IF/Then Shorts

16/01/2024

YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE will world premiere at next week

Directed by

Years after a harrowing sexual assault, a young filmmaker aesthetically reconstructs the complexities and contradictions of her trauma in this rhythmic non-fiction short detailing a search for healing

slamdance.com/official-lineup-2024

Jan 22nd at 12PM and Jan 24th at 5PM at The Yarrow

This film participated in the and 2022 Knight Heroes: Development Program, supported by

11/01/2024

BHUTAN MOUNTAIN MAN out now at The Guardian

❄️ Phuntsho Tshering is Bhutan’s glacier specialist and the only person authorised to climb the Himalayan country’s sacred mountains. He spends months away from home measuring the rapidly melting glaciers, while faithfully recording videos on his phone for his daughter, Yangchen. Yangchen in turn has an inner dilemma. She prays that her father won’t disturb the Snow Lion, the mythical embodiment of the glacier which the Bhutanese believe could provoke a natural disaster. Meanwhile at school she is taught that the biggest threat to survival of the Snow Lion is not her father, but climate change. ❄️

Arun Bhattarai pitched this project and won our 2019 Global Pitch at IDFA Film Festival. We were blown away by this beautiful film at its World Premiere at IDFA 2022 and thrilled that it would go on to win the 2023 DOC NYC Shorts Competition Grand Jury Prize.

Phuntsho Tshering is Bhutan’s glaciologist and the only person authorised to climb the country’s sacred Himalayas. While travelling, he records the changing landscape in moving videos for his daughter

10/01/2024

WOULDN’T MAKE IT ANY OTHER WAY will have its world premiere at this March 🎉

schedule.sxsw.com/2024/films/2196646

Directed by Hao Zhou
Produced by Tyler Hill

Having built a colorful q***r life in an American prairie town, a costume designer returns to their island homeland of Guam to design for a children’s theater show—and reconnect with distanced parents.

WOULDN’T MAKE IT ANY OTHER WAY participated in the 2023 x Short Documentary Lab.

09/01/2024

Calling All filmmakers!

Apply to our Nature Connection Pitch — an open call for filmmakers to share their short documentary works-in-progress focussing on connecting or reconnecting with nature. The 2024 Nature Connection Pitch is presented by The Redford Center and Mountainfilm in partnership with IF/Then Shorts. �

Awarded films will receive: �
- Up to $25k in funding
- �Impact and professional development training
- �Travel, accommodation, and passes to attend the pitch at Mountainfilm Festival. �

Applications will be accepted from Jan 12th - Feb 5th, 2024. Finalists will be notified by mid-March and will be invited to participate in the pitch event at Mountainfilm Festival from May 23-26. �

Filmmakers must be based in the U.S. For more information on eligibility, the application process, and the timeline, please visit redfordcenter.org/natureconnectionpitch2024

22/12/2023

A few highlights from 2023 at —

Launching our inaugural Original Voices Shorts Pitch with and at

Continuing our partnership with with a lab spotlighting creators elevating LGBTQIA+ narratives

Hosting workshops, pitch panels, and traveling to DMZDocs

Another year of partnership with with our Nature Connection Pitch at

Deepening our roots in the Miami film community with another year of Knight Heroes with and hosting a Doc Development Workshop with

Showcasing 6 IF/Then southern short docs at April’s MicroCinema presented by

As we wrap up another year at IF/Then, we’re grateful for the thoughtful community of nonfiction storytellers we get to work and dream with every day. We can’t wait to share what we have planned for 2024!

21/12/2023

✨🎉Congratulations to all the films that have been shortlisted for the 2024 Academy Awards, including our beloved !🎉✨
The film was supported by IF/Then Shorts through our 2021 Nature Access Pitch in partnership with .

21/11/2023

A big round of applause 👏🏽 for the 6 Original Voices Shorts Pitch teams who pitched their short archival docs to a packed room at last week.

Congratulations 🎉 to LOVE BIRDS by .edit and , the recipient of the inaugural Original Voices Shorts Fellowship and $100,000 investment and commission deal. Swipe to image 9 to see their genuine, incredulous reactions to the big announcement!

LOVE BIRDS tells the story of how a breakthrough discovery of “lesbian seagulls" in the 1970s altered the course of American science, politics, and the LGBTQ+ movement.

Thank you and for hosting us at 30 Rock for our Pitch Prep. Thank you to our partners, panelists, and filmmakers for an electric Live Pitch event.

