How the Ford Foundation Changed Entertainment: Why Ford’s Strategy Works

How the Ford Foundation Changed the Entertainment Industry (full series)
The Ford Foundation | Direct Film Funding | Film Festivals
Outreach, Networks, and Education | Why Ford’s Strategy Works

Why Ford’s Strategy Works

The Ford Foundation has chosen to make documentary film funding a meaningful part of its massive annual grantmaking, and the impact of this spending has been staggering. Between 2017 and 2021, 187 different films received a sizable grant (median of $125,000) from Ford through its JustFilms program, making the foundation a major reason why those films exist today. On the ideological side, consider the impact a conservative funder would have if it helped create 187 films over that same period, plus injecting more money into the broader infrastructure supporting the filmmaking ecosystem.

To conservatives, it may be somewhat disconcerting to look at the film production landscape and see it flooded with left-progressive documentaries. But for those on the right who may be interested in shifting this landscape, Ford’s model offers some promise.

For starters, it is entirely replicable. Crucially, the foundation earmarks consistent funding year over year. It also comprehends the industry. When the foundation launched the JustFilms program in 2011, the driving force behind it was not a public policy-oriented program officer, but Orlando Bagwell, an experienced and successful director who understood the ins and outs of film funding. The Ford Foundation’s current president Darren Walker credited Bagwell with having changed the foundation’s entire approach to film funding.

Ford’s strategy involves funding hundreds of films—for every Sundance winner, it has supported scores of films few have heard of. It involves funding outreach initiatives: getting films into film festivals, in front of policymakers, students, and the general public. It involves funding the festivals themselves and the infrastructure necessary for documentary filmmakers to grow in success and stature. Finally, it involves funding the educational and training programs necessary to support the future of left-progressive filmmaking worldwide.

Ford and its ideological allies have created an ecosystem in which left-leaning filmmakers flourish. Such films benefit not only from access to significantly more direct funding than conservative ones, but also from a stable of skilled and ideologically aligned filmmakers whose careers have been supported at virtually every stage. Filmmakers such as Ani Mercedes can move about this entire ecosystem, which exists only because philanthropic funders like Ford constructed it.

The Doc Society considers filmmakers to be “agents of social change who shape public opinion, shape our social and political attitudes with narrative.” They’re not wrong. Documentary films are a powerful tool, and one which few funders can support at any scale given the costs involved. Americans are increasingly turning to video for all things news, entertainment, and media, and left-of-center interests have a big head start. Mega-funders like the Ford Foundation have created a blueprint. Conservatives would be wise to follow it.