Peter Wintonick, whose exemplary work in documentary was surpassed only by his passionate championing of the documentary form, died yesterday  in Montreal. He was 60 and had been diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer.

Wintonick's best known work included Manufacturing Dissent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992), directed with Mark Achbar, and Cinema Verite: Defining the Moment (1999). According to a press release from the National Film Board of Canada, with whom Wintonick worked closely for decades, Manufacturing Consent was one of the most successful documentaries in Canadian history, earning over 20 awards. Cinema Verite: Defining the Movement deftly captured one of most vital periods in documentary history and reflected Wintonick's deep, abiding zeal for cinematic history.

Other work included The QuébeCanada Complex (1998), which earned  the Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Best Documentary for its bold and humorous look at the Quebec/Canada national question; Seeing Is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and the News, a 2002 collaboration with transmedia pioneer Katerina Cizek, in which the two filmmakers embark on a global journey to explore the impact of the then emerging digital revolution on documentary media; and, in a seemingly unintended valediction and passing of the torch, PilgrIMAGE, which he made in 2009 with his daughter, filmmaker Mira Burt-Wintonick, a trans-generational trip through the history of cinema and the future of new media.

Wintonick was also a producer and distributor. His Montreal-based company, Necessary Illusions Productions, which he headed with  Francis Miquet, not only handled an impressive roster of social issue documentaries, but also mentored scores of filmmakers. Wintonick also served as an executive producer at EyeSteelFilm, working on such films as China Heavyweight.

Wintonick was a congenial presence at documentary festivals around the world, including Hot Docs, IDFA, Thessaloniki and a host of others. Honored in Canada in 2006 with a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, he was one of the founders of DocAgora, an international think tank and open website devoted to digital documentary media, and was invited by the premier of South Australia to be a "Thinker in Residence," examining the future of documentaries and the digital revolution. He was also international editor at POV, the publication of the Documentary Organization of Canada (for a sample of his scintillating work, click here.).

"Peter was the best friend a documentary film festival could have—he poured his heart into supporting filmmakers and building camaraderie through the international doc community," said Hot Docs executive director Brett Hendrie, in a statement. "The entire Hot Docs family is deeply and personally saddened by this major loss, yet we know his great work and the many friendships and partnerships he helped to foster will endure."

NFB Chairperson Tom Perlmutter added, "Peter is [so hard to say ‘was'] one of the greats of the documentary world. He knew everyone, and everyone knew him for his passion, his commitment, his generosity. He created a significant body of work, but his contribution was far greater than the sum of his films. It encompassed a larger view of the documentary as quintessential to the moral well-being of the universe. He expressed this in conversation, in his writings, in his globe-trotting mentoring and programming activities, and always with a sharp wit that could take your breath away with the subtlety of the thought and the sheer joy in his manner of expression."

Though it doesn't feel like winter at the IDA headquarters here in sunny Los Angeles, the season is definitely upon us, which means it's time for more grant opportunities! Okay, that might not be what the season is all about. But for documentary filmmakers, the fundraising brain never rests. We've put together a list of grants and other opportunities with upcoming deadlines that we think might be of interest to you.

As you sort through the list and go about conducting your grant research and learning the requirements of each organization—they're all different—you'll find that many require you to have a fiscal sponsor. Fiscal sponsorship is a formal arrangement in which a 501(c)(3) public charity, such as the IDA, agrees to sponsor a project that furthers our mission, for the purpose of fundraising through grants and donations. This alternative to starting your own nonprofit allows you to seek grants and solicit tax-deductible donations for your documentary, with the oversight, support and endorsement of IDA.

So don't panic when you read those words in the grant requirements. There is hope. And we're here to help.

Vist our website or contact Lisa Hasko to learn more about IDA's Fiscal Sponsorship Program.

GRANT & EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

PACIFIC PIONEER FUND
The grant supports emerging documentary filmmakers who live and work in California, Oregon and Washington.The term "emerging" is intended to denote a person committed to the craft of making documentaries, who has demonstrated that commitment by several years -- but no more than ten -- of practical film or video experience.
Deadline: December 1, 2013


FILM INDEPENDENT LABS

• 2014 Documentary Lab: Designed to help filmmakers who are currently in post-production on their feature-length documentary films, the Documentary Lab is an intensive seven-week program that runs in Los Angeles in March and April.
  Deadline: December 2, 3013 
• 2014 Fast Track: Fast Track is a film financing market that takes place during the Los Angeles Film Festival designed to help narrative and documentary filmmakers move their current projects forward.
  Deadline: February 24, 2014
  
  

GUCCI TRIBECA DOCUMENTARY FUND
Provides finishing funds to feature-length documentaries which highlight and humanize issues of social importance from around the world. For films, based anywhere, that are in production or post-production with the intended premiere exhibition. Grants range from $10,000 to $25,000.
Opens December 5, 2013. Deadline: February 5, 2014

NEH: AMERICA'S MEDIA MAKERS GRANTS

America’s Media Makers (AMM) grants support the following formats: interactive digital media, film and television projects, and radio projects. Grants are available for both projects at both the development and production stages.