Panelists ⭐️
Sarah Amos
Keesha Boyd
Robert Y. Chang
Alexandra Garcia
Paul Moakley
Molly O’Brien
Amanda Spain

Teams 🎥
WOMEN WALK HOME

Stephanie Andreou
Adrián Gutiérrez

GOODBYE, BABY
Katya Berger
Maria Chiu

CASHING OUT
Matt Nadel .nadel, Director
Luke Hodges .soprano, Producer

FREE JOAN LITTLE
Yoruba Richen
Christalyn Hampton

LOVE BIRDS
Angel Morris .edit
Elliott Kennerson

STINGRAYS
LeRon Lee
Yvonne Michelle Shirley

16/11/2023

We couldn't be more thrilled for Arun Bhattarai!

09/11/2023

Puffling is out on The New Yorker now!

In a new documentary, Icelandic teens bring lost puffins to the sea. “I have no idea what would happen if we did not rescue them,” one says. “But I think they would just die.” Watch the full short film: http://nyer.cm/2GddOJB

From Director, Jessica Bishopp: "Thank you Birta and Selma for inviting us into your community and sharing your lives with us. Puffling is a coming-of-age story and a celebration of wildlife, our environment and of young people taking action in their local community. ⁣
⁣
It is a film made with a small team of passionate and independent filmmakers. It’s been an incredible 3 year journey making this film. After our World Premiere at SXSW and winning the Oscar Qualifying Jury Award for Documentary at Aspen Shortsfest Aspen Film, Puffling has travelled to film festivals worldwide and was recently longlisted for the British Independent Film Awards Best British Short Award and selected for DOC NYC Short List - it’s wonderful our film continues to connect with festival programmers and their audiences 🧡 Thank you to everyone who has supported PUFFLING on its journey."

Puffling participated in our Shifting Landscapes program, a partnership with Spiritual Ecology: Emergence Magazine
⁣

In Jessica Bishopp’s meditative short film, teen-agers in Iceland make it their mission to rescue lost puffins.

06/11/2023

Headed to DOC NYC? Join us at the inaugural Original Voices Shorts Pitch. Mon Nov 13th 1:45PM, as a part of Journalism and Documentary Day. These 6 film teams will pitch their archival and journalistically driven short docs to a panel of journalists and executives from a host of legacy news orgs.

Learn more about how to attend the pitch at www.docnyc.net/event/journalism-and-documentary-nov-13/

NBCU Academy NBC News Studios

31/10/2023

📣Announcing our 2023 Original Voices Shorts Pitch finalists! These 6 teams will pitch their archival and journalistically driven short docs to a panel of journalists and executives from a host of legacy news orgs at DOC NYC this November.

Each team will receive a $6,000 production and travel grant, as well as, extensive pitch training and creative feedback from NBC News Studios execs and IF/Then staff.

The winning team will receive $100,000 in financing and a commission deal which includes access to the NBCU archive, executives, journalists, festival and distribution strategy, as well as an opportunity to screen the finished film at Comcast and NBCU broadcasters, streamers, events, and festivals.

Learn more and get tickets to the pitch at www.docnyc.net/event/journalism-and-documentary-nov-13

(left to right)

WOMEN WALK HOME
Stephanie Andreo, Director
Adrián Gutiérrez, Producer

GOODBYE BABY
Katya Berger, Director
Maria Chiu, Producer

CASHING OUT
Matt Nadel, Director
Luke Hodges, Producer

FREE JOAN LITTLE
Yoruba Richen, Director
Christalyn Hampton, Producer

LOVE, BIRDS
Angel Morris, Director, Producer
Elliott Kennerson, Producer, Director

STINGRAYS
LeRon Lee, Director
Yvonne Michelle Shirley, Producer

05/10/2023

Elated to announce release day for Andrew Nadkarni's Between Earth & Sky, winner of our 2021 Nature Access Pitch with The Redford Center.

A world-renowned ecologist survives a near-death fall, unearths family secrets, and explores her roots in finale Between Earth & Sky. Catch the premiere 10/5 on PBS and the PBS App.

Link in comments to stream the film, check your local listings for best broadcast time.

11/09/2023

repost: The IF/Then team dropped some real 💎💎 at our documentary film making workshop at the Satellite space in Little River. ✏️✏️ We saw copious note taking.

A few key takeaways:

🎞️ Expect your work on your doc to average 7 years. It's a real long-term relationship.

🎬 Budget accordingly (and realistically!) Most films that stream have a minimum budget of $300 - $500K.

🎥 When choosing how to distribute your film, know your audience first and foremost. Your audience will determine which festivals you want to apply to.

Thanks      for sharing your insights and personal experiences!

24/08/2023

Thrilled that Between Earth & Sky🌳 will screen at Port Townsend Film Festival 🌊 Returning to Nalini’s research site on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington!

Screenings 🎞️
Fri, Sept 22 @ 1pm
Sun, Sept 24 @ 7:30pm
est.com/ptff2023-schedule

17/08/2023

Catch these 2 IF/Then-supported projects at Sidewalk Film Festival Sun Aug 27.

