Foundations
Foundations
Here's a look at documents from U.S. foundations
Featured Stories
Central New York Community Foundation Welcomes Two New Hires
SYRACUSE, New York, June 11 -- The Central New York Community Foundation issued the following news release:* * *
Central New York Community Foundation Welcomes Two New Hires
The Central New York Community Foundation has hired Paris Babers as Events & Communications Manager and Salma Muse as Scholarship & Student Success Manager.
Paris Babers, Events & Communications Manager
Babers brings a background in operations, project management and strategic communications, with experience leading cross-functional initiatives and managing high-impact projects.
Previously, Babers served as manager of ... Show Full Article SYRACUSE, New York, June 11 -- The Central New York Community Foundation issued the following news release: * * * Central New York Community Foundation Welcomes Two New Hires The Central New York Community Foundation has hired Paris Babers as Events & Communications Manager and Salma Muse as Scholarship & Student Success Manager. Paris Babers, Events & Communications Manager Babers brings a background in operations, project management and strategic communications, with experience leading cross-functional initiatives and managing high-impact projects. Previously, Babers served as manager ofdistribution & operations at DECAL, a subsidiary of NEON Rated, where she spearheaded digital and physical distribution for major upcoming independent films, including the 2025 Oscar winner for Best Picture, Anora. Her career also includes production and executive operations roles that strengthened her expertise in logistics, event planning and team leadership.
Babers holds both a master's degree in television, radio and film and a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises from Syracuse University. In her role at the Community Foundation, she leads impactful events and supports communications efforts that advance the organization's mission.
Salma Muse, Scholarship & Student Success Manager
Muse brings a background in academic advising, mentorship and community engagement. As an advisor at On Point for College, she worked with first-generation students on academic planning, career development, financial aid and college readiness. She also collaborated with students, families and financial aid offices to support student success in post-secondary education.
While pursuing graduate studies at SUNY Oswego, Muse served as a graduate assistant in several roles focused on operations, mentorship, student support and cross-departmental coordination.
Muse earned a bachelor's degree in public health from Syracuse University and a master's degree in higher education leadership from SUNY Oswego. In her role at the Community Foundation, she works with students and families to help make education more accessible and attainable by connecting them with the resources, guidance and opportunities needed to achieve their educational goals and future aspirations.
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Original text here: https://cnycf.org/central-new-york-community-foundation-welcomes-two-new-hires/
Getty Presents a Story of Rediscovery, Provenance Research, and Restitution
LOS ANGELES, California, June 10 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust issued the following news release:* * *
Getty Presents a Story of Rediscovery, Provenance Research, and Restitution
The Getty Research Institute (GRI) presents "Lost. Found. Returned." on view June 23-Oct. 18, 2026, at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
This exhibition traces the extraordinary history of a drawing once believed lost during World War II and now set to return to its rightful home in Dresden, Germany. Before its departure, the work will be exhibited publicly for the first time, offering visitors a rare opportunity to ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, June 10 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust issued the following news release: * * * Getty Presents a Story of Rediscovery, Provenance Research, and Restitution The Getty Research Institute (GRI) presents "Lost. Found. Returned." on view June 23-Oct. 18, 2026, at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. This exhibition traces the extraordinary history of a drawing once believed lost during World War II and now set to return to its rightful home in Dresden, Germany. Before its departure, the work will be exhibited publicly for the first time, offering visitors a rare opportunity toexamine both the artwork and the investigative process that uncovered its history.
"Every artwork has a history, and even when that history is well-documented it is sometimes more complex than we realize," says Andrew Perchuk, Interim Director of the Getty Research Institute. "This exhibition highlights the meticulous research and investigative work required to trace an object's journey across decades and borders, while underscoring the Getty Research Institute's commitment to advancing provenance research and supporting responsible stewardship of cultural heritage."
At the center of the exhibition is "Standing Male Nude from the Back, with a Smaller Sketch" by German Symbolist artist Otto Greiner (1869-1916). Acquired in 1894 by the Print Room of the Saxon Royal Art Collections, now the Kupferstich-Kabinett, Dresden State Art Collections (SKD), the drawing was recorded as lost in the aftermath of World War II. More than a century after entering the Dresden collection, the work resurfaced in an unexpected place, at the Getty Research Institute's archive.
The case of the Greiner drawing demonstrates how historical, archival, material, forensic, and computational evidence can be brought together to reconstruct an object's history. Registered in Germany's Lost Art Database, the drawing became the subject of extensive investigation that ultimately confirmed its identity and provenance. The exhibition further illustrates how museums, archives, and research institutions can work collaboratively to address the ongoing effects of Nazi-era art looting and wartime losses.
The exhibition also draws attention to the wealth of online information that contributes to this process of discovery, such as the Getty Provenance Index, one of the world's leading resources for provenance research. By showcasing the methods and tools used to identify and return the drawing, "Lost. Found. Returned." sheds light on the growing importance of provenance studies within art history and museum practice.
According to Nancy Um, Associate Director of Research and Knowledge Creation, "Provenance research hinges on the close inspection of the artwork, in the quest for any material clues about its past, such as inscriptions, inventory numbers, or collectors' stamps. But, today, these long-held methods must be combined with exhaustive research across many resources, including expansive online databases, which collate the vast amount of information that we have at our disposal. Yet, as this exhibition shows, even if this information is available digitally, concerted effort is still needed to bring together the full biography of each lost object."
More than the story of a single artwork, "Lost. Found. Returned." is a testament to the power of research, transparency, and international collaboration. As Getty prepares to return the drawing to Dresden in November, the exhibition invites visitors to consider the enduring significance of cultural stewardship and the responsibility institutions share in preserving and restoring the histories of works of art.
