The Social Impact Storytelling portfolio cultivates and empowers narratives that build frameworks for human rights and social justice for all.
Bertha offers bespoke funding for social impact story creators and partners with media organizations who build capacity to reclaim and shape narratives. We fund diverse journalism and distribution initiatives to amplify the impact of under-told stories, exposing audiences to content that calls them to action.
Making social justice stories accessible to audiences and enabling them to take action
FUNDING CREATIVES
Bertha Artivism Awards
The Bertha Artivism Award is a global funding opportunity for activist artists, arts collectives and organizations around the world to use the arts as a Call to Action – to nonviolently instigate measurable change in a community. Going beyond ‘raising awareness’ Bertha Artivists will empower and mobilize communities in collaboration with social justice organizations, campaigns or movements to achieve specific and measurable change. The first cohort of Bertha Artivists began in January 2022.
Angélica Dass is an award-winning photographer born in Brazil and based in Spain. Her practice combines photography with sociological research and public participation, working towards the global defense of human rights. She is the creator of the internationally acclaimed Humanæ project – a collection of portraits that reveal the diverse beauty of humanity. Her work has traveled to over 80 cities around the world and has been exhibited from PhotoEspaña, to the World Economic Forum (Davos), UN Habitat III, London Migration Museum, AMNH, Montreal Fine arts Museum and Dublin Science Gallery. It has been shared in the pages of National Geographic, Time Magazine, Foreign Affairs and other relevant media. Her TED Talk exceeded two million views confirming the great potential of her work to go beyond photography, becoming a tool for social change, which promotes dialogue and challenges cultural prejudices.
Angélica’s work transcends museums and finds that school classrooms are a great universe of work. She amplifies the educational message of Humanæ through institutional collaborations around the world, such as collaborations with city councils in the Basque Country, teacher training schools in Madrid, high schools in the Czech Republic, or with UNESCO and the Government of Chile, reaching more than 50 thousand students in a week.
Eliza Factor is a novelist who uses diverse forms of art-making, storytelling and ecological exploration to investigate the idea of disability. Her talks, memoir, essays and blog often revolve around enlightening interactions with her son, who does not use language in a conventional sense and whose mobility is severely hampered by brain damage suffered in utero. Her current project is the Lonely Worm Farm, a fledgling community center in upstate New York that will use the arts and agriculture to bring people with disabilities together. In the summer of 2022, the Lonely Worm Farm will initiate its arts programing with an 8-week weaving workshop. In response to the flag-waving tenor of our times, participants will make welcome mats: a large communal welcome mat or tapestry that will incorporate willows harvested from the property, wool from local goats and scraps of personal history; and smaller, individual mats that can be brought home. In an effort to reach a broader audience, shift perceptions about disability, and invite people to reconsider the lowly welcome mat, we will interview participants and document their work on social media. The images aim to inject viewers with a shot of hope, humor, wildness and wonder.
Empatheatre is an award-winning South African research-based theatre company and methodology founded by artist/activists Mpume Mthombeni, Neil Coppen and Dylan McGarry. The company has been responsible for launching several ground-breaking social justice theatre projects over the last decade including Soil & Ash (focusing on rural communities facing pressure from coal-mining companies), Ulwembu (street-level Drug addiction and harm reduction advocacy), The Last Country (female migration stories), Boxes (homelessness and urban land justice inequalities in the city of Cape Town) and Lalela ulwandle (an international project supporting sustainable transformative governance of our oceans).
Empatheatre’s Bertha project is titled the Amagagasi/Tides project and is a collaboration with the Mbazwana Arts Centre in Northern Zululand. The project aims to foster a new form of public dialogue and alternative approach to spatial planning of rural areas surrounding conservation and mining concessions. One in which traditional knowledge, contemporary social dynamics and cultural phenomena are foregrounded in these decision-making processes. The Amagagasi project will work to create a powerful piece of interactive street-theatre in which audience members participate in a ‘call and response’ storytelling process that re-maps (in vernacular isiZulu) the land/and coastline, creating an “alternate archive” that re-tells the story of the region from local people’s perspective, and then explores, alongside the public, the potential of devising a new map of the region.
Good Chance Theatre began in the Calais Jungle unofficial refugee and migrant camp in 2015 where they built their first Dome, a temporary Theatre of Hope. Good Chance was founded on the belief that expression is a human right, and the Dome was a place for that expression, for creativity and dignity for all. Since then they have built the Dome a further nine times to help people from all countries and backgrounds to come together through art.
