Apply for Blue Ice Docs Development & Production Grant

The Fund offers grants in Development and Production for feature or broadcast-length documentaries. Approximately 4 to 10 projects are awarded each year. Up to five funded projects will be invited to participate in a year-long mentorship program.

Funding Information

• Development Grant      
  • Up to $10,000
  • Grant can reflect up to 100% of the development budget.
• Production Grant            
  • Up to $40,000
  • Grant can reflect up to 50% of the production budget.
• Short Documentary Grant
  • All eligible projects submitted to HDBID Fund will also be considered for The New York Times—Op-Docs short documentary, unless the applicant indicates otherwise. Op-Docs is a forum for short, opinionated documentaries, produced by independent filmmakers with wide creative latitude, covering current affairs, contemporary life and historical subjects. This does not affect your current or future application to HDBID Fund. It is possible to receive support from both Op-Docs and Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund or none.
• Hot Docs Fellowship
  • Up to five funded projects will be invited to participate in a year-long mentorship program guided by international mentors, consisting of a private digital filmmaker lab, year-round mentorship from seasoned doc professionals, and participation at Hot Docs and Durban FilmMart/Durban International Film Festival. Historically, these fellowships included round-trip travel, accommodation and accreditation support for these international markets and festivals.

Geographic Focus

• The Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund currently funds the following countries. The list of eligible countries is subject to change.
  • Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must:
  • Be the producer and primary rights holder of the project
  • Have a registered production company that is associated with the project in a country on the African continent.
• In all cases both the director and producer must:
  • Hold citizenship, or have legal permanent residency, and primarily live and work in Africa.
  • The project must:
    • Be produced and shot in Africa;
    • Be either a high-quality feature or broadcast-hour length documentary to audiences both locally and internationally (school work, series, and fiction pieces are not eligible);
    • Be in development, production or post-production as of April 2024. The Fund will not consider projects that will be completed by Hot Docs 2024.
• African projects with international co-production partners are eligible to apply to the Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund if the following conditions are met:
  • The African partner must be the primary partner and primary rights holder of the film;
  • The director on the project must be a citizen of an African country who primarily lives and works in Africa;
  • There must be an African producer on the project who is a citizen of an African country and who primarily lives and works in Africa;
  • A co-production agreement must be submitted with the application;
  • The Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund will enter into an agreement only with the African partner and all grant funds must be spent in the African region of production;
  • Hot Docs-Blue Ice Docs Fund applications will only be accepted in English.

For more information, visit Hot Docs.