The Tribeca Film Institute has partnered with the Ford Foundation?s JustFilms initiative for the launch of the Tribeca Film Institute New Media Fund to inspire creativity via mobile channels.

In a move that acknowledges the value of audience engagement, the $750,000 fund is providing support and funding to film projects which go beyond traditional screens ? integrating film with content across newer-media platforms, from video games and mobile applications to social networks and micro-blogging. All projects will activate audiences around issues of contemporary social justice and equality. 

?The idea for the TFI New Media Fund is that we were realizing that there are a lot of documentaries being made about social justice and equality issues that were successful at reaching particular, niche audiences,? said Beth Janson, executive director of the Tribeca Film Institute, New York. ?It is a specific audience that will come to a theatre to see a documentary, so the germ of the idea was to get a wider audience to engage with these films in a more meaningful way.

?The new-media films will be judged as to whether they are successful in terms of impact and moving the needle around a particular issue,? she said. ?The story is a very important prong, as is design and putting it into the context around a social issue.

?We?re looking for projects made by independent creators with a social-justice theme, that have a strong story and will engage people on various platforms?we are willing to fund those between $50,000 and $100,000 per project, as a grant to the media-maker.?

The Tribeca Film Institute is a 501(c)(3) year-round nonprofit arts organization founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in the wake of September 11, 2001. 

TFI empowers filmmakers through grants and professional development, and is a resource for and supporter of individual artists in the field.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. Its mission is to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement.

The Ford Foundation is celebrating 75 years of philanthropic giving and TFI has moved into its 10th year.

TFI underscores importance of mobile
In its inaugural year, non-fiction projects accepted into the TFI New Media Fund will each receive $50,000 to $100,000 in funding to directly support ambitious projects that demonstrate the power of direct audience engagement and cross-platform storytelling.

To date, this will mark the largest grant in the U.S. available to filmmakers who use cross-platform storytelling to promote social change.

Beginning in 2012, JustFilms will increase its support of TFI by contributing $1 million a year over five years to support TFI New Media Fund projects.

The formation of the TFI New Media Fund brings the not-for-profit?s overall filmmaker funding and support grants to more than $1 million in 2011.

Submissions will be open from April 4 through May 25, 2011.

TFI will require select grantees to document their process, and help build an open online resource for media producers with the goal of establishing best practices in this new transmedia field.

The TFI New Media Fund is currently soliciting online feedback from a variety of disciplines and industries on the proposed submissions guidelines for the fund in order to foster an open dialog about what is possible in this new field.

The TFI New Media Fund will consider projects which present a non-fiction story focused on social issues and include an integrated cross-platform or new media component designed to engage and activate audiences.

Producers from the U.S. and internationally are invited to apply.

Ms. Janson said that in recent years, documentaries that address social injustices have led the way in modeling how independent filmmakers can reach and activate audiences.

The Ford Foundation recently launched JustFilms, a five-year, $50 million initiative to help find and support a new generation of filmmakers whose works address urgent social issues.

The launch of the TFI New Media Fund will be at the cornerstone of the partnership between the Ford Foundation and TFI, and will continue to grow throughout the year as projects are selected; ultimately helping to bring them to fruition.

The TFI New Media Fund will be highlighted at this year?s Tribeca Film Festival?April 20 ? May 1?and the grant recipients will be announced in September.

?The second phase is how do we get those projects out there?? Ms. Janson said. ?We are seeking national partners, whether that is a consumer brand or a mobile company, to help us try to fund the work, get it made, get it completed and help get the work out.

?We?re interested in plugging into existing platforms?mobile phones, tablets and PCs?where people already are,? she said. ?We don?t want to create a new platform, and in the mobile world, there is a huge opportunity to bring a compelling story to people?s devices and inspire action.

?We don?t know of an example where that has happened on a large scale, but the potential is incredible.?

Final Take
Tribeca Film Institute at The New School: New forms of storytelling