Sundance Institute Names 20 For Humanities Sustainability Fellowship

deadline.com:

Some 20 nonfiction mediamakers will receive a fellowship stipend worth $60,000 in installments over the next year after being named a Humanities Sustainability Fellow by the nonprofit Sundance Institute.The year-long program is for US-based and under-resourced mediamakers.

They were selected because their work and livelihood have been grossly affected by the pandemic. The direct stipends will be unrestricted supplements to their income and are funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).Funding for the Humanities Sustainability Fellowships has been provided by NEH through the American Rescue Plan, which is providing economic relief to a wide swath of Americans.

Firelight Media and the Independent Television Service are also launching parallel initiatives that will expand the nonfiction field’s humanities-based work.In addition to the funding, the fellows will be supported with advice from paid humanities advisors who will guide them through the granting term (April 2022–March 2023) with mentorship, project advice, and other tailored non-financial support.

The goal is to deepen the humanities content and approach of the work. Fellows will also be offered professional development opportunities throughout the term, including a Creator+ Collab membership.Led by Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, director of Institute granting, the fellowship selected individuals at all phases of their careers in producing and/or directing humanities-focused feature-length documentary films and nonfiction emerging media.The cohort includes 10% lifelong career mediamakers, 60% mid-career, and 30% early career.