continuing to help us connect Californians to ideas and one another in order to understand our shared heritage and diverse cultures, inspire civic participation, and shape our future. We also want to thank our many partners for helping bring these CDP films, podcasts, and digital media projects to new and growing audiences throughout California and beyond.
NEW PROJECTS FOR 2024
We were pleased to make a 13 new CDP Production and R&D grants in 2024 on subjects ranging from a bilingual podcast series by, for, and about the Latino community living in the Mendocino Coast, to the story of Nancy Whittle, who has portrayed Harriet Tubman at Civil War reenactments across California for over 30 years. Each adds a new layer to a growing portrait of this state and together help us better understand who we are and where we live.
NEW PREMIERES, BROADCASTS, ACCOLADES, AND MORE
CDP projects continued to reach and engage audiences throughout the state and beyond over the past year. Several CDP-supported documentary films and podcasts launched and premiered in California, including the films HOME COURT at the VC Film Fest, and SALLY and HELEN AND THE BEAR, both at the Frameline Film Festival. Several others received national broadcasts, including HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY on the PBS series POV and SANSÓN AND ME on PBS’ Independent Lens.
Others released to new audiences were FOR OUR CHILDREN on Netflix, and SONG OF SALT, an immersive glimpse into the struggles and celebrations within a tight-knit mining community as its residents, suspended between the past and the future, face the present realities of an eroding economy, through Amazon Prime.
FOR OUR CHILDREN poster for Netflix.
SONG OF SALT poster for Amazon Prime.
Other releases include two new episodes of the short video series SHASTA STORIES, highlighting the humanity, history, humor, and fortitude of Siskiyou County residents and culture. The California Migration Museum’s immersive audio tour RETURNING TO THE “HARLEM OF THE WEST” that tells the story of Japanese Americans’ return after incarceration during World War II to a radically altered Japantown in San Francisco, held a free and participatory public launch event this past fall. Finally, though many of our supported CDP projects receive awards and accolades, we are particularly thrilled to celebrate the three national Emmy Award nominations received by the CDP R&D and Production grant recipient FREE CHOL SOO LEE in July. We congratulate filmmakers Julie Ha and Eugene Yi.
NEW PARTNERS, NEW SCREENINGS, AND NEW AUDIENCES
With the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, California Humanities continued to help bring our grantee’s films to new audiences throughout the state. Through partnerships with colleges and regional cultural institutions, we co-presented screenings and intimate discussions with filmmakers and film participants for a broad range of audiences. At University of California Riverside’s UCR ARTS, we co-presented free screenings and discussions of DOROTHEA LANGE: GRAB A HUNK OF LIGHTNING, EXPOSING MUYBRIDGE, and THE DELANO MANONGS.
Still from DOROTHEA LANGE: GRAB A HUNK OF LIGHTNING
Courtesy of the filmmakers.
UCR ARTS’ screening of EXPOSING MUYBRIDGE included a companion tour of Movement Exercises (After Muybridge), an exhibition that used several Muybridge studies to explore how photography can seemingly freeze time.
Keystone View Company, Health Unit: Posture, Set #6. Rear View of Skeleton out of Proper Alignment, n.d. Gelatin silver contact print, Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, University of California, Riverside, 1996.0009.L69140.
With San Diego City College’s World Cultures Program, we co-presented EVERYDAY SUNSHINE: THE STORY OF FISHBONE, with filmmaker Chris Metzler in attendance to talk with students and community members following the film. Finally, in December, we partnered with Mount Tamalpais College, an independent liberal arts college specifically dedicated to serving incarcerated students, to bring the Academy Award-nominated film CRIP CAMP to audiences at San Quentin Prison. Co-director Nicole Newnham joined California Humanities staff in attendance and participated in a Q&A following the screening.
NEW FUNDING OPPORTUNITY FOR 2024—DEADLINE NOVEMBER 4
For over 45 years, California Humanities has been the leading funder of documentaries by, for, and about Californians and we continue to provide catalytic support for high-quality humanities-based film, audio, and digital media productions through the CDP grant program. We invite applications for the 2024 round of CDP grants in support of film, audio, or digital media projects that document California subjects and issues; use the humanities to provide context, depth, and perspective; and have the potential to bring essential California stories to audiences throughout the state and nationally.
We are particularly interested in supporting stories and projects from communities and individuals whose voices and perspectives have traditionally been excluded from the broader California narrative. As we center equity in our work moving forward, we encourage stories that focus on and highlight Indigenous and Native American experiences in California.
Funding is available in two categories:
- Research and Development Grants up to $15,000
- Production Grants up to $50,000
This year’s application deadline is November 4, 2024, 5 pm PT.
Updated CDP guidelines will be posted in mid-August, please subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Visit the California Documentary Project grants page for guidelines, application instructions, a list of previously awarded projects, and to register for a free webinar on September 17 on how to apply.
To apply, visit: https://ch-grants.smapply.io
For more information, contact Director of Media & Journalism Programs, John Lightfoot at jlightfoot@calhum.org.
