May 6, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
As outlets for documentaries increase, charities and foundations help artists
Television and movie documentaries are exploding in popularity — in no small part because of money and creative work provided by charities and foundations.
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Filmmakers Say the Search for Money May Be Harder Than Ever
New Fund at Andy Warhol Foundation to Benefit Struggling Artists
Numerous Organizations Help Filmmakers Deal With Financial Matters
In this issue, The Chronicle looks at the varied ways in which non-profit organizations are influencing the business of producing films that tell the stories of people, historical events, and social issues:
* Recognizing that many film viewers may well be potential donors, activists, and volunteers, more and more charities are starting to make their own documentaries. Interplast, a California charity that provides free reconstructive surgery to children around the world, last year attracted its single biggest donation after its documentary, A Story of Healing, won an Academy Award.
* Even though cable television, film festivals, and other venues have offered new markets for documentaries, many documentary producers say they face major struggles obtaining money from private and government sources.
* A handful of foundations and individual donors, concerned by the fund-raising woes that filmmakers and other artists have faced, next week will announce that they have put $5-million into Creative Capital, a new fund in New York City. Artists who receive money from the fund will also receive financial and marketing advice to help them become self-sufficient.