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Original text here: https://www.getty.edu/news/getty-exhibition-rediscovery-provenance-research-restitution
Francesca Casadio Appointed John E. and Louise Bryson Director of the Getty Conservation Institute
LOS ANGELES, California, June 10 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust issued the following news release:* * *
Francesca Casadio Appointed John E. and Louise Bryson Director of the Getty Conservation Institute
The J. Paul Getty Trust has appointed Francesca Casadio as the next John E. and Louise Bryson Director of the Getty Conservation Institute. Casadio currently serves as vice president and Grainger Executive Director of Conservation and Science at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Casadio will oversee the Getty Conservation Institute, one of the four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The Institute ... Show Full Article LOS ANGELES, California, June 10 -- The J. Paul Getty Trust issued the following news release: * * * Francesca Casadio Appointed John E. and Louise Bryson Director of the Getty Conservation Institute The J. Paul Getty Trust has appointed Francesca Casadio as the next John E. and Louise Bryson Director of the Getty Conservation Institute. Casadio currently serves as vice president and Grainger Executive Director of Conservation and Science at the Art Institute of Chicago. Casadio will oversee the Getty Conservation Institute, one of the four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust. The Instituteleads efforts to preserve and advance cultural heritage through scientific research, field projects, education, and knowledge sharing. Through global partnerships and expertise across disciplines, the Institute addresses built heritage, collections, and heritage science, and develops open-access tools and resources for conservation professionals.
Reporting to Getty President and CEO Katherine E. Fleming, Casadio will be responsible for the Institute's strategic vision, initiating and implementing key initiatives and research to continue to improve cultural heritage conservation practice globally. She will begin at Getty in early fall 2026.
"We are thrilled to welcome Francesca to Getty to lead the Getty Conservation Institute," said Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust. "She has a vast amount of experience, including extensive international collaboration, providing a unique lens that will be invaluable as the Institute continues to shape the field of conservation."
Casadio brings over two decades of experience to the role and has been at the Art Institute of Chicago since 2003. She established their scientific research laboratory, is leading the design of the $50M Grainger Center for Conservation and Science and is a founding member and co-director of the Northwestern University/Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts. Casadio will also be returning to Getty, having started her career in the United States as a graduate intern in historic building preservation at the Getty Conservation Institute in 2002.
"I am proud to join Getty. With its unmatched combination of interdisciplinary research, collections and grantmaking, the Institute is uniquely positioned to demonstrate how heritage conservation is an engine of public value that benefits everyone," said Francesca Casadio. "Many people might think conservation is just something that happens before they encounter an iconic work like Van Gogh's 'Irises' or visit a landmark site with their friends or family, but conservation is what makes that encounter possible."
Casadio holds PhD and MS degrees in chemistry from the University of Milan, Italy, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne University in Paris in 2019.
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Original text here: https://www.getty.edu/news/francesca-casadio-appointed-john-e-and-louise-bryson-director-of-the-getty-conservation-institute
Ford Foundation's JustFilms Allocates $4.8 Million to Advance Documentary Films Championing Social Justice
NEW YORK, June 10 -- The Ford Foundation issued the following news:* * *
Ford Foundation's JustFilms Allocates $4.8 Million to Advance Documentary Films Championing Social Justice
The Ford Foundation's JustFilms program announced an estimated $4.8 million in funding to empower documentary filmmakers and organizations addressing some of the world's most pressing social issues. This investment will support 48 film projects and initiatives centering storytelling as a catalyst for social justice.
This announcement marks a double milestone as JustFilms celebrates its 15th anniversary and the 100th ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, June 10 -- The Ford Foundation issued the following news: * * * Ford Foundation's JustFilms Allocates $4.8 Million to Advance Documentary Films Championing Social Justice The Ford Foundation's JustFilms program announced an estimated $4.8 million in funding to empower documentary filmmakers and organizations addressing some of the world's most pressing social issues. This investment will support 48 film projects and initiatives centering storytelling as a catalyst for social justice. This announcement marks a double milestone as JustFilms celebrates its 15th anniversary and the 100thyear of the term "documentary" as a cinematic form.
"JustFilms' 2025 slate illustrates how power operates across borders, prisons, surveillance, and ideology. These films show us how in the face of erasure, people fight to remain visible. The portfolio insists that documentary is not only a tool of witness but a practice of cultural repair: preserving memory, excavating buried histories, and expanding the aesthetic language through which social justice can be both seen and felt," said Jon-Sesrie Goff, program officer, JustFilms, Creativity and Free Expression, Ford Foundation.
Earlier this year, five JustFilms-supported projects premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with two receiving notable awards. This month, five projects--on subjects ranging from criminal justice to immigration to climate and racial justice--will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.
JustFilms is rooted in the understanding that a vibrant documentary ecosystem requires far more than the financing of individual films. It depends on the conditions that allow stories to be made, sustained, circulated, preserved, and meaningfully encountered by the public they are meant to reach. That means investing not only in artists and projects, but also in the organizations, networks, platforms, and field-building efforts that sustain long-term societal impact.
At the same time, content production and artistic exploration remain central to that vision. The films themselves are where new social imaginaries are tested, where aesthetic language evolves, and where communities see their histories, struggles, and aspirations rendered with complexity and care. Grounded in the belief that documentary shapes society's understanding of the world, many of these films offer personal points of view on issues dominating today's headlines.
For JustFilms, supporting infrastructure and supporting artists are mutually reinforcing parts of the same strategy, rather than separate commitments.
"JustFilms has a dual commitment to support filmmakers making powerful work, as well as the 'great chain of being' that sustains, circulates, and preserves it. By funding both content and infrastructure, we ensure that documentaries remain a vital force in public life, contributing to a pluralistic, just, and dynamic media ecosystem." said Paulina Suarez, program officer, JustFilms, Creativity and Free Expression, Ford Foundation. "Supporting content and infrastructure allows us to shift power to an independent and global creative community that is dedicated to nonfiction media in the public interest."
