Partner Open Call: FIPADOC 2027 🎬
Following another record-breaking edition, FIPADOC - International Documentary Festival returns to Biarritz from January 22–30, 2027 with nearly 180 documentary works spanning all formats, all screens, and all lengths — from short films to documentary series.
The Smart Biarritz Immersive program will once again spotlight groundbreaking French and international XR experiences.
This year’s special focus highlights documentary productions from the Black Sea region, featuring works from Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine, and Georgia.
📅 Submission Deadlines:
September 8, 2026 — Francophone Documentary Panorama, New Voices, Smart Competition, and non-competitive selections
September 25, 2026 — Unreleased films
Submit your project: @fipadoc
#FIPADOC #DocumentaryFilm #OpenCall #XR #ImmersiveArt Photo credit: @fipadoc
SIMA Doc of The Week: IMADE — SIMA 2026 Best Short Doc Cinematography Directed by Ignacio Acconcia González ignacio.acconcia
A young migrant is looking forward to returning to Morocco to visit his family, whom he has not seen for years. To do so, he will have to struggle against the isolation and loneliness in which he lives because of his deafness.
→ Learn more + explore @selectedfilmsdistribution
#DocumentaryFilm #SIMA2026 #FilmFestival #ImpactFilm #SIMAwards
Join our partner UNESCO-@apceiu for a special screening of the SIMA Academy film The Happiness Shop in honor of International Day of Living Together in Peace 🌍
This inspiring documentary follows a social enterprise in Vietnam creating meaningful employment opportunities for women with disabilities through recycled crafts — highlighting the power of inclusion, dignity, and community.
Followed by a live dialogue with filmmaker @briannaavnell Brianna Avnell and moderator Umair Mushtaq.
Friday, May 15
Register for the event — bio 🔗
#SIMAAcademy #TheHappinessShop #LivingTogetherInPeace #DocumentaryFilm #SocialImpact @gcedonline
Over the past year, you told us what slows you down. So we rebuilt the system.
SIMA Fiscal Sponsorship. Rebuilt. Now Open. A cleaner, faster pathway for creative projects to access and manage philanthropic capital.
Fewer barriers, more flow.
• No upfront costs
• A simple fee structure per disbursement
• Fast disbursement in 5-7 days
• Full creative control—your IP, your vision, always
In the last 5 years, we’ve supported 178 projects across film, media, and cultural initiatives—from development through distribution and campaigns.
Now accepting applications.
If you’re preparing to raise funds for a project with cultural or social relevance - we’re here for you.
apply + learn more → link in bio!
Photo: SIMA Fiscally Sponsored film, BORN IN EVIN
#FiscalSponsorship #CreativeFunding #IndependentFilm #SocialImpact #DocumentaryFilm
SIMA Doc of The Week: SEEDS @seedsthedoc SIMA 2026 Stylistic Achievement Jury Prize Winner Directed by Brittany Shyne
Interweaving the stories of three Black generational farmers to create a collective and intimate portrait of farming today, SEEDS is a moving and powerful exploration of their lives, joys and struggles as well as the fragility of legacy and owning land.
With remarkable intimacy, the film documents their everyday lives—cotton harvesting, chasing cows, dealing with broken machinery, and financial precarities. The camera relishes simple moments—conversations through car windows, candy from grandma’s purse as it captures moments of warmth, joy, and fulfillment—turning them into striking vignettes that honor the families’ connection to the land and each other.
But the sobering reality underscores the urgency of their story. Black farmers owned 16 million acres of land in 1910, but today, that number has dwindled to a fraction. The farmers in the community struggle to access funding that white farmers nearby seem to secure with ease.
Through these inter-generational stories, we see the cycles of inequity and embedded racism that persist to this present day, and the signs of hope and renewal with younger generations of farmers. SEEDS emphasizes how human beings are innately tied to our foundational roots, roots which carry our ancestral memories—somber, bitter, and sweet.
→ Learn more + explore + watch @seedsthedoc@dsvarga@sabbygnyc@chickeneggfilms
#DocumentaryFilm #SIMA2026 #FilmFestival #ImpactFilm #SIMAwards
This Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, and on World Maternal Mental Health Day, we’re proud to spotlight SIMA fiscally sponsored project @eyemamaproject — a global photographic movement and archive amplifying the lived realities of motherhood and care.
Created by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker and photographer Karni Arieli, Eye Mama invites mothers, parents, and carers around the world to document their experiences through self-portraiture and the “Mama Gaze.” Since 2021, the project has connected contributors across more than 70 countries, creating space for stories often missing from mainstream representations of motherhood.
Eye Mama embraces motherhood in its expansive forms — including IVF journeys, adoptive and foster care, LGBTQ+ and gender-diverse parenthood — while working to build a permanent and accessible digital archive that preserves these essential narratives for future generations.
At SIMA, we are honored to support projects that use storytelling and visual culture to expand representation and deepen global understanding.
Learn more and support their work through the link in their bio.