Alongside the Dome theatres, Good Chance create ground-breaking productions and support artists through their Ensemble programme. Their award-winning first play, The Jungle, tells a story of people seeking refuge and the volunteers working alongside them, contributing to a narrative around open communities and the need for human connection. Their latest play,The Walk, led by a giant refugee girl Little Amal, was staged outdoors across 8000km from Gaziantep in Turkey to Manchester in the UK during the pandemic.
Good Chance’s Bertha Artivist cohort lead is Emily Webb, Head of Poetry and Projects, who has 10 years’ experience in creative writing/social change and creating spaces for people to tell their stories. At Good Chance, she founded Change the Word and has run Domes in Paris since 2018.
Sonali Bhattacharyya is an award-winning playwright (Sonia Friedman Production Award, Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award) and screenwriter based in London. Her credits include Megaball (National Theatre Learning), Slummers (Cardboard Citizens), The Invisible Boy (Kiln Theatre) and 2066 (Almeida Theatre). She is a graduate of the Royal Court Writers’ Group, Old Vic 12, and Donmar Warehouse’s Future Forms Programme. She is under commission to the Orange Tree Theatre, Almeida Theatre, Fifth Word and Kiln Theatre, and is developing a drama series for television with Dancing Ledge Productions.
Her Bertha Artivism project is the workshop performance of her play Chasing Hares, which explores the impact of precarious work and late stage capitalism on two generations, combining naturalistic and jatra (Bengali folk theatre) traditions with dance and song.
The award will support the research and development of the play with a process rooted in the South Asian community of Greater London. The workshop production will include a post-show communal meal and political discussion about the themes of the play. The aims are to democratise the artistic development of the piece and to encourage discussion about the agency ordinary people have to affect change when working together collectively.
Festivales Solidarios are a self-managed horizontal collectivity. They are integrated by artists, documentalists, designers, communicators, Indigenous and mestizo radio broadcasters who work with art and community communication for the defense of the territory, political prisoners and historical memory. Festivales Solidarios are originally from Guatemala, they work at the national level accompanying and walking with peoples and organizations that fight against colonial extractivism. They emerged in 2013 where they mounted their first campaign to make political prison visible, and began the dissemination of the theme of political prison with art, music and film festivals. Initially called “Libertarian Festival”, they were pioneers in working on these themes through art in the country.
Festivales Solidarios will carry out an itinerant Caravan with exchange of playful methodologies in 3 resistances and communities that fight against extractivism, closing their intervention with a communal solidarity festival, which has been part of their strategy, for more than 8 years
Decriminalised Futures is a collaborative project using creative tools to explore a broad range of topics that impact the lives of sex workers. Their goal is to celebrate creative expression of all kinds as a tool for deeper solidarity between global justice struggles. Through creative interventions and popular education, Decriminalised Futures aims to highlight the ways in which sex worker movements are inextricably linked to struggles for racial and economic justice and trans liberation. In 2022, they will launch an exhibition titled Decriminalised Futures at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in London, and continue their online ‘Lady of the Night School’ public education series on the histories of sex worker movements. Their Bertha Artivism Awards project, Writing Our Futures, is a multi-week online storytelling workshop with sex workers to explore their lives, experiences and involvement in political movements through creative storytelling.
You can visit their archive at decriminalisedfutures.org/archive or follow them on social media @decrimfutures.
Berlin-based Palestinian singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Rasha Nahas was born and raised in Haifa. Rasha has long been crafting a sound that moves seamlessly
between the resonances of early rock ‘n’ roll complemented by her distinctive approach to songwriting, storytelling and performance. While Rasha’s musical projects are always an exploration into new territories, one staple in her works is her dedication to the narrative. Her debut album, ‘Desert’’ chronicled a personal and political journey from Palestine to Germany and back again. Rasha now turns to exploring themes of home, belonging, spirituality, freedom and her relationship with her mother-tongue.
Through the Bertha Artivist Award she delves into a collaborative artistic approach with female musicians from across the globe. Accompanied by impact producer Lorena Junghans, Rasha makes use of music’s ability to bring communities together across walls and borders, and uniting female artists from different regions to produce a project with a potential to reach the artists communities and beyond, combining personal experiences for a bigger say and wider impact.