The estimated $4.8 million investment in content includes support to regranting initiatives at organizations including the Sundance Institute, the Points North Institute, the Southern Documentary Fund, la Fundacion Ixcanul, the Durban Film Mart, and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
Documentary film projects funded in 2025 by JustFilms include:
ABSTRACT
Director(s): Jaydn Ray Gosselin
Producer(s): Jacob Fertig, Chelsea Hernandez, Brianda Gosselin-Hickey
Two searches are underway in the U.S. Borderlands. One seeks the dead, the other stalks the living. Each pursues the migrant body beyond recognition. ABSTRACT is a striking exploration of the scientific gaze and who controls it.
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Adam's Apple
Director(s): Amy Jenkins
Producer(s): Brit Fryer, Amy Jenkins
A transgender teen and his mother chronicle their lives, artistically weaving a rare and intimate portrait of a family in transition. Two decades of footage trace a boy's path to manhood and his parents' vulnerability as they reckon with change.
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All Other Parts
Director(s): Cristina Ibarra
Producer(s): Cristina Ibarra, Vanessa Perez, Heather Courtney
After spending years in exile, director Cristina Ibarra's uncle returns to El Paso determined to stay with his family, only to find himself confined by an electronic monitor--trapped in the very place he thought would set him free.
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All That is Solid (Todo Lo Solido)
Director(s): Luis Gutierrez Arias, Zaina Bseiso
Producer(s): Luis Gutierrez Arias, Zaina Bseiso, Remi Grellety, Sara Skrodzka
Set in present-day Cuba and structured as a road movie, Todo Lo Solido tells the story of an island sinking into the Caribbean Sea. As a nameless drifter searches for explanations about the island's destiny, reality and fantasy merge to reflect on nation-building and the burden of progress.
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American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez
Director(s): David Alvarado
Producer(s): Lauren DeFilippo, Everett Katigbak, Amanda Pollak
Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, crafting iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America's story.
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American Union
Director(s): Brett Wallace
Producer(s): Brett Wallace, Geoff Arbourne, James Blue
Captures the resilience and hopes of two communities in small-town Alabama. Through intimate footage shot at the heart of the action and rare behind-the-scenes access, the film bears witness to a resurgence of the American labor movement and addresses the future of work.
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At Night, The Sea Is Black
Director(s): Somi Kakoma
Producer(s): Sade Lythcott, National Black Theatre
Buried in archives and etched in the dreams of an aging generation, FESTAC '77 was a monumental Pan-African festival of music, art, and politics, fueled by Nigeria's post-civil war oil wealth. This film uncovers lost footage, forgotten memories, and untold stories, revealing the revolutionary spirit of the gathering that dared to imagine a liberated future. Through rare performances and interviews, it reclaims FESTAC '77's enduring impact on global culture and its sustained calls for African heritage restitution.
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Black Folklore: From the Mississippi Delta to Yale University
Director(s): William Ferris
Producer(s): Ashley Melzer, Blair Kelley, and Lauren Jarvis
A collection of largely unseen 16mm color film footage from 1974, part of the William R. Ferris Collection at the Southern Folklife Collection, is now ready for editing. This footage, inspired by a Black folklore course at Yale taught by William Ferris, includes over 60 hours of interviews and performances by artists like B.B. King and James "Son Ford" Thomas in the Mississippi Delta, along with footage from the Yale classes.
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Bury Me Standing
Director(s): Mishka Brown
Producer(s): Mariko Munro, Amy Hobby, Debi Wisch
Follows art curator Hamza Walker for 4 years on his journey to bring the audaciously ambitious MONUMENTS exhibition to life at MOCA Los Angeles. MONUMENTS aims to be a bold showcase that incorporates both historical monuments and contemporary art pieces to address the type of public art that has narrated the American story. Hamza is a Don Quixote-like arts leader with a somewhat mythic status as an innovator, operator, renegade, and thought leader. While Hamza is deeply admired and respected, he is also known to "dream the impossible dream." MONUMENTS is his self-proclaimed most ambitious dream ever, and throughout much of the filming, we begin to wonder if the journey will be the destination.
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Children of Honey (Olankwe Sa Ba'alako)
Director(s): Jigar Ganatra, Emmanuel Musa Marco
Producer(s): Jigar Ganatra, Natalie Humphreys
Follows three young friends--Nd!uba, Nguilabe, and Embilibi--as alcohol addiction and dark tourism threaten to tear life apart in their once peaceful egalitarian community. This is the first film to offer an authentic, insider's view of the true Hadza hunter-gatherer experience and is co-directed by members of the Hadza youth: "We are Hadza and we want the world to know who we are."
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Crime and Punishment in America
Director(s): Lynn Novick
Producer(s): Ken Burns, Sam Pollard, Lucas Frank, Prisca Pointdujour, Vanessa Gonzalez-Block
Offers a comprehensive look at criminal justice in America, from the precolonial era to present day mass incarceration. Created by acclaimed filmmaker Lynn Novick and advised by the foremost authorities in the field, this eight-hour, four-episode PBS documentary film series is slated for national primetime broadcast in 2026. The film seeks to answer the seemingly simple question, "How did we get here?" With an expansive telling of 400 years of American history through the lens of crime and punishment, this series will inform, educate, and engage audiences to consider how America's criminal justice system has shaped the nation and touched nearly every facet of American life, and is a manifestation of the country's values and cultures; social, political, and economic systems--and our aspirations, prejudices, and limitations.
