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 informatio n 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 2009 funding cycle:

THE CAPTAIN OF NAKARA, dir. Wanjiru Kinyanjui (Kenya)
A small-time thief falls in love and tries to build an honorable life, but is seduced back into a life of crime, jeopardizing his plans to marry.

CHAOS, DISORDER (HARAG W'MARAG), dir. Nadine Khan (Egypt)
In a desert slum, amidst the chaos and comedy of daily life, two suitors settle their fight for a beautiful girl through a soccer match.

DOOMAN RIVER, dir. Zhang Lu (China)
A young Chinese boy's allegiances are tested after he befriends a North Korean who has crossed the Dooman River into China.

IMANI, dir. Caroline Kamya (Uganda)
The lives of a former child soldier, a young maid, and a breakdancer overlap in this Ugandan triptych about perseverance, sacrifice and "imani" — faith.

KARAOKE, dir. Chris Chong Chan Fui (Malaysia)
A young man returns home to run his family's karaoke bar, only to discover a devastating truth about the life he left behind.

THE SONG OF THE WIND (LA TONADA DEL VIENTO), dir. Yvette Paz Soldan (Bolivia)
After losing his father in a La Paz market, a young boy befriends a local orphan and embarks on a long journey home to the Aymara high country.

TARATA, dir. Fabrizio Aguilar Boschetti (Peru)
In 1990's Peru, a family grows increasingly distant from one another during an intense anti–government campaign waged by Shining Path guerrillas.

For a list past grant recipents, click here.