IMAG Re-Granting to the Field 2026
This May 2026, BAVC Media re-granted $10,000 to regional independent media initiatives across the US. A call for proposals was issued to members of the Independent Film & Media Arts Group (IMAG) to redistribute $10,000 in support of organizations across the national indie media field. Sixteen proposals were selected.
“We were so thrilled to hear from recipients of our 2025 contracts about the incredible projects they worked on. We knew we wanted to do what we could to continue supporting small regional projects across our network, making it an ongoing part of the IMAG initiative, even if we had to stretch to make it possible. While the process this time around was much less restrictive in terms of time and contract boundaries, we had a smaller overall fund to work with. It was challenging to figure out how to stretch $10,000 over so many worthy endeavors in a way that would be meaningful. We’re proud to be supporting the dynamic work happening in regions throughout the country.”
– Brittney Réaume, Director of Artist Programs & Services, BAVC Media
IMAG is focused on creating a space for knowledge exchange and relationship-building, with an emphasis on promoting regional networks, equity, and career sustainability for individuals working in the film and media arts industry.
Selected organizations for support include:
- Access:Horror
- Funds will support in part: paying captioners and audio describers to work with filmmakers on their accessibility assets. Access:Horror is a film festival celebrating genre and disability and is one of the top 5 most accessible festivals according to the Accessibility Scorecard Impact Report from FWD-Doc. The 3rd edition of Access:Horror is September 24-27, 2026 at the Alamo Drafthouse Winchester.
- Archival Producers Alliance
- Funding will support the research, writing, publication, and presentation of two new Case Studies of recent documentary films that use generative AI in their work. Each new Case Study focuses on both a specific use of the technology, as APA, as the ethical, logistical and financial issues that the usage raises. Project costs include working with their incredible genAI researcher and advisor AX Mina who will lead the studies, providing a small stipend to the filmmakers for their time, graphic design of the final documents, which will be publicly available via their website, and APA will offer a virtual symposium for the film community in which APA shares their findings and lessons learned.
- Art House Convergence
- Funds will support the production of IND/EX, the annual second gathering for independent exhibition professionals and stakeholders. Approximately 800 professionals from nonprofit cinemas, museums, universities, rural theaters, film festivals, distributors, vendors, and filmmaker organizations across the United States (and around the world) will participate. Attendees will engage in curated panels, keynote conversations, hands-on workshops, case studies, film screenings and peer working groups. Sessions will focus on film curation, audience development, accessibility practices, sustainability, workforce development, and evolving technical standards in film and media arts exhibition. The conference also includes structured sessions that connect exhibitors with independent distributors and service providers, reinforcing the national film supply chain and expanding opportunities for artists’ work to reach the public. This gathering strengthens local cultural infrastructure nationwide by equipping exhibition leaders with tools, partnerships, and strategies that directly benefit their home communities; and the field at large.
- Community Media Access Collaborative (Fresno/Clovis)
- Funds will support two or three sessions of CMAC’s Filmmaker Meetup series. Since 2024, these monthly meetups have been a go-to for Central Valley filmmakers to network, collaborate, build community, screen new work, and learn through Q&A sessions with industry professionals. This funding will provide the support needed to sustain monthly meetups for the remainder in 2026, covering essential costs that keep these sessions free for local filmmakers, including planning labor, refreshments, engagement prizes, marketing costs, and honorariums for guest speakers. Meetups take place on the last Friday of each month, alternating between group discussions, film screenings, game and trivia nights, and workshops. They’ve covered a variety of topics, including animation, producing, filmmaking etiquette, finding funding, and how to bring story ideas to life. By hosting these meetups in Fresno, CMAC creates the space for professional networking that independent creators often have to travel to find. This series ensures the community’s unique cultural narratives are preserved while giving artists the connections they need to build sustainable media careers at home in Fresno county.
- Documentary Accountability Working Group
- Funding will support the contractor in their work on the following project: DAWG is joining with two other organizations – Justice for My Sister, and Re-Present Media – in order to develop a budgeting tool that details line items and costs for trauma-informed care practices in documentary filmmaking, intended to protect the human rights of film participants. We will host listening sessions with filmmakers who have utilized informed consent, and trauma-informed and community-centered care practices in their films to gain insights into what these practices cost; consult with Robert Behar about his standard budget to better understand how to incorporate the additional line items we are proposing; and then host sessions with doc filmmakers and funders to educate them on the work we are already doing, and make the case for the budgeting tool to be implemented/accepted field wide.
- Documentary Producers Alliance Crediting Committee & Coalition of Documentary Workers
- This re-grant is split between two projects organized by two sub committees of the DPA. The DPA Crediting Committee plans to publicly launch Crediting Guidelines 2.0, the first credit attribution framework specifically designed to reflect the realities of independent and streaming documentary filmmaking. Alongside the release they have planned a public-facing panel convening filmmakers, producers, archival specialists, and industry stakeholders titled, “Credits are Currency.” This event will serve as both a national organizing moment and a skill-sharing space, fostering dialogue around credit equity and creative recognition. The Coalition of Documentary Workers, a group housed within the Documentary Producers Alliance, has a mission to bring together documentary workers with diverse perspectives committed to advancing a safer, more sustainable, and pro-worker industry. Initially funds were intended to support attendance at the Labor Notes Conference 2026 to learn from other labor organizers but when the conference sold out funds were reallocated to support this initiative more generally.