Originally from Romania, Lorena Junghans is a content-oriented producer with a background in project management in Cape Town and Beirut. Lorena’s projects focus on personal stories that aim to achieve sustainable social impact and change existing structures. When working with individuals and organizations, Lorena pursues the goal of intersectional solidarity.
Bertha supports bespoke funding programs for storytellers in partnership with global media organizations.
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IDFA Bertha Fund
The IDFA Bertha Fund is the only fund in the world dedicated solely to stimulating and empowering the creative documentary sector in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania.
AXS Film Fund
The AXS Film Fund supports documentary filmmakers and non-fiction new media creators of color with disabilities.
Brown Girls Doc Mafia Directors Grant
The BGDM Black Directors Grant supports documentary and new media projects directed by Black women and non-binary people of color.
Bertha-Kiln Writers Program
The Bertha-Kiln Writers Program is an opportunity for Women writers of Color to create brand-new plays from first draft to stage.
IDFA Bertha Fund
Location: Global
The IDFA Bertha Fund supports independent, critical and artistic voices from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Oceania (IBF regions) with the aim of stimulating and empowering the creative documentary sector in these regions. The Fund provides development, production and distribution grants through two funding schemes, the IBF Classic or IBF Europe.
In addition to financing, the Fund offers filmmakers tailor-made consultancies and training programs to support them in their creative and production process and invites them to participate in the different industry events that IDFA has to offer –broaden their international network and knowledge of the documentary industry.
AXS Film Fund strives to support independent documentary filmmakers and nonfiction new media creators of color with disabilities in their endeavors to tell stories, make films, and create content.
The AXS Film Fund Seeks to:
Award creators, who identify themselves as a person of color having a disability(ies), in documentary filmmaking and nonfiction new media a one-time grant that will aid them in successfully completing their projects.
Help more ethnic minorities with disabilities get recognition and job opportunities in the film industry.
Help create more diversity amongst creators and the stories told.
Brown Girls Doc Mafia’s (BGDM) mission is to bolster the creative and professional success of women and non-binary people of color working in the documentary industry, and to challenge the often marginalizing norms of the documentary field.
The BGDM Black Directors Grant aims to cultivate Black directors within BGDM and help propel their projects forward. This Grant aims to support projects that are steeped in the Black experience, and whose director’s craft, storytelling ability and unique point of view reflects and uplifts the Black experience or perspective. Projects include documentary films, podcasts, hybrid doc/fiction, video art and new media.
Grantees received USD $10,000 in financial support, mentorship from a network of business and craft consultants and curated industry connections. Grantees will experience mentorship together as a cohort throughout the grant year, and each grantee will take part in sculpting their curated mentorship in collaboration with BGDM leadership.
The Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, North-West London, is a local theatre and cinema venue with an international vision. Their mission is to bring unheard voices into the mainstream, telling human stories that resonate across cultures and show the world through new and different lenses.
The Bertha-Kiln Writers Program is an opportunity for Women writers of Color to create brand-new plays which use their unique voices to comment on our society and to create stories that will shape the future.
Over 18-24 months, the Bertha-Kiln Writers will receive dedicated mentoring and dramaturgical support, and through an intensive development process including readings and workshops, their scripts will be taken from first draft to the stage. They will receive support and resources from the Kiln Theatre, allowing them to become a close-knit network, create their own community and produce their plays for stage or potentially film or television.
The Bertha / Doc Society Journalism Fund was an international film fund dedicated to supporting long form feature documentaries of a journalistic nature. Starting in 2017, the Journalism Fund sought to provide more consistent, deeper support for filmmakers, often funding from development through to outreach and providing security support and legal advice where needed.
Films completed through this fund are listed in the Bertha Media Directory.
The Guardian and Bertha Foundation commissioned a series of 12 short documentary films from independent film-makers. The series covers global stories, with a focus on films that have the ability to advance the contemporary issues that they address, and raise awareness of people and movements who are catalysts for change.
Film completed through this fund are listed in the Bertha Media Directory.
Bertha supports media organizations that empower marginalized voices, they provide media training, initiatives and resources for communities and individuals so they can tell their stories safely and effectively.
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Insightshare Indigenous Fellowship
The Living Cultures Indigenous Fellowship delivers remote training in participatory media to Indigenous Peoples.
Life Mosaic
Life Mosaic creates media resources and trainings to support Indigneous Peoples to defend their rights.
