Documentary Film

The Documentary Film program of the Ithra Content Initiative supports short, medium-length and feature documentary films that are in production and post-production phases. The proposed projects can tackle diversified themes and topics, and adopt different genres including, but not limited to, animation, hybrid, and others, as long as they are presented in a creative way.

Important Note:

•   Projects in development phase will not be accepted.
•   The grant received is to support the completion of the film. The final output request is the final version of the film.

Contract and Grant Amount

The program provides grants ranging from 520,000 SAR to a maximum of 780,000 SAR per project.

Projects must be completed within two years of signing the contract, during which time grantees must submit the necessary financial and narrative reports, in addition to the agreed-on final output.

Eligible Candidates

•   The program is open to filmmakers residing in Saudi Arabia, including Saudis and other residents.
•   Having a producer is required to be eligible to apply;    
•   The applicant must be a registered institution or company. Individuals are eligible as long as they have an institution endorsing them;
•   Project applications are accepted regardless of age, years of experience.

Ineligible Candidates

•    Saudis living abroad;
•    Members of the Aramco Board of Directors, corporate management, Ithra staff members except volunteers; members of the jurors’ committee, and program advisors.
•  Recipients of two consecutive grants unless two rounds passed since the last grant.

Important Note:

To give more opportunities to artists and cultural institutions, applicant can apply with only two projects this year.

Eligible Expenses

The grant covers project-related expenses;

•   Artist fees;
•   Production costs;
•   Communication costs;
•   Rental of equipment and purchase of materials;
•   Institutional operations fees.

Place and Duration

Selected projects must be implemented in Saudi Arabia and be geared primarily to the Saudi audience.

The project timeframe shall not exceed 24 months. Only expenses that occurred after the signing of the contract and are approved by the grant management team will be considered eligible. The program does not cover expenses retroactively.

How to Apply

•  Applications may only be submitted through the online application portal on the Ithra website.
•  Applications submitted via regular mail or email will not be accepted.
•  Incomplete applications or applications lacking sufficient supporting materials will be immediately disqualified. Ithra will not contact applicants to inform them if part of the application is missing.
•  To apply, click here. (The submissions period is closed.) 
•  The deadline for applying is March 3١, 2023 at 5 p.m. (Saudi Arabia time).
•   Please note that Ithra will not respond to any inquiries communicated after March ٣٠, 2023.

Supporting Materials

-     Applicants must submit supporting material for the application project;

-     Applications lacking sufficient supporting material will not be considered;

-     For a Production grant: a selection of edited scenes (not less than five minutes) from the submitted project is requested. A trailer may be sent in addition to the edited scenes.

-     For a Post-Production grant: a rough cut (10 minutes or more for medium-length projects; 25 minutes or more for feature-length projects) is required. A trailer may be sent in addition to the rough cut.

-     For partly or fully animated projects, a mood board is requested.

-    For series:

-    A commitment from a hosting platform alongside their contact,

-    A thematic description that explains channel,

-    A previous similar video work,

-    A list of episodes with a brief description of each episode,

-    A list of guests who will appear in the series, and a note of commitment from each of them.

Evaluation and Selection Process

Following the submission deadline, Ithra will conduct an administrative check to ensure that applications are complete and adhere to the guidelines mentioned above. Only applications that pass the administrative check will be processed. An independent jurors’ committee will assess the applications and choose the projects to be granted. Please see Evaluation Process for more details.

Ithra is not obliged to cover the total amount of the requested grant.

Grant Announcements

The grant winners will be announced and published on the Ithra website and social media platforms. An automatic email will be sent to applicants whose projects were not selected to receive grants.

Grant Contract

Before the grant winners are announced, Ithra will provide a grant contract to be signed by the nominated grantees. The contract will include start and end dates, grant amount, budget breakdown, financial requirements, payment schedule, general provisions, implementation and amendments, required reports and project results.

One (or more) advisor will be assigned to every winner to provide support during the implementation period, depending on the need of the project. The advisor can be on the technical or administrative levels.

What is the advisor’s role?

The advisors are subject matter experts who will approve the milestone delivery, assuring that submissions’ quality matches the contract specifications and that the content complies with Ithra guidelines.

The submissions period is closed !