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Dance of a Lifetime
Director(s): Dawn Porter
Producer(s): Leyla Fayyaz, Misty Copeland, Byron Wetzel
A documentary feature showing Misty Copeland's journey towards a final performance with American Ballet Theatre in October 2025, the film chronicles in retrospective the achievements in Copeland's career both on- and offstage and looks ahead to the work she will continue to do to push ballet and the arts forward for a more equitable future.
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EDGE CITY
Director(s): Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross
Producer(s): Michael Gottwald, Claire Haley, Carlos Zozaya, Josh Penn, Olivia Lloyd
Set in a forgotten New Mexico desert town, the film explores residents confronting their pasts and futures as an unexpected presidential visit looms, revealing deep-seated conflicts. Employing an innovative hybrid documentary-narrative process, a small crew works on location, casting real people to play heightened versions of themselves.
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Ghost in the Machine
Director(s): Valerie Veatch
Producer(s): Valerie Veatch
The untold origins of artificial intelligence lie not in machines but in power, revealing the fantasies behind the hype that got us here and where we go next.
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God Bless the Child
Director(s): Christopher Harris
Producer(s): Mariko Munro
Acclaimed Black American filmmaker Christopher Harris reinterprets and reconfigures his own experience as a foster child through a cinematic collage that synthesizes photos, records, and archival materials with 16mm film footage shot in Senegal, situating the carcerality of the social welfare state and child services in relation to Black childhood in the U.S. within the broader context of the transatlantic slave trade and the French Catholic Church's colonization of West Africa and the Americas.
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Green Gold
Director(s): Selim Benzeghia, Ivonne Serna
Producer(s): Selim Benzeghia, Will N. Miller
Description forthcoming
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Ground Zero
Director(s): Josh Sabey
Producer(s): Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Sarah Perkins, Robbie Shinder, Lisa Sabey
Ground Zero is a feature documentary marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, offering a unique perspective on how New York City responded in the aftermath of the tragedy. Rather than focusing on the day of the attacks, the film explores the rebuilding process, the collective grief, and the deliberative democracy efforts that shaped Ground Zero's future.
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Hello Ladies
Director(s): Deborah Stratman
Producer(s): Deborah Stratman, Hiwot Admasu, Zsuzsanna Kiraly
A documentary film about sister-ancestors, speech acts, and resistance. The film is populated by women who write and rewrite history and culture in Ethiopia, using the Great Rift Valley, the legacy of the ancient hominid "Lucy," and the Azmari tradition of social singers as metaphorical and practical starting points.
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Homegrown: Appalachia
Director(s): Jr Rodriguez, Zoe Colfax, Kelyn Ikegami, Usama Alshaibi
Producer(s): Stanley Nelson, Chloe Walters-Wallace, Weenta Girmay, Nicole Tsien
Homegrown: Appalachia is the fourth season of Firelight Media's acclaimed short documentary series. This season turns its focus to the Appalachian region--an area rich with history, culture, and resistance, yet often misrepresented or erased in mainstream media. Homegrown: Appalachia showcases intimate, powerful stories that explore various themes told by emerging and established BIPOC filmmakers with deep ties to the region.
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Humboldt USA
Director(s): G. Anthony Svatek
Producer(s): Elijah Stevens
In this feature-length documentary film, 19th century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, the world's most used namesake, serves as an instrument to explore the pursuits of everyday Americans reckoning with their disappearing environments, from helicoptering bighorn sheep across the Nevadan desert to fighting urban highways in Buffalo, NY and hacking redwood forest ecology in northern California.
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In the Black Fantastic
Director(s): Julianknxx
Producer(s): Julianknxx, Debo Amon, Ekow Eshun, Jenny Berglund, Patrick Debeau, Arianna Nourse
Celebrates how Black artists draw on African myths, beliefs, and knowledge to challenge Western binaries of real/unreal and science/supernatural. Through folklore, science fiction, and spirituality, they reimagine past and future--not as escapism, but as radical possibilities for transforming the racialized everyday. The documentary unfolds in vivid vignettes inspired by African folktales, interwoven with conversations with leading Black creatives exploring myth and fantasy as tools of resistance and liberation. Following writer-curator Ekow Eshun's journey, the film becomes both a visual odyssey and a profound meditation on heritage, imagination, and the right to dream.
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Jack Whitten: A Cosmic Soul
Director(s): Yoruba Richen
Producer(s): Yoruba Richen, Ferne Pearlstein, Kiana Jackson
Explores the extraordinary life and work of one of the most innovative and overlooked artists of our time. A recent review of his landmark career retrospective at MoMA asked: "Is Whitten the most important American artist that you've never heard of?" This film tells the story of how Jack charted his own path over five decades, leaving an indelible mark on American art that the culture is only now coming to terms with.
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JOUD (wt)
Director(s): Diana El Jeiroudi
Producer(s): Diana El Jeiroudi, Orwa Nyrabia
Description forthcoming
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Kongo Is Burning
Director(s): Arnold Aganze
Producer(s): Ali Musoke
A documentary portrait of La Duchesse and Consolee, two transgender women who forge fulfilling lives in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. While their homeland is frequently depicted through the narrow prisms of resource extraction, armed conflict, and post-colonial struggles, this film shifts perspectives by celebrating resilience, creative expression, and joy.
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Mexicanamerican
Director(s): Eddie Sanchez
Producer(s): Michael Rogerson, Eben Sanchez
Using present-day interviews and the VHS home movies his family once sent across the border, a filmmaker explores how and why his parents migrated to the U.S. from Mexico, revealing a personal mosaic of one family's struggle to reconcile two cultures between two generations.
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Our Home Is Not Of This World
Director(s): Russ Finkelstein
Producer(s): Phil Pinto, Manuel F. Contreras, Adriana Trujillo, Elaisha Stokes
Dr. Stern is the sole medical examiner in Laredo, Texas, where she identifies migrants who perish crossing the border. She wants to retire, but Webb County can't find her replacement. A meditation on the bureaucracies and rituals that surround death through the lens of the U.S.-Mexico border crisis.