• Development grants enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and to prepare programs for production.
• Production grants support the production and distribution of digital projects, films, television programs, radio programs, and related programs that promise to engage the public.

Deadline for both: January 8, 2014 **Note: all projects fiscally sponsored by the IDA must have a consultation with Lisa Hasko before applying to NEH grants**


CATAPULT FILM FUND
Catapult Film Fund provides development funding to documentary filmmakers
who have a compelling story to tell, have secured access to their story and are ready to shoot and edit a piece for production fundraising purposes.
Opens December 16, 2013. Deadline: January 31, 2014


NALAC FUND FOR THE ARTS (NFA)
The NFA is a national grant program open to US-based Latino working artists, ensembles and Latino arts organizations that demonstrate artistic excellence in pursuit of social justice through the arts. Grants range from $5,000 to $15,000.
Deadline: February 6, 2014


GRANTS WITH ROLLING DEADLINES

BRITDOC
BRITDOC funds international and region specific documentary films through various awards and grant opportunties. Be sure to review each one to see if you are eligible:

• PUMA Catalyst Awards
• Channel 4 BRITDOC Fund
• Bertha BRITDOC Fund for Journalism and the Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund

NPBC - AFROPOP: The Ultimate Culture Exchange Submissions (U.S. Public Media)
Afro:PoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange is a US based public television show featuring independent documentaries and short films about life, art, and culture from the contemporary African Diaspora. NBPC is looking to support and broadcast strong stories that will capture the breadth and scope of the diversity of experiences of contemporary African peoples.

It is not a widely held dogma that nuclear power is the answer to the worldwide energy crisis. But this is precisely the argument that drives Pandora’s Promise, a new film by environmentalist and former anti-nuclear champion Robert Stone. His latest project stands in stark contrast to his first film, the 1988 Oscar-nominated Radio Bikini, which puts a negative spin on the aftermath of nuclear weapons tests in the mid-1940s. But Stone is very upfront about the existential shift he experienced over the last 25 years, a shift supported throughout the film by several leaders in the nascent pro-nuclear movement in the US. The film takes us to a post-tsunami Fukushima and other nuclear disaster sites with a dosimeter, comparing their levels of radiation to naturally occurring levels of radiation in bustling cities worldwide. Making the case that improved infrastructure will lead to a stable future in nuclear power, Stone’s film takes an unpopular opinion and makes it more digestible.

Pandora's Promise screened Wednesday, October 30 at the Landmark in Los Angeles as a part of the IDA Documentary Screening Series. Director Robert Stone spoke with KCRW’s Matt Holzman -- who admits he is staunchly in the anti-nuclear camp -- about the wide range of support he's received from those who have seen his latest film. 

Watch below:

You can watch more moments from this Q&A at our IDA Screening Series playlist on our YouTube channel.

Learn more about the other docs set to play in the IDA Documentary Screening Series

In this modern era of socially-driven news media, the world might believe they have a full picture of the Egyptian revolution. But the new documentary from Egyptian filmmaker Jehane Noujaim The Square does more than just retrace those protests and uprisings to their roots in Tahrir Square. Noujaim’s film allows everyday Egyptians to take the reins, write their own history, and document their own experiences firsthand. All the major events of the revolution—Mubarak’s ouster, the Square's takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood, the peaceful sit-ins that escalated into bloody battles—are meticulously documented herein, making for both an accurate portrayal and a stunningly cinematic documentation of a revolution still in progress.

The Square, which has been nominated in the Best Feature category in the IDA Documentary Awards, screened Monday, October 28 at the Landmark in Los Angeles as a part of the IDA Documentary Screening Series. Producer Karim Amer, actor and activist Khalid Abdalla and editor Pedro Kos sat down with Anne Thompson to discuss how the people of Egypt became empowered to capture their own footage of the events that were slowly changing their nation.

