IDA Announces 2025 Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund Grantees

International Documentary Association (IDA) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 IDA Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund. In addition to cash grants, IDA provides artist support and professional development guidance to all grantees.

Three projects were selected out of 62 applicants. Awarded projects represent six countries, including Brazil, Belgium, Mexico, Haiti, France, and the United States.

The theme for the 2025 Pare Lorentz Fund is Migration in and to the Americas. IDA chose this theme to recognize and honor lives that exist across borders, and to support transnational dialogue. Read more about the theme here.

As panelists, Isabel Rojas, programmer and curator, OaxacaCine - SPAF FICUNAM, Jordana Berg, editor, and Mara Gourd-Mercado, head of industry & training, CPH:DOX state

The selected projects portray a response to social and political unrest around the world. They reveal how filmmakers respond to concrete realities of displacement and conflict. While each film offers a unique perspective on how migration reshapes identity, together they underline the urgency of telling these stories now. By capturing the disorientation, resilience, and transformation that come with being uprooted, these films create nuanced portraits of exile and migration that are both emotionally immediate and politically resonant. Their diverse approaches enrich our understanding and demonstrate the transformative power of documentary storytelling. Together, they reveal the value of exploring urgent issues through innovative and evocative cinema.

Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund

Thanks to the generosity of the New York Community Trust and the estate of Pare Lorentz, IDA’s Pare Lorentz Fund has supported dozens of films since its launch in 2011. Lorentz was a pioneering American filmmaker active in the mid-twentieth century whose films typically examined the social, environmental, and cultural effects of new industrial systems. He provided nuanced and sometimes critical perspectives on government initiatives. You can stream Pare Lorentz’s films for free on the IDA website.

The fund supports feature-length documentary films and immersive nonfiction media projects that reflect the spirit and nature of Pare Lorentz’s work, exhibiting objective research, artful storytelling, strong visual style, artistic writing, and outstanding music composition, as well as skillful direction, camerawork, and editing. Pare Lorentz’s films are available to stream on the IDA website.

The following organizations nominated the film projects for this year’s Pare Lorentz selection: IDA, ChileDoc, DocsMX, DocsSP, Femme Frontera, Firelight Media, Guadalajara Film Festival, Hot Docs, Latino Public Broadcasting, Third Horizon Film Festival, and Undocumented Filmmakers Collective. Please visit the main Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund page for more information on applicant and project eligibility, evaluation criteria, selection timeline, and grant activities.

The 2025 Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund grantees

*alphabetical order by project title
 

Sueños que migran

Director: Juan Javier Pérez Pérez | Producer: Daniela Contreras | Countries: Mexico, United States

A young Tsotsil man living undocumented in New York City seeks to maintain his identity from his now-forced exile, while exploring the profound meaning of migrating, the value of origins, and community. Inspired by the tradition of direct cinema, the documentary takes us from New York to a Tsotsil Mayan village, introducing us to various dimensions of migration.
 

The Other Side of the Sea

Director: Samuel Suffren | Producers: Gaëthan Chancy, Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. | Countries: Haiti, France

“Gang violence in Port-au-Prince is escalating. Like a visual journal, within the confines of my home, my camera bears witness to the forced departure of my two sisters, possibly my brother, and my niece. I find myself grappling with the same dilemma: to stay or to leave.” - Director Samuel Suffren
 

Untitled Science Project

Director: Emilia Mello | Producer: Elijah Stevens | Countries: Brazil, USA, Belgium

A young Chemistry student contemplates the nature of black holes.