The Economist Film Project
January 10, 2011 - January 2012
The Economist Film Project is an initiative by The Economist, in partnership with PBS NewsHour, to showcase the work of independent documentary filmmakers from around the world. From Abu Dhabi to Albuquerque, from astronomy to agriculture, the project will feature films whose new ideas, perspectives, and insights not only help make sense of the world, but also take a stand and provoke debate. The Economist and PBS NewsHour will jointly curate the project to choose films by filmmakers who share these goals. Selected films and the topics they explore will be the subject of news segments airing regularly on PBS NewsHour beginning in March 2011 and continuing through 2011 and into 2012.
The project seeks submissions of completed documentary films on a rolling basis beginning January 10, 2011 and continuing monthly through January 2012. Both documentary shorts and feature-length films may be submitted. The Economist will provide filmmakers whose films are chosen with a grant of $4,000 to produce six to eight minutes of footage from the film (or footage captured during the making of the film) for airing on PBS NewsHour as part of the segment. NewsHour plans to feature approximately three films each month. After airing, the film-oriented news segments will be packaged independently and given additional exposure through various outlets, including this website, The Economist's YouTube channel and Facebook fan page, and the PBS NewsHour website, YouTube and Hulu channels. Our goal is to showcase the selected segments, films, and filmmakers as broadly as possible.
Requirements:
- feature-length documentaries (40-90 minutes) and shorts (6-40 minutes)
- film does not necessarily need to give equal weight or time to both sides of an argument, but it should acknowledge countervailing views and provide fact-based context and explanation for its point of view
- films produced in the past five years; those that cover current events will be given preference
- films in English will be favored over foreign-language films. That said, films in other languages will be considered. PBS NewsHour prefers voice-overs to subtitles, as the NewsHour is also broadcast over radio
- films should be made to high standards of broadcast quality
Click here to read full details about the editorial, technical and legal conditions.
You can submit your film here.