Watch below:

You can watch more moments from this Q&A at our IDA Screening Series playlist on our YouTube channel.

Learn more about the other docs set to play in the IDA Documentary Screening Series

We're happy to welcome Paul Provenza as host of the 29th Annual IDA Documentary Awards. Provenza is a stand-up comedian, award-winning actor on stage and screen, producer, author, and director of The Aristocrats, a 2005 official Sundance entry. He is the host and creator of Showtime's The Green Room with Paul Provenza, where he invites the biggest names in stand-up comedy to discuss serious current issues. He is a frequent panelist on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and has been caricatured by Al Hirschfeld. He continues to perform and host stand up around the world.

The 29th Annual IDA Documentary Awards will take place on Friday, December 6th at the DGA Theater, 7920 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, starting at 8pm. The Awards presentation will be followed by the IDA Documentary Awards After-Party, the year’s most exciting documentary celebration, in the DGA Grand Lobby.

Winners in the Best Feature and Best Short categories are selected by IDA's membership. Screening committees of industry professionals based in New York City, Washington, DC, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles determine other award categories.

Winners will be announced live at the awards ceremony. Tickets available now!

For most of his career as a filmmaker, Alex Gibney has been deeply interested in tracking the path of corruption through the stories of the men who have fallen victim to its dark promises. With his latest film We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks, Gibney seems less interested in profiling the murky morals of one corrupt individual and more intent on delving deep into the origin story of the biggest security breach in US history. Gibney's film profiles not just Wikileaks founder Julian Assange's swift rise from small-time hacker to nationally-recognized celebrity, but also the smaller names and events oft forgotten from this story. Through footage licensed from news outlets and borrowed from an Australian filmmaker and journalist who spent time with Assange, Gibney's revelatory film explores the grey motives behind Wikileaks's founder, calling into question the supposed high-minded principles of the organization's mission.   

We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks screened on Thursday, October 24 in Los Angeles as a part of the IDA Documentary Screening Series. Gibney sat down with KCRW's Matt Holzman to discuss whether he regrets having to position Julian at the center of his film, especially when Assange's ideology might prove to be more interesting than the man himself.

Watch below:

You can watch more moments from this Q&A at our IDA Screening Series playlist on our YouTube channel.

Learn more about the other docs set to play in the IDA Documentary Screening Series

Whose is that powerful female voice behind Mick Jagger on The Rolling Stones' 1969 hit "Gimme Shelter"? Who was that woman dancing and crooning on stage behind Tina Turner? Who exactly is that talent behind the talent?

Documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville found himself asking these same questions. After doing research into what he found to be a lacuna in music history, Neville conducted preliminary interviews with some of the hardest working performers in show business today. What came out of his research and interviews was Twenty Feet From Stardom, a film that has gone on to be the highest grossing documentary film of 2013. Through interviews, intimate studio sessions and incredible performance footage, Neville's doc delves straight into the soul and the heart of the singers that make all our favorite songs just that much richer.

Twenty Feet from Stardom screened on Wednesday, October 23 in Los Angeles as a part of the IDA Documentary Screening Series. Filmmaker Morgan Neville and film subject Merry Clayton spoke with Indiewire Editor-in-Chief Dana Harris about why there hasn't been a film before about backup singers.

Watch below:

Heather Winters had already been a producer on several documentary films, including the critically-acclaimed Super Size Me and Sundance winner Anywhere, but hadn't quite thought about directing her first feature yet. When working as co-writer and producer on Class Act Winters met Grammy-winning songwriter Desmond Child, who welcomed her into his home and began to tell her the remarkable story of his family. Knowing that Desmond and his husband Curtis had spent significant effort filming the most important moments in their lives—including the birth of their twin sons via surrogate mother Andrea Whittaker—Winters and editor Lennon Nersesian began the process of extracting a story from the hundreds of home movies created by the Child family. What started as the history of one family evolved into a story about universal love and the importance of every family, no matter who your parents might be.

TWO: The Story of Roman & Nyro screened on Thursday, October 17 in Los Angeles as a part of the IDA Documentary Screening Series. Filmmaker Heather Winters, editor Lennon Nersesian and film subjects Desmond Child, Curtis Shaw Child, Angela Whittaker, Roman Shaw Child and Nyro Shaw Child spoke with KCRW's Matt Holzman about what audience reactions have been to the film as its gone around the festival circuit.

