
DIANE WEYERMANN FELLOWSHIP
Supporting filmmaking teams to develop significant works of art that highlight stories of moral and ethical urgency from around the world.
Through her leadership roles at the Soros Foundation, Sundance Institute, and Participant, Diane Weyermann made immeasurable contributions to global expansion and artistic flourishing of independent documentary filmmaking. In honor of her generosity and her commitment to supporting bold, visionary artists, the Diane Weyermann Fellowship champions filmmaking teams producing bold, cinematic feature-length documentaries that take artistic risks in highlighting stories of moral and ethical urgency.
The 18-month program includes $100,000 in unrestricted grants for each project, tailored mentorship from veteran filmmakers and industry leaders, two creative retreats at CIFF, and ongoing professional development—all designed to support the completion of Fellows’ films and the advancement of their careers as artists.
Submissions are now closed for the 2025-2026 Fellowship.
LIVE VIRTUAL INFO SESSION + Q&A
Our team hosted an info session for interested applicants and members of our community to learn more about the program–eligibility, general selection criteria, and also hear from audience questions. For those that were unable to attend, tune in below.
FELLOWSHIP EXPERIENCE
“There aren’t too many experiences you get to have in life that you might label formative, but this past 18 months has been shaping and renewing. As someone who was lucky enough to work with Diane, if only for a brief stretch, it has been an experience that truly embodies her spirit and how she thought about moving through this documentary world of ours with grace, fierceness and joy.” – Jeff Reichert, 2023-2024 Weyermann Fellow
“The Diane Weyermann Fellowship was a turning point for our film and for my personal career and development. It provided a space to grow, change the perspective and think on a different scale, to liberate the creative potential of the project and refine its language. It empowered us to practice documentary filmmaking as a form of art.” – Biljana Tutorov, 2023-2024 Weyermann Fellow
“I now get visions about a new kind of cinema. A cinema not bound by some passive dream-logic. Rather a cinema that is interventionist. A cinema that wrests back the metaphors and poetry lost in quarreling with the fabulists. A cinema that is self-aware and is truthful in its construction. New cinema is on the horizon, in a lobster induced vision.” – Amit Madheshiya, 2023-2024 Weyermann Fellow
ABOUT DIANE WEYERMANN
Originally from St. Louis, Diane started her career as a lawyer. Recognizing that film could provide a platform to highlight social issues and tell the stories of real people, she went on to receive her MFA at the film school at Columbia College in Chicago. Diane directed the Open Society Institute’s Arts and Culture Program under the auspices of George Soros, launching the Soros Documentary Fund, which she moved to the Sundance Institute in 2001.
There, Diane began laying the groundwork for what became the Sundance Documentary Film Program. In 2005, Diane joined Jeff Skoll’s newly founded Participant Media and headed up the socially-conscious production company’s documentary feature film and television division. During Diane’s tenure at Participant, the company produced more than 100 feature and documentary films.
Collectively, Diane’s Participant projects have earned 10 Academy Award nominations and four wins; eight Emmy nominations and three wins; three BAFTA nominations and one win; and five Spirit Award nominations and three wins.
2023-2024 FELLOWS
ADVISORY GROUP
Ally Derks, Founder of International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
Ben Fowlie, VP, Sales & Partnerships, Original Content at Universal Pictures Content Group
Laura Kim, Documentary Executive
Jonathan King, Chief Executive Officer, Concordia Studio
Elise Pearlstein, Executive Vice President, This Machine Filmworks
Courtney Sexton, Documentary Executive
Andrea Weyermann, Ph.D., Georgia State University