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Paraiso Artificial: El legado de Cine Mujer
Director(s): Alejandra Wills
Producer(s): Carolina Gomez, Maria Posada
The Cine Mujer Foundation (FCM) was Colombia's first feminist audiovisual group. Active from 1978 to 1999, it stands as a cornerstone of social cinema and women's filmmaking in Colombia and Latin America. Due to the limited resources allocated to audiovisual preservation in Colombia--and cultural agendas that have deprioritized social and women's struggles--its archive of more than 80 audiovisual works is at risk of being forgotten. This documentary seeks to honor the legacy of Cine Mujer and its body of work, while reflecting on gender violence and inequalities both within Colombian society and inside the audiovisual industry.
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Principios
Director(s): Susana "Shula" Erenberg
Producer(s): Abril Schmucler Iniguez
A portrait of Juan Ernesto Mendez, a man who has devoted his life to promoting and defending the dignity and rights of men and women, no matter where they come from. From a very young age, he worked to defend the rights of workers, as well as those of political prisoners in Argentina. As a result of this, he was persecuted by the State, arrested by the police, imprisoned, and tortured. Since his release, he has worked in the universal field of human rights and the abolition of torture, contributing with "The Mendez Principles."
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Relative Strangers
Director(s): Deann Borshay Liem
Producer(s): Deann Borshay Liem, Sam Pollard, Sarah S. Kim
During and after the Korean War, thousands of mixed-race children were abandoned by their American GI fathers, stigmatized by Korean society, and sent to be adopted by couples in the West. Today, many are searching for their original families, initiating unexpected discoveries about self, family, race, and culture. Relative Strangers follows their stories, uncovering the racial and social inequalities of the world's largest international adoption program and its impact on individuals and societies.
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RETRIEVAL
Director(s): Tracy Jarrett
Producer(s): Tracy Jarrett, Rebecca Stern, Emma Moley
If science allowed you to hold onto someone you lost, would you? Faced with the death of her fiance, Christina retrieves his sperm posthumously, starting a journey of self and scientific discovery as she tries to keep their hopes of a family alive.
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SHAHID
Director(s): James Adolphus
Producer(s): Robe Imbriano, Valerie Hong
SHAHID reveals the remarkable voice of Reginald Dwayne Betts, a man whose journey from felon to poet, lawyer, and relentless advocate challenges our understanding of what kind of people are locked up in this country. This documentary is a lyrical exploration of forgiveness, love, safety, and the indelible impact of incarceration. As a 'shahid', or witness, Betts offers a profound perspective on the brutal realities of the criminal justice system, reflecting on his past as both a perpetrator and a survivor of a broken system. Through Betts's eyes, we gain invaluable insights into who we are as a society and what we might yet become, making SHAHID a powerful testament to the human capacity to carry our histories, both good and bad, with us forever.
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Sons of Detroit
Director(s): Jeremy Xido
Producer(s): Amanda Burr, Joe Brewster, Lori Cheatle, Michele Stephenson, Russell Stewart
After a heart attack onstage nearly kills him, performer/filmmaker Jeremy Xido returns home to Detroit for the first time in over 20 years to confront demons from his past. The only child of leftist parents and the only white kid in his neighborhood, Jeremy was taken in and raised as one of the cousins in a Black family in 1970's Detroit. He returns home many years later to find their house in ruins, his family scattered. To piece together what happened, he searches out his cousin, Boo, who is recently home after 20 years in prison. Together, the two men unravel tangled threads of race, belonging, violence, and love that shaped their lives.
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Spaceman in Kongo
Director(s): Maisha Maene
Producer(s): Leo Nelki, Josune Hahnheiser
Spaceman in Kongo follows three generations in the evolving quest for an African space program: two young engineering students, Nestor and Isaac; their mentor, Jean-Patrice Keka, a charismatic Congolese engineer who has spent nearly two decades building rockets from salvaged parts; and the visionary spirit of Edward Mukuka Nkoloso, the 1960s Zambian "afronaut" who once dared to dream of sending Africans to Mars. For Nestor and Isaac, members of a new Congolese generation that has watched the global giants of capital feed on their country's resources, space is an opportunity to reclaim the forces of technology.
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The 4/30 Project
Director(s): Bruce Thierry Cheung
Producer(s): Chananun Chotrungroj, Bao Nguyen, Jenni Trange Le, Kenneth Nguyen, Thao Ha
The 4/30 Project is a feature-length documentary about Vietnamese American families separated by deportation. It is a transnational portrait of belonging and displacement, survival and memory, carried across borders and generations. Filmed in the United States and in Vietnam, the story follows families living in the long shadow of war and migration. Decades after the fall of Saigon, the consequences of conflict, incarceration, and immigration continue to shape their lives in lasting ways.
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The Coil Case
Director(s): Nivi Pedersen, Camilla Nielsson
Producer(s): Emile Herling Peronard, Signe Byrge Sorensen, Nils Hagen, Dorthe Gad, Dorthe Hoegh Brask
Thousands of Inuit women in Greenland were fitted with IUDs by Danish doctors in the 1960s and '70s--often without their consent. This film follows the women's fight for justice and raises critical questions regarding Denmark's colonization of Greenland.
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The Empire of Ebony
Director(s): Lisa Cortes
Producer(s): Lisa Cortes, Roger Ross Williams, Alyse Shorland
The story of John H. and Eunice Johnson's "The Johnson Publishing Company" is the stuff of legends. Started in 1942 in Chicago with a $500 loan secured by their family's furniture, the company would grow into a publishing juggernaut that included not just its iconic magazines Ebony and Jet but books, cosmetics, fashion, television, and radio stations. They chronicled over 75 years of history, telling stories of Black struggle, the civil rights movement, and a changing America.