Photo by @charlottemwales@eyemamaproject Karni Arieli @karni_and_saul
#EyeMama #MaternalMentalHealth #FiscalSponsorship #DocumentaryPhotography #SIMAStudios
This #WorldPressFreedomDay, we’re bringing together powerful, ground-level stories from across the globe—featuring Haiti’s grassroots press, Kenya’s refugee-led radio voices, and firsthand stories of revolution and resilience. These films capture the courage of those reporting under pressure, where truth-telling becomes an act of survival, dignity, and defiance.
Bio link → watch + explore ~ SIMA Academy World Press Freedom Featured Playlist: Journalism Without Borders
Cover Photo: SIMA Academy featured film, Radio Dadaab by @ejfoundation
#DocumentaryFilm #Journalism #MediaForChange #FilmCommunity
SIMA Doc of The Week: VIKTOR @viktor_movie SIMA 2026 Best Sound Winner, Directed by Olivier Sarbil @oliviersarbil
Viktor, a young Deaf man in Kharkiv, watches warily during the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A fan of samurai films and raised on stories of war, he dreams of becoming a warrior but is repeatedly denied when he tries to enlist. Eager to find purpose, Viktor embarks on a quest to find his place in the midst of a war he cannot hear.
Now screening in the 2026/27 edition of SIMA Cinema Across Borders — our fellowship and grassroots screening series delivering films directly to community organizers across the Global South.
→ Learn more + explore @viktor_movie
#DocumentaryFilm #SIMA2026 #FilmFestival #ImpactFilm #SIMAwards
Impact Cinema Screening Spotlight — A story of organizing. A legacy of impact. A blueprint for change.
AMERICAN AGITATORS brings to life the powerful, often untold history of grassroots organizing in the U.S.—tracing the work of Fred Ross Sr., whose strategies helped shape movements for civil rights, labor justice, and community power that continue today.
From supporting Dust Bowl refugees and Japanese Americans after internment, to challenging segregation in California and mentoring Dolores Huerta in the rise of the United Farm Workers, Ross’ influence echoes across generations. The film connects that legacy to present-day movements—from Fight for $15 to labor organizing in Las Vegas and education justice in Oakland—reminding us that lasting change is built collectively, patiently, and with purpose.
Upcoming Screenings 🎬
• Quad Cinema (NYC): May 1–7 • Laemmle Monica Film Center (Santa Monica): May 15–21 • Rialto Cinemas Elmwood (Berkeley): May 20–25 • Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol: May 27
Tickets + Info @americanagitatorsfilm
#AmericanAgitators #SocialImpactFilm #CommunityOrganizing #LaborRights #CivilRights
Partner Open Call: 20 Years of Storytelling, Impact & Change — Global Campus of Human Rights’ Summer School in Cinema, Human Rights and Advocacy
For two decades, the Summer School in Cinema, Human Rights and Advocacy (#CHRASchool) has brought together global changemakers who are using film, not just to tell stories, but to shift perspectives and spark action.
The Summer School is a unique training initiative designed to deepen your understanding of the intersection between human rights, films, digital media and video advocacy, and how to leverage these tools for social change.
The program has a cross-cutting focus on environmental rights within the broader framework of human rights protection and promotion, emphasizing its impact on younger generations and local communities.
Set against the backdrop of the Venice International Film Festival, you will attend screenings and engage with film industry professionals and leading experts in the human rights field.
Date & Place: 31 August – 9 September 2026, Venice Lido, Italy — during the Venice International Film Festival
Application Deadline: 30 April 2026 for self-funded applicants
Learn more & apply @gchumanrights
#HumanRights #Storytelling #ImpactStorytelling #FilmForChange
SIMA Doc of The Week: TRADE SECRET SIMA 2026 Transparency Jury Prize Winner @tradesecretfilm@abrahamjoffe@untitledfilmworks
TRADE SECRET, Directed by Abraham Joffe, follows three unlikely allies on a mission to protect polar bears from international commercial trade. Filmed over six years across nine countries, the film exposes the sanctioned sale of hundreds of polar bears each year on the global market. But as the investigation deepens, it uncovers a disturbing truth: those entrusted with safeguarding the species may be entangled in their continued commercialization. The film raises urgent questions about how we protect vulnerable species in a world where the lines between protection and exploitation have become blurred.
Now screening in the 2026/27 edition of SIMA Cinema Across Borders — our fellowship and grassroots screening series delivering films directly to community organizers across the Global South.
→ Learn more, watch the film, and take action @tradesecretfilm
#DocumentaryFilm #WildlifeConservation #EnvironmentalJustice #ImpactFilm #SIMAwards
What are the real stories behind the things we use every day?
Our 2026 Earth Month Playlist, Material Worlds, pulls back the curtain on secondhand clothing markets, textile labor, global supply chains, and the environmental cost of everyday materials.
Watch now on SIMA Academy: Explore 300+ award-winning short documentaries from 140+ countries—each one jury-selected through the annual SIMA Awards for its integrity, educational merit, and real-world impact. Designed to spark critical thinking and deepen understanding of global issues.
Ad-free. Curated. Built for critical thinking.
Creative: Clip from SIMA Academy film Goodwill Dumping Directed by Teddy Cherim
#EarthMonth #Sustainability #SocialImpact #Documentary #ClimateAction