Skylight
Skylight strengthens social justice movements through cinematic storytelling and catalyzes collaborative networks of artists and activists.
WITNESS
WITNESS helps people use video and technology to protect and defend human rights.
Insightshare Indigenous Fellowship
Location:
With the support of the Bertha Foundation, InsightShare launched the Living Cultures Indigenous Fellowship in 2020, a groundbreaking strategy that delivers remote training to Indigenous Peoples wishing to harness participatory media as a tool for engaging and mobilizing their communities.
In 2021 InsightShare is training 38 young indigenous leaders based in 6 hubs across Africa and supporting them to use communication technologies safely for self-determination, self-representation and positive local action.
As a human rights media organization, Skylight’s work has focused on amplifying the voice of constituencies battling for social justice and their rights since its founding in 1981. The content Skylight produces – from documentary films to a range of digital media projects – creates a media ecosystem that strengthens a culture of rights and engaged citizenship.
Skylight combines the storytelling arts with human rights media strategies, joining the battle for narrative in the service of social movements, creating networks of solidarity between artists, media makers and activists. A process that has made them a part of battles for the narrative in movements around the world.
WITNESS makes it possible for anyone, anywhere to use video and technology to protect and defend human rights. By providing training, support and tools to millions of people around the world, WITNESS is powering up a new generation of human rights defenders.
The majority of the world’s population now has a camera in their pocket. People everywhere are turning to video to document and tell stories of abuse. WITNESS identifies critical situations and teaches those affected by them the basics of video production, safe and ethical filming techniques and advocacy strategies.
To amplify the impact and exposure of under-told stories, Bertha funds diverse journalism initiatives working to uncover, document and report on stories across the globe. Bertha simultaneously supports both traditional and nontraditional distribution initiatives ranging from film festivals to cinemas to TV channels. Coupled with the support of organizations, Bertha is enabling content to be seen across platforms around the world that can be used to affect change on a local and global level.
Launched in 2010, amaBhungane (isiZulu for “the dung beetles”) Centre for Investigative Journalism is an independent, non-profit newsroom based in South Africa. They develop investigative journalism to promote free, capable media and open, accountable, just democracy.
Declassified UK uncovers the UK’s role in the world, investigating Britain’s military and intelligence agencies, its most powerful corporations and its impact on human rights and the environment.
Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. Their reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
United States of America
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Location: United States of America
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) collaborates on groundbreaking investigations to expose the truth and hold the powerful accountable. ICIJ works together with a global network of reporters and media organizations to investigate the most important stories in the world – including the Pandora Papers, Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.
GroundUp publishes news that matters – reporting human rights stories across South Africa. Started in April 2012 as a joint project of Community Media Trust and the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Social Science Research in 2020 GroundUp became a standalone non-profit news agency.
The Real News Network (TRNN) makes media to connect audiences to the movements, people and perspectives that are advancing the cause of a more just, equal and livable planet. With a responsibility to serve the majority-minority population of Baltimore, TRNN aims to enhance audience understanding of the issues, contexts and voices behind news headlines.
Bertha DocHouse is the UK’s first cinema dedicated solely to documentary. Based at Curzon Bloomsbury in Central London, they screen the best new releases, festival favourites, retrospective titles and curated seasons providing an exciting platform for documentary filmmakers and nurturing a new generation of doc lovers. With a program packed with filmmaker Q&As, masterclasses, discussions, special events and an online hub accessible from anywhere in the world, Bertha DocHouse is the UK’s home of documentary.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Netherlands
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Location: Netherlands
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) offers an independent and inspiring meeting place for audiences and professionals to see a diverse and high-quality program. IDFA offers an alternative to mass entertainment and uniformity, confirming that there is an increasing need in audiences for high-quality films that delve deep and urge audiences to reflect. The IDFA Bertha Fund, specifically, supports filmmakers and documentary projects in developing countries.
The Bertha Movie House is a community cinema based at the Isivivana Centre, a social justice and community centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa. Khayelitsha, with now over two million residents, was established during Apartheid as a township “for Blacks only,” apart from Cape Town which was “for whites only.” Post-democracy it has grown and evolved, with local residents establishing homegrown creative hubs, food outlets and other opportunities.
Bertha Movie House provides a visual space for Khayelitsha’s growing narrative, with the cinema priding itself in uniting the community with local and international films focused on edutainment and social justice.