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The Gardeners
Director(s): Crystal Kayiza
Producer(s): Brit Fryer
As keepers of one of the oldest Black cemeteries in Mississippi, the Worthy Women of Watkins Street nurture the liminal space between past, present, and future. The labor of these aging worldbuilders becomes a blueprint to navigate memory, legacy, and mortality, revealing the divine spirit residing in their daily lives.
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The Story of Documentary Film
Director(s): Mark Cousins
Producer(s): John Archer
Spanning 16 hours, this epic documentary traces the global evolution of nonfiction film, revealing the filmmakers who discovered, innovated, and shaped documentary cinema into a dynamic lens for life.
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The Virgin and the Troubled
Director(s): Everardo Gonzalez
Producer(s): Everardo Gonzalez
A research project about the religious fractures within the New Jerusalem community. The project delves into the complexities of polarization.
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UNION TOWN
Director(s): Barbara Kopple
Producer(s): Barbara Kopple, Hannes Hosp
Set against the backdrop of New York City, UNION TOWN is an intimate and evocative portrait of ordinary people fighting for union contracts and demanding dignity at UPS, Amazon, and across the app-based food delivery industry; in cinema verite style, these workers and their families unite through shared struggle, friendship, and solidarity.
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Unlocked
Director(s): Luke Terrell
Producer(s): Lauren Heimer, Alex Schmider, Annie Marr, Alexander Mok, Lily Wachowski, Lawrence Mattis, John Legend, Mike Jackson, Ty Stiklorius
Sentenced to life for crimes committed as teenagers, a group of inmates in Missouri's death row prison teaches themselves to code without access to the Internet. When their tenacious leaders, Jessica and Chris, are released after over 25 years of incarceration, they use their coding skills to build Unlocked Labs, a prison education company disrupting the predatory prison-industrial landscape.
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Untitled Darius Clark Monroe Documentary Film
Director(s): Darius Clark Monroe
Producer(s): Darius Clark Monroe, Lauren Domino, Alon Simcha
A surrealist hybrid docu-memoir that examines identity, perception, and the evolving role of legal professionals in shaping society. Through the personal and professional journeys of judges, attorneys, and legal scholars, the film explores how historical and cultural forces influence those who interpret and uphold the law.
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When a Poet Goes to War
Director(s): Aung Naing Soe
Producer(s): Han Yan Yuen
When peaceful protests fail to sway the country's dictator, a Burmese poet and his fellow artists pick up arms to fight the well-resourced military junta. Deep in the jungles they are gaining ground, but the former pacifists struggle with the mental and physical realities of a brutal war.
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Winnie and Nelson
Director(s): Dawn Porter
Producer(s): Kim Reynolds
Explores the lives and marriage of one of modern history's most powerful, controversial, and misunderstood couples: Nelson and Winnie Mandela. As one of the most celebrated political leaders of the 20th century, Nelson Mandela's story has been told by numerous biographers and historians. But his relationship with his wife has gone largely unexplored, as has her story. The film--part dual biography, part political thriller--examines how a courtship on the streets of Johannesburg between Winnie and the much older Mandela led to a revolution decades later that changed not only South Africa but the world, leaving Mandela as the victor and Winnie as the villain.
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You Don't Know My Name
Director(s): Tommy Franklin
Producer(s): Tommy Franklin, Rajal Pitroda, Samantha Steele, Darcy McKinnon
In 1984 in Louisiana, Tommy Franklin was snatched from his mother's arms at birth in prison and thrown into the foster system. He is a formerly incarcerated filmmaker who constantly imagines what his birth mother may be like. Tommy unites with prison birth workers to build a stronger community of support and healing to incarcerated mothers and their children. He spends time with pregnant, incarcerated people and mothers who have given birth behind bars. They discuss the complicated world of prison and post-prison life that can haunt someone forever. These conversations allow all parties involved to mirror one another's feelings of wonderment, curiosity, and hope.
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The Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For 90 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Learn more at www.fordfoundation.org.
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Original text here: https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/ford-foundations-justfilms-allocates-4-8-million-to-advance-documentary-films-championing-social-justice/
FFRF Castigates Second House Judiciary Hearing Targeting SPLC
MADISON, Wisconsin, June 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release:* * *
FFRF castigates second House Judiciary hearing targeting SPLC
Tuesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center is the latest step in a coordinated effort to intimidate organizations challenging Christian nationalism and other forms of extremism.
Testifying before the committee, Southern Poverty Law Center Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair defended the organization's 55-year record.
"For 55 years, with the support of generous donors who appreciate ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, June 10 -- The Freedom From Religion Foundation issued the following news release: * * * FFRF castigates second House Judiciary hearing targeting SPLC Tuesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center is the latest step in a coordinated effort to intimidate organizations challenging Christian nationalism and other forms of extremism. Testifying before the committee, Southern Poverty Law Center Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair defended the organization's 55-year record. "For 55 years, with the support of generous donors who appreciateour work, the SPLC has fought racial terror, white supremacy and other forms of discrimination and hate, to build and defend a multiracial democracy where we can all thrive," Fair told lawmakers. "That was the goal of the Civil Rights Movement -- and it is our mission."
Fair reminded committee members that the center helped dismantle the United Klans of America through litigation and has spent decades exposing extremist organizations through research, education, policy advocacy and legal action. He also rejected claims that the organization has strayed from its mission.
"Some say we've lost our way," Fair testified. "That's false. We have never lost our north star -- a fair and just society for every person."
At the hearing, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Subcommittee Chair Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and others continued their campaign against the Southern Poverty Law Center, attacking the organization's longstanding work tracking hate groups and extremist movements.
