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Seven Documentary Organizations Sign Letter Decrying DOGE National Endowment for the Humanities Cuts
Seven filmmaker support organizations, including the International Documentary Association, Women Make Movies and Third World Newsreel, have signed a letter protesting Trump administration cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities that will affect both independent documentary filmmakers and non-profit organizations. In addition to funds for future grants, the administration is rescinding grants awarded during the Biden administration — monies that filmmakers and organizations had already planned to spend.
The New York Times reported today:
Starting late Wednesday night, state humanities councils and other grant recipients began receiving emails telling them their funding was ended immediately. Instead, they were told, the agency would be “repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the president’s agenda.”
“Your grant’s immediate termination is necessary to safeguard the interests of the federal government, including its fiscal priorities,” the letters said. “The termination of your grant represents an urgent priority for the administration, and due to exceptional circumstances, adherence to the traditional notification process is not possible.”
As NPR reports, “nearly half (42%) of the federal humanities endowment goes directly to state humanities councils…. State humanities councils customarily regrant NEH money to local organizations including libraries, museums, historical societies, documentary filmmakers and others.”
The letter, reprinted below, urges Congress to reinstate NEH grants and support regional humanities councils:
The International Documentary Association (IDA) and six other filmmaker support organizations are deeply concerned by the news that DOGE is immediately cutting U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities grant programs. The NEH’s vital support of documentaries in the U.S. includes the NEH Media Projects grant program and documentary funding grants from many U.S. state humanities councils. For decades, they provided meaningful arts programming for general audiences, bridging scholarly research, documentary-making, and the public. Since Wednesday, we have received reports of dozens of grant terminations from filmmakers, affecting their ability to pay contracted crew and deliver quality programs for audiences all over the U.S.
The blanket termination of active grants, including those awarded under a previous Presidential administration, is a blatant attempt to impose ideological control over artistic production and will continue to devastate the affected productions. We reject the content-based suppression of documentary makers and urge Congress to reinstate NEH grants and support regional humanities councils.
International Documentary Association
Center for Independent Documentary
Documentary Educational Resources
The Film Collaborative
Third World Newsreel
Visual Communications
Women Make Movies
