108 filmmakers helped by Emergency Fund

Since its inception by the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR) three weeks ago, the “Emergency Fund for Filmmakers” has already supported 108 filmmakers who are in direct danger because of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The ICFR set up a special “Emergency Fund for Filmmakers” for film practitioners directly in danger due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Coalition and the Fund have been canvassing for funding and donations as soon as war broke out.

“The number of filmmakers we have been able to help has been significant,” says Orwa Nyrabia, board member of ICFR and artistic director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, “But we would like to be able to help more fellow film practitioners in the midst of this terrible war.  For that we are going to need more funds that are quickly available. At the moment support is slowing down as not all of our supporters are managing to meet the emergency as quick as we’d hope.”

The fund aims to help filmmakers with small grants of EUR 500, EUR 1,000 or EUR 1,500 to be able to assist in covering temporary relocation expenses, legal and administrative fees (visas etc.), to cover initial minor but necessary expenses required during the current situation.

ICFR’s mandate includes across the board support for cases of filmmakers at risk, which applies automatically to almost every Ukrainian filmmaker in Ukraine today, as well as to the many openly and vocal anti-war filmmakers of Russia and Belarus. This is done through lobbying the international film community, urging film professionals and organizations around the world to join ICFR in its efforts and to support our colleagues in such terrible times.

Financial contributions to the emergency fund have so far been pledged by La Scam*, the Netherlands Film Fund, the German film funding bodies Filmförderungsanstalt FFA, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, HessenFilm und Medien, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, MFG – Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, MV Filmförderung, nordmedia – Film- und Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen, as well as by many individual donors.

The fund has also been in receipt of kind support via advertising from Screen International, Business Doc Europe, The Verdict and Deadline Hollywood. This marketing boost has additionally spread the word and helped to raise funding.

Founded by the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Film Festival Rotterdam and the European Film Academy, the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk’s mission is to advocate for and to act in solidarity with filmmakers at risk. The ICFR’s strategic partners are Asia Pacific Screen Academy, Documentary Organization of Canada, Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA), Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE), International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights Geneva, MOIN Film Fund Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, MOOOV Film Festival, Movies that Matter, One World Festival, Sundance Institute and Sydney Film Festival.