- Film Pittsburgh
- Funds will support a portion of the following activities: Expanding the filmmakers conference as part of the Three Rivers Film Festival, which is growing in popularity. This one weekend festival welcomes traveling and local filmmakers to network and learn together, and last year we saw an increase from 196 to 329 people in attendance and expect this to continue to grow. By bringing independent filmmakers together at the conference to share knowledge Film Pittsburgh is creating opportunities for global networking and skills sharing for Pittsburgh-based filmmakers who cannot afford to travel to attend other conferences.
- Filmshop
- Funds will support two projects in part. Filmshop’s Breakthrough industry showcase, one of Filmshop’s signature initiatives, provides a forum for filmmakers to pitch their work and engage in discussions centered around development and distribution—as well as an opportunity to receive feedback from a panel of industry professionals. The next iteration (our 9th) will take place in late June or July, in person in New York City. Filmshop will feature up to ten projects submitted by Filmshop members, selected by an independent jury, encompassing both narrative and documentary projects. Additionally, funds support Docshop South, a weekly works-in-progress workshop for independent documentary filmmakers working on films in and about the American South, an offering of Filmshop in partnership with Southern Documentary Fund. Each year, the Southern Documentary Fund hosts a Convening in North Carolina, and Docshop South would like to hold a mixer/recruitment event for the current and past-season Docshop South cohort and potential new members during the Convening. The collaborative cohort of filmmakers generally meets on Zoom once per week for 15 weeks in the fall and spring. However, the Southern Documentary Convening is an opportunity to meet in person to develop deeper relationships, recruit new members, and also to experience the programming at the Convening.
- Indie Media Arts South
- Funds will support in part a suite of partnership programming at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival designed to connect, uplift, and resource independent filmmakers across the South. Programming will include a work-in-progress screening featuring a southern filmmaker, offering a rare public opportunity for feedback and visibility at an established documentary festival; a panel discussion addressing topics and challenges relevant to southern independent media makers; and an Indie Media Arts South community meetup bringing regional filmmakers together to build relationships and share resources. This programming builds directly on a successful iteration hosted at Hot Springs last year, deepening an ongoing partnership between Indie Media Arts South and one of the region’s most respected documentary film festivals.
- Kartemquin Educational Films
- Funds will support at least one KTQ Lab session. KTQ Lab is a free work-in-progress documentary screening and feedback program that convenes filmmakers, producers, editors, educators, and industry professionals to strengthen independent nonfiction storytelling in the Midwest and beyond. Each Lab creates an intimate, structured space where documentary teams share rough cuts or demos and receive constructive critique from the KTQ Lab Circle (a curated community of lab and artist program alumni, regional filmmakers, industry guests, staff, and board members committed to “democracy through documentary”). To date, our broader audience network includes approximately 650 filmmakers, production crew, educators, and partners, strengthening regional creative pipelines. KTQ Labs would like to expand its convening model through enhanced skill-sharing sessions and provide $200–$250 honoraria to participating artists, recognizing the labor and expertise they bring to peer learning spaces. By keeping participation free and intentionally curating the Lab Circle to include alumni and trusted collaborators, Labs lowers barriers to entry for creative kinship while preserving a focused, generative environment. This approach reduces isolation among independent makers, expands access to documentary infrastructure, and fosters durable cross-project relationships that sustain Midwest storytellers long after a single session concludes.
- Miami Film Festival
- Funds will help to pay for some costs accrued for the Miami Film Festival industry networking happy hour. This gathering brings together filmmakers, accredited industry professionals, and visiting national and international artists participating in the Festival.
- Milwaukee Film, Inc
- Funds will aid in sending one or more programmers and other key staff members to attend IND/EX, the Independent Film Exhibition Conference in Chicago.
- National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP)
- Funds will support the following activities in part the planning and execution of the 2026 Diverse Women in Media Forum (DWIMF). DWIMF brings together 300 women leaders, executives, and independent creatives working across film, television, and emerging media. The forum creates a national space for dialogue, peer learning, and professional exchange among women who are actively shaping the future of media. This year’s theme, Women as Architects: The Future of Media, centers women as builders of power, culture, and sustainable creative careers at a moment of profound industry transformation. Support from BAVC Media is especially critical this year as women in media, particularly independent and underrepresented creators are navigating unprecedented disruption, including industry contraction, job instability, and shifting business models. The funds requested will cover the costs of convening the forum, ensuring it remains accessible, substantive, and focused on action rather than visibility alone. Now more than ever, gatherings like DWIMF are essential to sustaining community, sharing hard-won knowledge, and creating pathways for collaboration and resilience.
- Stowe Story Labs, Inc.
- The re-grant will go part of the way towards covering venue rental costs for the 2026 Narrative Labs. The Narrative Labs are intensive programs designed for emerging screenwriters, filmmakers, and creative producers. The programs mix presentations, in-conversation interviews and Q&A sessions, carefully built exercises, structured small group sessions (both peer-to-peer and mentor-led), and social and networking time. The Narrative Labs support artists developing a new project, and hoping to explore story development, industry outreach, and how to advance the project. Participants will leave the Lab with story insights and ideas for next steps on the project workshopped, a refined pitch and ability to present their project well to the right people in different settings, peer script notes, and new friends and colleagues in this complex industry/art.
IMAG was originally a collaborative initiative between the National Endowment for the Arts and BAVC Media. The project continues today facilitated by BAVC Media, in collaboration with the IMAG network. This is made possible due to the generous support of the Perspective Fund.
