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# Documentary Organizations Rally to Raise Funds for Film Workers During COVID-19
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/documentary-community-covid-relief/
- Published: 2020-04-08T16:11:29.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:52:21.000Z
- Description: Field of Vision, Topic, and American Documentary are some of the businesses and nonprofits launching funds to aid workers in the field.
- Author: Dan Schindel
- Tags: Film, COVID-19, Documentary, Field of Vision, Review, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:41 (2019, 2020, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2020/04/fov-topic.png)

(image courtesy Cinetic Marketing)

With film production and theatrical distribution on hold across the world due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many people who work in nonfiction film — directors, camera operators, editors, and more — are feeling the financial pressure. And [similarly](https://hyperallergic.com/artist-relief/) to the [myriad](https://hyperallergic.com/santa-fe-artists-affected-by-covid-19-can-now-apply-for-emergency-relief/) relief [efforts](https://hyperallergic.com/anonymous-was-a-woman-covid-19/) being implemented to aid workers in other areas of the arts, the documentary community is making moves to look after its own.

Yesterday, the organizations [Field of Vision](https://fieldofvision.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and [Topic](https://www.topic.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) announced their joint creation of a $250,000 fund to provide grants for industry freelancers who work in documentary. Grantees can will receive up to $2,000 to help alleviate their loss of income. Currently, grants will be disbursed in two blocks, one in April and one in May. [Applications are now open](https://fieldofvision.org/relief-fund?ref=hyperallergic.com) for the April block.

[American Documentary](https://www.amdoc.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com), the nonprofit behind the venerable public television series *POV*, has responded by relaunching its Artist Emergency Fund. Previously having distributed over $20,000 to assist independent film workers, the fund is now aimed specifically at helping people who have lost work due to COVID. The new [relief fund](https://www.amdoc.org/pressroom/american-documentary-re-opens-artist-emergency-fund-independent-documentary-community-affected-covid-19-pandemic/?ref=hyperallergic.com) is offering grants of up to $500 to assist artists in meeting their basic needs during this time. [Applications remain open](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdANwXVCwjzqN0Mz7O3961P-cGRxxRrUERQarsnwFnBVYzt4g/viewform?ref=hyperallergic.com).

Elsewhere, the documentary community is also seeking ways to aid others. The doc-focused streaming platform [DAFilms](https://dafilms.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) has established a program called “[Films for Italy](https://dafilms.com/program/759-films-for-italy?ref=hyperallergic.com).” Pay to view any of the 19 films in the special selection, and 40% of the proceeds will be donated to hospitals in the Lombardy region of Italy, which [has been hit particularly hard by COVID](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/05/lombardy-insists-on-face-masks-outside-homes-to-stop-covid-19?ref=hyperallergic.com).

Documentary is a perpetually neglected art form, and it’s heartening to see resources such as this become available for workers in the field. In lieu of a full government response, we have to do our best for each other.