Multiple lawmakers questioned why the center has designated organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom as hate groups. Fair responded that the designations are based on documented statements and activities that vilify, demean or target marginalized communities, not on an organization's religious beliefs. He emphasized that the center does not label entities based on their faith, but rather on conduct and rhetoric that it concludes promote hostility or discrimination.
Members of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, including Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Reps. Becca Balint, D-Vt., and Hank Johnson, D-Ga., forcefully pushed back against these attacks, defending the importance of independent research and documentation of extremist movements. Raskin defended the Southern Poverty Law Center's decades-long civil rights work and warned against using government power to punish organizations for their viewpoints.
"The proper response to speech you don't like is counterspeech, not government prosecution, not government censorship," Raskin said in his opening remarks."If you don't like the fact that someone's called you a hate group, then you get up and you rebut them. You denounce them."
Balint warned that the hearing was part of a broader campaign to punish organizations unwilling to show blind loyalty to President Trump. She accused Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of transforming the Justice Department into a tool for political retribution, targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center and other groups that have resisted the administration's attacks on democratic institutions and civil rights protections.
Among the witnesses was Alveda King of the America First Policy Institute, a Christian nationalist organization closely aligned with the Trump administration. King argued that Americans with "traditional Christian values" are being unfairly targeted and criticized the center for its opposition to anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion activism. She accused the organization of mischaracterizing her advocacy and repeated claims attacking transgender healthcare and reproductive rights. Her testimony reflected a broader theme of the hearing, in which lawmakers and witnesses sought to portray criticism of Christian nationalist ideology and anti-LGBTQ extremism as discrimination against Christians themselves.
The same House committee had held an earlier hearing against the Southern Poverty Law Center on May 20. And in April, the Justice Department indicted the center over its program to track hate groups, an investigation which an earlier administration had already closed. The center's lawyers are seeking dismissal, documenting that the DOJ moved to charge without interviewing a single current employee and contends the prosecution is a political vendetta.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has a long history of documenting threats from Christian nationalists, white supremacists and other extremists. In its annual "Year in Hate and Extremism" report, it named white Christian nationalism as the key ideology that inspired the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, drawing directly on the February 2022 report that the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty co-published. The center has continued to document how Christian nationalism stokes hate through false claims of "Christian persecution" and "white genocide," and how the movement seeks to dominate American political and cultural life.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation stands firmly with the Southern Poverty Law Center. FFRF is among more than 100 civil rights organizations that have signed the Unity Pact, a commitment organized by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights under which an unjust attack on one signatory is treated as an attack on all. A prosecution built on the president's enemies list and dressed up in a congressional hearing is exactly what the pact has been made to defend against.
Despite the congressional attacks, the center today released its most recent "Year in Hate & Extremism" report, which chronicles trends in hard-right activity, exposes the players driving extremism and equips communities with data and tools to prevent radicalization. This year's report identifies 1,263 hate and antigovernment groups in operation throughout 2025 and documents how the hard-right movement rapidly consolidated power across influential institutions, including the federal government and the private tech sector. The report examines how extremist movements have targeted immigrants, LGBTQ-plus people, women, students of color and poor people, exploited cryptocurrency to sustain harassment campaigns, and intensified propaganda and recruitment efforts on college campuses.
"Attempts to punish organizations for exposing extremism are an attack on free inquiry, civil rights advocacy and democratic accountability," says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. "The Southern Poverty Law Center has spent decades documenting the dangers posed by white supremacy, Christian nationalism and other extremist movements. It should be commended for that work, not dragged before Congress because powerful politicians dislike its conclusions."
FFRF urges lawmakers to abandon these politically motivated attacks and focus instead on addressing the real threats posed by extremist movements that seek to undermine constitutional rights and secular democracy.
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The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to nontheism. With about 41,000 members, FFRF is the largest association of freethinkers (atheists, agnostics and humanists) in North America. For more information, visit ffrf.org.
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Original text here: https://ffrf.org/news/releases/ffrf-castigates-second-house-judiciary-hearing-targeting-splc/
[Category: Religion]
Congress Should Divide and Conquer on AI, Deepfakes, and Children's Safety, Says ITIF
WASHINGTON, June 10 [Category: Computer Technology]-- The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation posted the following news release:* * *
Congress Should Divide and Conquer on AI, Deepfakes, and Children's Safety, Says ITIF
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WASHINGTON-In response to reports of Sen. Marsha Blackburn's (R-TN) negotiations with the White House to preempt state AI laws in exchange for advancing legislation such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), App Store Accountability Act (ASAA), and NO FAKES Act, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, June 10 [Category: Computer Technology]-- The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation posted the following news release: * * * Congress Should Divide and Conquer on AI, Deepfakes, and Children's Safety, Says ITIF * WASHINGTON-In response to reports of Sen. Marsha Blackburn's (R-TN) negotiations with the White House to preempt state AI laws in exchange for advancing legislation such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), App Store Accountability Act (ASAA), and NO FAKES Act, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science andtechnology policy, issued the following statement from Senior Policy Manager Ash Johnson:
Pairing federal preemption of state AI laws with separate children's online safety and digital replica bills could sabotage the ongoing debate surrounding each of these issues.
The White House's proposed preemption would rectify a mistake Congress made last year when it removed a 10-year moratorium on state AI laws from its spending bill. Preempting state AI laws would prevent regulatory fragmentation and enable the innovation America needs to compete in the global AI race, while allowing existing laws and regulations that are flexible enough to govern AI effectively to continue to do so.
However, tying preemption to bills Congress is still actively debating, all of which contain flaws that would hinder innovation instead of enabling it, is taking one step forward and several steps back. Congress should enact federal preemption of state AI laws on its own while continuing to iron out its approach to children's online safety and digital replicas.
