Working Films and our partners at Democracy 2076, Political Research Associates, and Southern Vision Alliance are looking for story-driven short films that will illuminate the growing dangers of fascism and authoritarianism, fostering a shared understanding of the challenges we face and how to push back. Together, through the Docs in Action program, we will fund and tour films to support organizers who are resisting authoritarianism and building democratic possibility throughout the U.S. and beyond.
While recent examples of rising fascism—such as the erosion of democratic norms in the U.S., the rise of authoritarian regimes in Europe and South America, and the global surge in far-right extremism—underscore the urgency of these threats, they have been steadily growing and will continue to grow without deliberate and collective action. To address these challenges, we must expose the dangers they pose and highlight stories of resistance. Building the future we all deserve, requires breaking out of silos and learning from what’s worked—locally and globally, historically and today. We need to understand the roots of fascism and authoritarianism, how we got here and what we truly mean by democracy. This isn’t just about protecting democracy but reclaiming and reimagining it as a radical project, one that resists the status quo and embraces the possibilities of a just, multiracial, feminist future.Through these stories, we can foster solidarity and demonstrate how collective care and action can counter the growing dangers we face. More than just a call to defense, these films will inspire audiences to envision a future rooted in hope and equip them with the tools to take action and reimagine a society where the radical possibilities of a just and inclusive democracy—one that uplifts everyone and embodies justice—can finally take shape.
The 2025 Docs in Action program has two tracks for filmmakers:
- Apply for up to $30,000 in funding for short documentary films. Only works-in-progress, short documentaries are eligible to apply for funding.
- Submit your completed documentary or narrative film to be included in a compilation that will be used to support organizing.
We’re looking for artful films that are visually compelling and bring us into the issues through powerful human stories. More information and directions for how to apply can be found below. If you have a film that can be described in one or more of the following ways, please apply.
We’re looking for films that use artistry and human centered stories to dig into one or more of the following:
- Highlight how authoritarianism is manifesting in the United States, from examples like book bans and anti-immigrant rhetoric to capturing the courts and the federated system enables authoritarianism to accelerate at the state level.
- Expose the roots of fascism and how this moment compares to the origins of the 20th century.
- Expand on the definition of fascism, moving beyond a fixed “20th century term” to a specific set of features. Here’s one proposed definition from the Southern Vision Alliance.
- Explain authoritarianism as a set of ideologically flexible features, including spreading disinformation, scapegoating vulnerable communities, and other items featured in The Authoritarian Playbook.
- Show that attacks on one group inevitably mean attacks on all people, through stories that demonstrate how our struggles are interwoven, making the case that defending one is defending all. For example, how the attacks on gender affirming care are leading to attacks on medical care for everyone.
- Demonstrate that authoritarianism and fascism offer false promises of safety and security, but in fact all they offer is violence. We need to help make clear that the only possibility of safety and security is when we choose each other. The idea that some will get safety at the expense of others is morally bankrupt and fictitious.
- Elevate stories of those resisting authoritarianism globally and in the US, historically and in the present. We are especially interested in stories that teach organizing skills that can be replicated and expanded elsewhere.
- Demonstrate that we need to shift from an “us vs. them” mentality to building the broadest possible “us.” We’re interested in stories from history that demonstrate the required struggles for monumental wins, like the movements for abolition and dismantling Jim Crow, as well as the multiracial struggle for workers’ rights in the 1930s.
- Help people imagine themselves as meaningful protagonists in this moment. This isn’t someone else’s fight, we all have a role to play.
- Demonstrate what we mean by a multiracial, feminist democracy—one that builds an affirmative, inclusive movement while rejecting authoritarian tactics. Democracy isn’t about everyone agreeing or getting everything they want; it’s about doing the work of persuasion and collaboration. Stories that demonstrate this persuasion through showcasing political transformations would be especially useful.
- Shift focus to building democracy not defending democracy. Reclaiming democracy is a radical project, not a status quo one—an opportunity to reshape the conversation through stories of those who’ve fought for it, not through stale definitions of originators of democracy. Examples could include profile pieces of leaders of radical democracy.
- Highlight the importance of workers’ rights, and how union and class based organizing helps people build multiracial solidarity by uniting workers across differences to fight for shared economic and social justice goals.
- Show that building a multiracial, feminist democracy requires engaging white people as active, meaningful contributors, not as saviors but as essential partners in the work.
- Challenge dystopian visions and reimagine a future where shared success uplifts everyone, where more for one doesn’t mean less for another, because rights and opportunities aren’t a zero-sum game.
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Fund for works-in-progress short documentaries:
Filmmakers can apply for up to $30,000 to support completion of short documentary films, under 30 minutes, that have already begun production. Funding for a work-in-progress can only be applied to the cost of completing the project. The submitted budget must reflect the project’s entire cost and the source of all revenue to-date including in-kind support.
For guidelines on eligibility requirements and how to apply click here. A preview of the application can be found here.
Compilation and tour of completed films:
Filmmakers are invited to submit completed short films, or excerpts of feature length films, for inclusion in screening tours held throughout the U.S. in 2026. Screening rights fees will be paid to selected films. We will also provide free impact consultation to selected filmmakers and offer peer-to-peer networking and support opportunities. An emphasis will be placed on films made by people who are directly impacted by the issues at hand. Please do not apply if your film is not available for public use.
For guidelines on eligibility requirements and how to apply click here. A preview of the application can be found here.
Filmmakers may submit applications for both Docs In Action programs. However, only one project can be submitted for funding per applicant and the applicant must be the director or the producer of the film. If selected, all projects must be fully completed no later than February 1st, 2026. This will enable Working Films to begin scheduling screenings in the spring/summer of 2026.
The deadline for both tracks is 11:59 ET on April 21st, 2025. If you have questions, please contact us at info@workingfilms.org. We are also hosting a webinar to Wednesday March 5th to share more information about the criteria we will be using in our selection process, and to answer questions from applicants. RSVP for the webinar here.