The Derek Freese Documentary Fund

Written by FilmProposals

The Derek Freese Documentary Fund

The Derek Freese Documentary Fund (DFDF) provides support for feature-length documentary films that have both a strong narrative and a connection to Greater Philadelphia. This award is given biennially (every other year) to an independent filmmaker and provides up to $35,000 in finishing funds.

DFDF helps support documentary filmmakers who are in the final stages of the production and post-production process and have a powerful story to tell and a strong vision for a finished film. Derek Freese Documentary Fund starts accepting applications in January. The application deadline for the annual cycle is June and final decisions are announced in fall.

The Derek Freese Film Foundation was created in 1997 to honor the memory of Derek Freese, an aspiring filmmaker who passed away two days after arriving in Hollywood to pursue his dream of making movies. Through Derek’s lens, we find great storytelling, interesting characters, and creative filmmaking.

More Info: https://www.derekfreesefilm.org

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NEW! Documentary Business Plan & Documentary Pitch Deck

FilmProposals is thrilled to offer help to documentary producers looking for investors, by enhancing our Film Fundraising toolkits to address the specific needs of documentarians. The highlight is a unique Documentary Business Plan Template included in all of our Film Financing Toolkits and Bundles. Much of the Documentary Business Plan is just like that of our narrative Film Business Plan Template, however, we’ve also done some major custom work to specifically highlight why documentaries are a great investment and how to best showcase your documentary to investors:

Documentary Business Plan Template
  • Documentary Business Plan Template – this new template is completely redone to focus only on documentary films. Recent successes, emerging documentary trends, streaming and studio deals, distribution patterns, audience statistics, revenue generated for sample films and much more. When did Docs become profitable and start selling for $5M or $10M at festivals? We lay it all out for you…
  • Documentary Pitch Deck – while our pitch deck template can be used for any type of film, you will use your business plan research to ensure the deck showcases your documentary as a worthy investment opportunity
  • Financial Projections/ Comparable Films – our custom database and custom financial projections flow seamlessly for both documentaries and narrative films

The new Documentary Business Plan Template is included in ALL of our Film Financing Toolkits and Bundles, so you can purchase any of them and be well on your way to funding any part of your documentary with private investments.

NETFLIX 2026: Selling Your Documentary To Netflix

Selling Your Documentary To Netflix

Netflix is in constant need of fresh content and their buyers are seeking outstanding independent filmmakers and documentary creatives who can deliver the stories that Netflix wants. Learn the ins and outs of getting your doc or doc series onto Netflix with SELLING YOUR DOCUMENTARY TO NETFLIX and download the FREE Netflix Pitch Checklist today.

Desktop Documentaries offers the Documentary Fundraising Toolkit, which includes a 190-page full-color documentary fundraising guide, a 25-page documentary proposal template with instructions, two budget templates with budgeting guide, list of the top 100 documentary film grants, e-book with 25 specific fundraising ideas to start raising your first $10,000 and a fundraising check-list. All the best fundraising tools, templates and resources, including 20+ years of experience, combined into one comprehensive packet.

List of Film Grants

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Documentary Film Grants

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See All: Full List of Film Grants

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