Doc Dev’t Fellowship
Women in Film & Video DC ⟩ Doc Dev’t Fellowship
Women in Film & Video (WIFV) provides a Documentary Development Fellowship program, exclusively available to members of WIFV and members of Filmmakers with Disabilities-Documentary (FWD-DOC). This program will give documentary filmmakers a safe space to learn about the ecosystem for indie docs during a nine-month program of 3-4 workshops/month to support fellows in taking a documentary idea from early stages to closer to production. Among the topics presented will be Producing, Budgeting, Building Crews, Raising Funds, Securing Licenses, Distribution. This program embeds accessibility as part of the framework for the filmmaking process, while also providing access to top-notch programming, networking, and mentorship support.
From April-December 2025 fellows will receive individual feedback on their project in addition to engaging in fellowship with their cohort. Every Tuesday, fellows will receive programming and networking with doc experts or time for reflection within their cohort on core principles in documentary filmmaking. Those programs not consisting of individual feedback will be open to the public.
Requirements and Eligibility:
-Fellows must be 18 years of age or older
-Fellows must be proficient in English, both written and spoken
-Fellows must be a member of WIFV or FWD-DOC
-Fellows must commit part-time (about 8 hours a week) to the fellowship throughout the nine-month term, from April 2025 to mid-December 2025.
-If selected as a WIFV Documentary Development Fellow, you must remain a WIFV member in good standing for the duration of the fellowship.
The deadline to apply is February 17, 2025. There is a $50 application fee. After paying the application fee, you will receive a link to the application form in your payment confirmation. You will submit required documents as an attachment to the application form. Get started with your application here. If you have application questions or accessibility needs, email Melissa Houghton, WIFV Executive Director, at director@wifv.org.
2025 Schedule
March 2025 – Fellows were notified of their selection. They should plan to devote 15-20 hours/month to the program including meetings and revisions. Meetings will be held via Zoom. Expect to block out Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 pm eastern time! Mentors and Fellows will provide feedback monthly to identify additional subject matter needs.
April 2025 – Think Like A Producer Masterclass; Identify Your Audience; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
May 2025 – Budgeting Masterclass; Prepare and Review Budgets; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
June 2025 – Prepare a Doc Common Core Application; Develop a Letter of Inquiry and your Pitch; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
July 2025 – Legal Issues: Releases, Life Rights, Archival Licensing, Fair Use; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
August 2025 – Film Safely Masterclass; How to Build Your Crew and Lead Your Team; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
September 2025 – Distribution Masterclass; Planning for Film Festivals; Distribution Ecosystem, including film markets and public television; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
October 2025 – Pitch Deck Masterclass and revisions; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
November 2025 – Refine and Practice Pitches; cohort meeting; mentor check-in.
December 2025 – Make Your Pitch; Mentors review final presentation materials; final evaluations; congratulations and networking.
Who’s Involved?
Virginia Bertholet, Producer
Kiah Amara, Producer/Accessibility Coordinator
Ariel Baska, Producer
Cathie Saadeh, Esq.
Day Al-Mohamed, Producer
Patricia Aufderheide, Scholar on Fair Use in media creation
Akima Brown, Reel Families for Change
Andrea Passafiume, Film Festival Consultant
Kate Pearson, managing director, MPT Programming & Acquisitions Division
Mark Maxey, Rolling Pictures
Steve Douglas-Craig, Lit Vision Media
Seed and Spark
Sara Elizabeth Timmins, Life Out Loud Productions
and others TBA
Application Process
Application process starts here. There is a $50 application fee. Applicants must be WIFV Members in good standing. Application deadline for the 2025 program is February 17, 2025 at 5:00 pm est.
Applications are to be submitted electronically by 5:00 pm (eastern time) on February 17, 2025. Application process starts here. The applicant must provide the following as one pdf attached to the application form:
- Contact info;
- Title for project under consideration;
- 1-2 page project Proposal/Synopsis;
- Estimated Project Budget and Schedule;
- Anticipated Audience and Distribution;
- List of Donors to date;
- Filmmaker Production Experience and Bios of Key Personnel;
- Samples of Past Work/Demo Reel..
The WIFV Documentary Development Fellowship is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
