Still from "Writing with Fire." Image courtesy of Black Ticket Films
Italy’s Gucci is helping to bring stories of social issues to a broader audience through its Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund.
Now in its tenth year, the partnership between the label and the Tribeca Film Institute has expanded its efforts for the recipients by linking with the Oath Foundation to support the films’ distribution and campaign strategies. Since launching the fund in 2008, Gucci and TFI have helped 83 films through a total $1.3 million in grants.
Social cinema
The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund gives production and post-production support to films that provide a human perspective on social issues both domestic and international.
Half of the eight films receiving grants this year focus on topics surrounding youth or women who are working to improve their communities.
For instance, “93 Queen” follows a group of women who have established the first fully female volunteer EMS squad in a Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood. “Laila at the Bridge” follows the title character, a former child bride living in Kabul, as she works to treat heroin addicts, inspired by her brother’s own struggle with addiction.
Still from "Laila at the Bridge." Image courtesy of Elissa Sylvia Miraei
Other films shed light on subjects such as the U.S. surveillance of Muslim American communities, pressure on New York police to meet quotas and the struggle of former Afghan and Iraqi translators for the U.S. to find safety.
Along with receiving help to get their films produced, the grant this year is adding assistance to release the films. The fund has tapped Picture Motion, a marketing and advocacy agency whose work focuses on issue-driven films, to help the films make a greater impact.
“At a time of extreme social divisiveness both nationally and abroad, we are proud to be able to grant these filmmakers the opportunity to tell such important stories through the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund,” said Amy Hobby, executive director of TFI, in a statement. “These films tackle issues from around the world, and the backgrounds of the directors and producers reflect a wide diversity of those with important stories to tell.
“Thank you to our partners on this project – without Gucci and additional support from Oath Foundation, the backing of these films would not be possible,” she said.
Gucci has stayed true to its commitment to the arts, working with Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation for the past 12 years.
The Film Foundation is dedicated to preserving and restoring historically, artistically and culturally significant films so that future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy them. Gucci’s long-term collaboration with the foundation highlights the brand’s social responsibility, which is increasingly appealing to consumers who have begun to focus more on making ethical and moral purchases (see story).