Caring Across Generations and National Domestic Workers Alliance Spearhead $50K Short Film Grant to Boost Care-Related Storytelling On Screen
Production Grant In Partnership With Participant and HRTS Foundation
LOS ANGELES—A new $50,000 short film grant spearheaded by Caring Across Generations, a national movement of families, caregivers, people with disabilities and aging Americans working to transform caregiving in the U.S. and, National Domestic Workers Alliance seeks to drive more care-related storytelling across entertainment media. Funded in part by Participant, the “Storytelling With Care” grant is part of a greater initiative to change the way our society values and supports care, and will be awarded to an original short film project that advances the representation of professional and family care experiences.
“Care is a universal and multidimensional human experience, but historically what we’ve seen in movies and on TV captures a very narrow slice,” said Lydia Storie, associate director of culture change at Caring Across, which earlier this year launched a campaign to promote more on-screen care representation. “Those who provide and depend on care in this country deserve to see their experiences reflected back in the stories they consume. We also firmly believe that care can open up new opportunities for authentic and inclusive storytelling that resonates with wider audiences.”
The grant will uplift projects that weave in the experiences of care providers and recipients in fresh and unexpected ways. Submissions must show care visibly occurring within the context of someone’s home or community, not an institution such as a nursing facility, a care worker who is a prominent character, and at least one leading character who is actively receiving or providing care.
“Last year, our report with the Norman Lear Center Media Impact Project showed us that the staggering invisibilization and dehumanization that care workers face in their daily lives is reflected on screen,” said Rachel Birnam, cultural and entertainment partnerships director at NDWA. “Having authentic and multidimensional portrayals of domestic workers in popular culture is essential to breaking down the stigmas and stereotypes of their work and achieving the rights, protections, and dignity they deserve.”
Along with advancing more diverse and nuanced representations of care, this grant also aims to provide a pathway into the industry for new creative talent. The recipient of the grant will also receive professional mentorship from Participant executives and a complimentary one-year membership to HRTS, the longtime leading entertainment non-profit association for networking, education and mentorship. HRTS Foundation will tap into its vast network to help build awareness of the opportunity across the entertainment community.
“At Participant, we believe that storytelling has the power to accelerate change by building empathy and creating a shared experience,” said Nicole Starr, SVP of content representation and impact at Participant. “We are proud to partner on this grant and help an important story about care come to fruition.”
Added HRTS CEO and HRTS Foundation Chair Melissa Grego: “The HRTS Foundation was founded last year expressly to create and support initiatives such as the Storytelling with Care grant. The collaborative nature of this partnership with Caring Across Generations, National Domestic Workers Alliance and Participant exemplifies the way HRTS has aimed to work within our industry for more than 75 years, and we are honored to help amplify the message of inclusion, diversity and equity, and the opportunity for new voices to be heard.”
Beyond furnishing the production grant, Caring Across and NDWA will support the completed film across festival submissions, screenings, and marketing for one year following completion.
2023 has been a watershed year for care in the U.S. President Biden signed the most comprehensive set of actions that any administration has taken to increase access to child care and long-term care, and provide more support for care workers and caregivers. More than 53 million people in the U.S.—one in five adults—who provide unpaid care to disabled and aging people in their lives have demanded Congress invest in care infrastructure. A growing number of movies and television shows include positive and nuanced representations of care, from portrayals of queer aging care and sibling disability care in “Last of Us” to the powerful spouse care storyline in “Queen Charlotte.”
To learn more about the grant, please visit: https://bit.ly/CareShortFilm
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Caring Across Generations is a national organization of family caregivers, care workers, disabled people, and aging adults working to transform the way we care in this country so that care is accessible, affordable and equitable — and our systems of care enable everyone to live and age with dignity. To achieve our vision, we transform cultural norms and narratives about aging, disability and care; win federal and state-level policies; and build power amongst the people touched by care. For more information, visit caringacross.org.
National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the leading voice for dignity and fairness for millions of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, NDWA works for respect, recognition and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color. NDWA is powered by over 70 affiliate organizations and local chapters and by a growing membership base of nannies, house cleaners and care workers in over 20 states. Learn more at www.domesticworkers.org.
Participant
Founded in 2004 by Chairman Jeff Skoll and under the leadership of CEO David Linde, Participant (www.participant.com) is the leading global media company dedicated to content that unites art and activism to create positive change. Participant’s films have secured 86 Academy Award® nominations, including All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, a 2023 nominee for Best Documentary Feature, and 21 wins, including Best Picture for Spotlight and Green Book; Best Documentary Feature for An Inconvenient Truth, CITIZENFOUR, The Cove and American Factory; and Best Foreign Language Film for Roma and A Fantastic Woman. Participant also has earned 62 Emmy® Award nominations and 18 wins, including two wins for the groundbreaking When They See Us.
A pioneer of socially conscious storytelling, Participant partners with key nonprofits and NGOs to drive real-world impact and awareness around today’s most vital issues on a global scale, and is the only major US entertainment company whose social and environmental impact has earned a B Corp Certification. Participant believes that diversity is a source of strength, that inclusion is essential to progress, and that equity is an imperative for impact. Follow Participant on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The HRTS Foundation
Timed to its 75th Anniversary celebrations, The Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS) launched The HRTS Foundation, a new, stand-alone charitable organization with a mission to launch and nurture careers of TV and entertainment professionals and creatives from underrepresented groups. Developed by the HRTS Board of Directors, the Foundation expands upon the mission and legacy of the industry’s leading networking, education and mentorship organization. The first initiative of The HRTS Foundation is The HRTS Fellowship.