Points North Institute in collaboration with Kickstarter has announced the North Star Fellowship to support four innovative media artists and filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds who are developing projects that span the latitudes of creative nonfiction. Fellows gather for one week on the coast of Maine, leading up to the 19th edition of the Camden International Film Festival. A series of workshops, screenings, meals and excursions create time and space for an ongoing critical dialogue about expanded documentary aesthetics, representation, radical collaboration, the context of research, and more.
Fellows are joined by curators, critics, filmmakers, multidisciplinary artists, and industry professionals, each of whom provides new perspectives on the Fellows’ creative process and the evolving universe of nonfiction.
The program culminates during 4 days of CIFF, where North Star Fellows plug into a global community of storytellers and artists, attending screenings, artist talks, panel discussions, industry meetings, and special events.
The 2023 North Star Fellowship will take place in person in Maine from September 10-17 (exact dates to be confirmed closer to the festival but please hold these dates for now) followed by virtual 1:1 industry meetings on 9/26 and 9/27.
Benefits
- The North Star Fellowship includes the following support:
- (1)Round-trip flight to Camden, including ground transportation from Portland or Bangor
- (1)All Access pass to the Camden International Film Festival and Points North Forum
- (7) nights of accommodations for one during the festival (exact dates will be confirmed closer to the festival but please hold aside 9/10-917 for now)
- Following the week in Maine, Fellows will have an opportunity to schedule online meetings with funders, distributors, and other industry decision-makers. In 2021, these meetings included representatives from Sundance, Firelight, Ford Foundation, Perspective Fund, Field of Vision, Black Star, XTR, Cinetic, POV, ITVS, NBC, Netflix, Hulu, NEON, and dozens of other major platforms.
- Note: The North Star Fellowship can only support one person per project and is intended to foster a space for individual artists as much as their projects.
Eligibility Criteria
- The North Star Fellowship is open to all filmmakers and media artists worldwide, regardless of nationality or citizenship status
- They arelooking for artists developing projects across a range of disciplines or modes of documentary, including film, video installation, audio and photo-based work, immersive experiences, performance and others
- The program is open to filmmakers from backgrounds that have been historically marginalized in the film industry by virtue of their ability, citizenship status, ethnicity, gender identity, race, religion, or sexual orientation.
- Projects that focus on historically underrepresented communities must have a key creative in a decision-making role either from the community or with deep ties to the community.
For more information, visit Points North Institute.
