Based in Durham, North Carolina, the Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) is announcing a call for entries for the 2021 SDF production grant for Southern filmmakers that are living and working in what is considered the American South. 

The call for grants is open now and will not end until Oct. 15. From the pool of applicants, five filmmakers will be awarded $10,000 each, a total of $50,000. Applicants can be from the states of Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The leaders of the film production teams must reflect the communities whose stories will be told.

Founded in 2002, Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) is a nonprofit arts organization that cultivates documentary media made in or about the American South.

Application and submission details can be found here.

There will be two grant information sessions. Each session will give applicants an overview of SDF’s production grant, eligibility requirements and tips for writing a successful grant. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions about the grant process. These sessions will take place Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1. p.m.

The registration for these workshops can be found here.

For a list of previous SDF grant recipients, go here. We previously wrote about one called “Pinball,” a fictional short about a boy dreaming of racing buses at the Sportsdrome Speedway in Clarksville, Indiana.