Watch below:

You can watch more moments from this Q&A at our IDA Screening Series playlist on our YouTube channel.

Learn more about the other docs set to play in the IDA Documentary Screening Series

We are pleased to finally announce all of the nominees for our 29th annual IDA Documentary Awards ceremony, which will be held Friday, December 6, 2013 at the Director's Guild in Los Angeles. "With over 400 submissions from around the world, this year’s Awards represent a thriving global documentary community," said IDA Executive Director Michael Lumpkin. "Collectively these incredible stories expand our understanding of our shared human experience and foster an informed, compassionate and connected world."

The five films nominated in IDA's Best Feature category include The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer), Blackfish (Gabriela Cowperthwaite), Let the Fire Burn (Jason Osder), The Square (Jehane Noujaim), and Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley).

The five nominated films in the Best Short category are The Education of Mohammad Hussein (Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady), The Flogsta Roar, Nine to Ninety (Alicia Dwyer), Slomo (Josh Izenberg), and Vultures of Tibet (Russell O. Bush).

Winners in the Best Feature and Best Short categories are selected by IDA's membership. Screening committees of industry professionals based in New York City, Washington, DC, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles determine other award categories.

The IDA Creative Recognition Awards honor excellence in cinematography, composing, editing, and writing in documentary feature films. The recipients of these awards represent the highest achievements in their respective crafts, and highlight the importance of their work in compelling documentary storytelling. Pablo's Winter (cinematography by Julian Schwanitz) will be recognized with the award for Best Cinematography; Let the Fire Burn (edited by Nels Bangerter) will receive the Best Editing award; Narco Cultura (original music by Jeremy Turner) will be presented with the Best Music award; and How To Make Money Selling Drugs (written by Matthew Cooke) will receive the Best Writing award.

To see the nominees in the Best Continuing Series, Best Limited Series, the HUMANITAS Documentary Award, the David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award, and the ABCNEWS VIDEOSOURCE Award, please visit the Awards page.

In addition to recognizing the year’s best in documentary filmmaking and nonfiction programming, the 2013 IDA Documentary Awards will be honoring director, producer and writer Alex Gibney with the organization’s Career Achievement Award. Producer Geralyn Dreyfous will receive the Amicus Award, which acknowledges friends of the documentary genre who have contributed significantly to our industry, and Laura Poitras will receive IDA's Courage Under Fire Award in recognition of "conspicuous bravery in the pursuit of truth."

Each year IDA also recognizes the achievements of a filmmaker who has made a significant impact at the beginning of his or her career in documentary film. This year IDA will honor Zachary Heinzerling, the producer, director and cinematographer of one of the year’s most-acclaimed films Cutie and the Boxer, with the 2013 Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award. The Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Filmmaker Award includes a $5,000 cash award from the Estate of Jacqueline Donnet. As of 2013, the recipient also receives a donation of post-production services valued at $50,000, made possible by Modern Video Film and Red Fire Films.

The 29th Annual IDA Documentary Awards will take place on Friday, December 6th at the DGA Theater, 7920 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, starting at 8pm. The Awards presentation will be followed by the IDA Documentary Awards After-Party, the year’s most exciting documentary celebration, in the DGA Grand Lobby.

For more information, tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the 2013 IDA Documentary Awards, please visit www.documentary.org/awards.

Second-time filmmaker Shola Lynch, having just finished her first project about Brooklyn-based Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm's 1972 presidential bid, did not want to make her next film about "another black woman." But political activist Angela Davis was simply too rich of a subject for Lynch to pass up. After acquiring an exclusive contract that allowed Lynch access to Mr. Davis's story and the people in Angela's life, the process of constructing a second feature-length documentary was underway. Free Angela and All Political Prisoners took Lynch eight years to complete, but what came out of that long process is an emotional, political crime drama "with a love story at the center," a story that offers a detailed look into Angela Davis's life as a political activist and the activities that lead to her 1971 court case. Through rare verité footage, exclusive photographs, and never-before-seen courtroom sketches, Lynch weaves a narrative out of Angela's crucial political activism in her young life.

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners screened on Tuesday, October 15 in Los Angeles as a part of the IDA Documentary Screening Series. Filmmaker Shola Lynch spoke with Indiewire's Dana Harris about why she was willing to risk being pigeonholed for the sake of a good story.

Watch below:

You can watch more moments from this Q&A at our IDA Screening Series playlist on our YouTube channel.

Learn more about the other docs set to play in the IDA Documentary Screening Series.