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Original text here: https://itif.org/publications/publications/2026/06/10/congress-should-divide-and-conquer-on-ai-deepfakes-and-children-s-safety-says-itif/
Asia Foundation: How Digital Tools Are Helping Local Businesses Grow Tourism in Nepal
SAN FRANCISCO, California, June 10 -- The Asia Foundation issued the following news:* * *
How Digital Tools Are Helping Local Businesses Grow Tourism in Nepal
By Tryambakesh Kumar Shukla
Home to Nepal's largest protected lowland wilderness and one of the country's highest densities of Bengal tigers, Bardiya National Park and its surrounding communities offer visitors an immersive mix of wildlife, Tharu culture, community hospitality, and nature-based experiences. But many of the local businesses that make those experiences possible--homestays, nature guides, and small tourism enterprises--have ... Show Full Article SAN FRANCISCO, California, June 10 -- The Asia Foundation issued the following news: * * * How Digital Tools Are Helping Local Businesses Grow Tourism in Nepal By Tryambakesh Kumar Shukla Home to Nepal's largest protected lowland wilderness and one of the country's highest densities of Bengal tigers, Bardiya National Park and its surrounding communities offer visitors an immersive mix of wildlife, Tharu culture, community hospitality, and nature-based experiences. But many of the local businesses that make those experiences possible--homestays, nature guides, and small tourism enterprises--haveremained hard to find online. In an era when travelers increasingly discover destinations through search, social media, online maps, and booking platforms, limited digital visibility can mean missed opportunities for both businesses and communities.
The Asia Foundation's Digital Samriddhi--"prosperity"--project is helping change that by using digital tools to strengthen Bardiya's tourism economy and help local communities tell their story to the world.
The need is significant. More than 90 hotels and homestays operate around Bardiya National Park, and community homestays provide an important source of income, especially for women, who own 86 percent of them.
Tourism demand is rising as well. Visitor arrivals to Bardiya have more than doubled in the last four years, increasing from 12,377 in 2021 to 28,000 in 2024-25. Domestic travelers account for nearly 70 percent of those visitors, while international arrivals have climbed from 701 in 2021 to more than 7,500 in 2024-25.
That growth points to Bardiya's potential to generate jobs, income, and new business opportunities. Yet many tourism entrepreneurs still lack the skills, tools, and confidence to promote their services online, communicate with potential visitors, and convert interest into bookings.
Digital Samriddhi takes an ecosystem approach to those barriers, bringing together entrepreneurs, local governments, internet service providers, fintech companies, online travel platforms, content creators, and technology innovators. The project combines digital literacy training, content creator workshops, media familiarization trips, policy support for tourism digitalization, and private-sector partnerships to improve digital connectivity and help communities and enterprises become more visible and connected.
Launched in December 2025 and running through September 2026, the project is already helping tourism entrepreneurs see digital technology not as something complex or out of reach, but as an essential business tool. Its tailored digital literacy program has reached 150 tourism entrepreneurs through small learning cohorts. Across 11 practical modules, participants learn skills such as basic internet literacy, Google Business Profiles, WhatsApp Business, Facebook Pages, digital payments, online travel agency platforms, and digital recordkeeping.
In Dalla Tharu Community Homestay alone, 26 entrepreneurs representing 10 homestays participated in the training. "The training provided essential knowledge to promote our businesses through digital platforms that we were previously unaware of," said Kaushila Yogi, who runs the Dalla Tharu Community Homestay. "We used Facebook and WhatsApp before, but only for personal purposes. Now we understand how to use them to reach customers and promote our services."
To sustain that momentum beyond the training period, the project has established a Digital Entrepreneurs Lab to support peer learning, connect entrepreneurs with market opportunities, and encourage innovation through challenge funds and other business development initiatives. The result is practical as well as personal: entrepreneurs are becoming more responsive to inquiries, more intentional about customer relationships, and more confident in promoting what makes Bardiya distinctive.
The project is also helping Bardiya reach new audiences through digital storytelling. In May 2026, Digital Samriddhi organized a three-day media familiarization visit that brought together three digital content creators from Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Bardiya. Their itinerary included a stay at the Dalla Tharu Community Homestay, a visit to Bardiya National Park with a local female nature guide, cultural performances, conversations with local entrepreneurs, and a stop at the Krishnasar (Blackbuck) Conservation Area.
The visit gave creators an opportunity to hear directly from community members, conservation actors, tourism businesses, and local women helping shape Bardiya's tourism sector. Those conversations helped them move beyond a narrow wildlife narrative and tell richer stories about culture, hospitality, conservation, and community-led tourism.
Within weeks, the reels, posts, and stories they produced on Instagram and Facebook had generated more than 44,000 views and reached more than 26,000 accounts. Just as important, the content conveyed a broader message: Bardiya offers much more than safari tourism. Through authentic storytelling, creators highlighted women-led initiatives, community homestays, local culture, and conservation efforts, inviting potential visitors to experience Bardiya more fully.
That broader narrative is helping build a shared vision for Bardiya as a destination. Community homestays, hotels, nature guides, conservationists, cultural performers, and local governments are increasingly working together to showcase the full range of experiences the region offers--from wildlife and nature-based tourism to local cuisine, cultural heritage, and community hospitality. This more collective approach is laying the groundwork for stronger destination branding and a more inclusive tourism economy.
Digital Samriddhi shows how digital transformation can support inclusive economic growth. By helping tourism entrepreneurs connect with visitors, markets, and new opportunities, the project is making it easier for the world to discover Bardiya--and for local communities to benefit more fully from the destination they have built.
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Original text here: https://asiafoundation.org/how-digital-tools-are-helping-local-businesses-grow-tourism-in-nepal/