Presenting the Recipients of the 2012 TFI Documentary Fund

We're thrilled to announce the 2012 grantees of the TFI Documentary Fund! We've selected ten filmmakers from 630 submissions to receive a total of $150,000 in grants toward their character-driven documentary projects.

This year's films are in various stages of development through post-production, and cover topics as wide-ranging as Richard Nixon’s presidency, love and marriage, a Kim Jong-il-ordered abduction and a family-owned strip club.

As part of TFI's year-round commitment to filmmakers, all of our grantees will receive guidance and consultation on the films' production, from topics like festival and distribution planning to industry matchmaking.

I Wuv You

Directed and Produced by Alma Har'el

Following Bombay Beach, Tribeca Film Festival winner Alma Har'el will continue to push the documentary genre into new realms. Her new film will follow real people alongside their imaginary young and older selves (portrayed by actors), in the midst of a love story that shapes their lives. The result is an exploration of our past and future through re-enactments of our inner dialogues. The actors that will portray the young OR older selves of the documentary’s protagonists, will come in and out of scenes and slowly blur the line between Fiction and Non-Fiction. (Development)

The Lovers and the Despot

Directed by Ross Adam and Robert Cannan

Produced by Sandra Whipham

Following the collapse of their glamorous, movie-world romance, a celebrity director and actress are kidnapped by loony dictator Kim Jong-il. Forced to make films in the world’s weirdest state, they get a second chance at love, but only one chance at escape... (Development)

Teatro

Directed and Produced by Jeff Malmberg

Produced by Chris Shellen

Teatro is the story of an Italian farming town that turns their lives into a play in order to solve their problems and save their way of life. Told through intertwining portraits of the town’s characters, the film examines the power of art to heal and transform. (Development)

112 Weddings

Directed and Produced by Doug Block

Produced by Lori Cheatle

For the past two decades, documentary filmmaker Doug Block (51 Birch Street, The Kids Grow Up) has supported his work by videotaping weddings. Approaching his own 25th anniversary, Block revisits some of his most memorable couples to see how their marriages are faring. Juxtaposing intimate wedding moments with revealing current-day interviews, 112 Weddings is a fascinating look at love and long-term marriage. (Production)

The Manor

Directed by Shawney Cohen

Produced by Paul Scherzer; Co-directed by Mike Gallay; Executive Produced by Laurie Gwen Shapiro

After years apart, filmmaker Shawney Cohen returns home to find his once "normal" family gone, replaced by a strip-club-owner father, anorexic mother, and sociopathic brother. (Production)

9.79* (aka The Race)

Directed and Produced by Daniel Gordon

Executive Produced by John Battsek

The 100m final at the 1988 Seoul Olympics was the fastest -- and most thrilling -- ever run. But within 48 hours, gold medalist Ben Johnson had tested positive for anabolic steroids and scandal reigned.This one race still haunts the eight men who took part. (Production)

All of Me

Directed and Produced by Alexandra Lescaze

The "girls" have been friends, and morbidly obese, for years. Now they are choosing to have weight-loss surgery in an effort to lose hundreds of pounds. The experience presents a host of issues and consequences -- some they knew they were in for, some they feared, and some they never could have imagined. Their health, marriages and friendships are all at stake. (Post-Production)

Cutie and The Boxer

Directed by Zachary Heinzerling

Produced by Sierra Pettengill & Patrick Burns

Cutie and The Boxer is a love story that explores the bond between two New York-based, Japanese artists, Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. Set over the course of their chaotic forty-year marriage, this candid look at two headstrong, yet ultimately complimentary personalities forms a graceful rumination on companionship, sacrifice, and the creative spirit. (Post-Production)

Homegoings

Directed and Produced by Christine Turner

Homegoings explores the African American way of death through the story of an undertaker in Harlem and the families he serves. (Post-Production)

Our Nixon

Directed and Produced by Penny Lane and Brian Frye

Executive Produced by Dan Cogan and Jenny Raskin

Forty years after Watergate, the forgotten Super 8 home movies of Richard Nixon's closest aides -- and convicted Watergate conspirators -- offer an intimate and surprising new glimpse into his presidency. (Post-Production)