Doc Society, the London-based non-profit organization that finances and supports independent documentary filmmakers, has announced the launch of a new fund.
The Doc Society Love & Rockets Fund is an international fund dedicated to non-fiction feature films that it says are “in the service of better futures.” The fund will award non-recoverable grants of up to $150,000, with additional funding for distribution and participation in supported films. The film, which will launch with a $2.7 million commitment between now and mid-2028, will bring Doc Society’s annual film spending to more than $4 million.
The organization said the fund meets the “age of uncontrolled capitalism, rising authoritarianism and growing nationalism” and the need for films that “disrupt architectures of power, show alternative realities and create connection.”
“Doc Society is fully on board with fighting fascism,” he added. “With creative collaboration, craft, joyful parties and fierce camaraderie that will help bring these visions of freedom, civil rights and human rights to the screen. Whether part of a global movement, national reckoning or local transformation.”
In addition to announcing the new funding, Doc Society also revealed the first six projects supported, including an untitled article about the rise of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Inaugural projects that will receive funding from the Doc Society Love & Rockets Fund include:
“The Blackest Black Ever”
The film is directed by Roisin Agnew and produced by Alison Millar, Callum Roberts, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Roisin Geraghty. In production.
Description: In this hybrid docu-comedy from Ireland, a team’s attempt to make a movie about data centers descends into chaos, jeopardizing accepted truths about technology and documentary. Starring Stephen Rea and Killian Sunderman.
“How to Become a Woman in Iran?”
The film is directed by Mahnaz Mohammadi and Vanessa Bowles and executive produced by Ben de Pear, Maziar Bahari and Nevine Mabro.
Description: Exiled filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi traces the rise and eventual suppression of the women’s movement in Iran through a remarkable archive secretly filmed over two decades. “How to Be a Woman in Iran” is the story of her own journey through surveillance, imprisonment, and resistance, and a powerful exploration of femininity, friendship, and survival in a society dominated by gender restrictions.
“Our Land”
The film is directed by Lucrecia Martel and produced by Benjamin Domenech, Santiago Gallelli, Matias Roveda, Joselyn Barnes, Javier Leoz and Julio Chavezmontes.
Description: In 2009, a man and two accomplices attempted to evict members of the Chuschagasta indigenous community in northern Argentina. Claiming to own the land and armed with weapons, they kill the leader of the community, Javier Chocobar. The murder was caught on video. It took nine years of protests before court hearings finally began in 2018. All this time the murderers remain free. The film combines the community’s voices and photographs with courtroom footage to explore the long history of colonialism and state-sanctioned land grabs that led to this crime.
“In time”
The film is directed by Noah Schaumus and Brit Fryer and produced by Jesse Miller.
Description: Blending realism with fantasy, “With Time” follows an intergenerational group of trans people who come together in a storytelling workshop to bring to life moments of exhilaration, connection, and mutual recognition, navigating shifting waves of acceptance and response.
“Untitled New York Project”
Directed and produced by Julia Bacha, the film is produced by Suhad Babaa, Tiffany Fisher-Love and Rula Salameh.
Story: A backbencher member of the New York State Assembly makes a long-shot bid to become mayor of New York City, promising to make life more affordable. As the establishment seeks to weaponize its long-standing commitment to Palestinian rights, a movement is afoot that brings about one of the greatest political showdowns in American history.
“Untitled Watermelon Paintings Project” – details not disclosed
Founded in 2005, Doc Society, formerly known as BRITDOC, is a non-profit group based in the United Kingdom and New York.