Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation’s grants fund human interest documentary filmmaking and photography.
IP TAKE: This funder paused its grantmaking programs for film and photography in 2021. It is unclear when they might resume. Prospective grantseekers should check the organization’s website periodically for updates.
PROFILE: Created in 2010, the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for Documentary, Photography, and Film was founded by photographer Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, perhaps best known for photographing the lives of poor and disenfranchised people in the world’s least-developed countries. Based in Arles, France, its mission is to “support documentary projects that show humanity in motion and capture social, cultural, political and even ecological issues.” It also works to “encourage a new generation of photographers and filmmakers […] to take to the streets every day and document humanity on the move.” The foundation’s past grantmaking programs supported projects in film and photography.
Grants for Film
The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz film grants have supported “stand-alone” short documentary films of 10-20 minutes in length that focus on humanitarian themes. The Global Grant is a $5,000 award to one “short-short” documentary film project. According to the foundation, participants “must be committed to the field of reportage and documentary filmmaking.” Rivera-Ortiz’s Films on Human Importance and Impact focuses on human interest pieces. This program seeks films “highlighting human unrest, forgotten communities, over-exploited people and environments impacted by war, poverty, famine, disease, exploitation and global distress.” This is a $5,000 grant, as well.
To learn more about the types of film projects that the foundation has funded, check out its Grant Recipients page.
Grants for Visual Arts
The foundation’s photography grants focus on projects that bring attention to global human unrest, forgotten communities, and over-exploited cultures and environments. The Global Grant awards “one EUR 3,000 grant to one documentary photography project based on the quality of the submitted 15-image portfolio, the strength of the submitted proposal, as well as any supporting materials including an updated CV.” The Human Importance and Impact awards grants to documentary photography projects “on topics of human suffering and unrest, forgotten communities, exploited lands and people, on communities ravaged by war, poverty, famine, disease, and the exploitation of global resources.”
Important Grant Details:
Prior to pausing its grants programs, the foundation typically announced calls for submission on November 1 of each year. Application deadlines fell at the end of March. It is unclear when grantmaking might resume, but prospective grantseekers may wish to check back periodically or keep up with the foundation via its Facebook page.
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