SLICE
Black Lens Doc Shorts Program
Sun Aug 27th 10:15AM
https://sched.co/1PqFV

BETWEEN EARTH & SKY
Environmental Shorts Program
Sun Aug 27th 2:00PM
https://sched.co/1PqHR

15/08/2023

🎥 Hey filmmakers! Oolite Arts has invited us to host a workshop on how to get a documentary film off the ground and out to audiences around the country.

On Aug. 26, IF/Then Shorts Co-Directors and Filmmakers Caitlin Mae Burke and Merrill Sterritt will talk about all aspects of the documentary-making process, with a heavy focus on distribution. Guest artists include Darcy McKinnon and Miami’s own Jayme Kaye Gershen.

All followed by happy hour 🎉 RSVP at bit.ly/3Ot1FfH

14/08/2023

🎉 A big congrats to

Named one of three finalists for BREAKTHROUGH FILM at this year’s Media Awards, for outstanding achievement in nature related filmmaking in the face of adversity or limitations.

Directed by . Produced by , , Andrew Nadkarni.

Between Earth & Sky won the IF/Then x 2021 Nature Access Pitch .

13/07/2023

Puffling continues its world tour this week from Galway, Ireland at Galway Film Fleadh to Iowa, US at Snake Alley Festival of Film.

Puffling will also screen later this fall in Colorado at Crested Butte Film Festival.

Puffling
Directed by Jessica Bishopp
Produced by Alice Hughes, Gannesh Rajah, Ada Benjamínsdóttir
Location: Iceland, UK

11/07/2023

WINN joins the incredible slate of films at the 2023 PBS Short Film Festival 7/10-7/21.

pbs.org/filmfestival/all-films-from-the-2023-festival

elevates the reach and visibility of independent filmmakers from across the country. Since its inception in 2012, hundreds of films celebrating love, acceptance, family, strength, equality, friendship, loyalty and more have been presented under the festival’s banner. The 2023 festival features “Stories in bloom” to highlight the impact of powerful storytelling.

WINN
Directed by Joseph East & Erica Erica Tanamachi
Produced by Evan Mascagni

After experiencing neglect and traumatic loss while pregnant in prison, Pamela Winn .us becomes an activist, leading hundreds of thousands to support the Dignity Bill to end the shackling of pregnant people in prison. "WINN" exposes the horrifying experience that incarcerated pregnant people endure and documents Pamela’s mission to end shackling and ultimately prison birth.

29/06/2023

We’re thrilled to share that “The Body is a House of Familiar Rooms” and “Between Earth & Sky” will premiere on + with Season 6 of later this year.

The Body is a House of Familiar Rooms
Dir. ,
Prod.
Premieres July 24, 2023

A magical-realist exploration of the life of a man with chronic illness through footage and paintings.

“We’re super proud and grateful to be on a platform like PBS. From the beginning, we imagined and hoped for The Body is a House of Familiar Rooms to be a broadly accessible film set in an educational, knowledge-sharing framework.” - Lauryn Welch

Between Earth & Sky (U.S./Costa Rica)
Dir.
Prod. , , Andrew Nadkarni
Premieres Oct 5, 2023

Renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni explores "what grows back” after surviving a life-threatening fall from the rainforest canopy, in order to understand the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her life.

“We can’t wait to share the film with you all later this year, alongside community and educational screenings. So grateful to Nalini for sharing her story, and for her resilience and infectious joy.” - Andrew Nadkarni

22/06/2023

This July, BETWEEN EARTH & SKY will play at Heartland Film ⛺️🌳🍿

Tickets are available now. This is going to be a fun one - see you at camp!! www.IndyShorts.org

16/06/2023

📣Announcing our 2023 IF/Then x Hulu Short Doc Lab cohort! These 3 short doc teams, elevating LGBTQIA+ stories, will receive $30k each in production funding for their projects and individual mentorship over the course of a six month production intensive led by IF/Then Shorts and Hulu including an in-person screening event and cohort reception at in Los Angeles.

“We cannot wait to begin this journey with these exceptional teams. These stories each engage with diverse interpretations of “home”: building it, returning to it, reshaping it, through strength of self and support of the q***r community. Each of these filmmakers is at such an impressive moment in their careers, receiving national and international acclaim, and we are very fortunate to collaborate with them on their next project.” - Caitlin Mae Burke, IF/Then Co-Director

STITCHING FORWARD
Hao Zhou and Tyler Hill
Location: Iowa and Guam
Reuniting with their craft, family, and culture, a costume designer travels from Iowa to their homeland of Guam to create costumes for a children’s theater production.

MOTHER
Meg Shutzer and Brandon Yadegari Moreno
Location: California
In San Francisco, a city known for its vibrant gay community, nowhere feels like home anymore to Malia Spanyol, a self-identified d**e who sets out to build a space for the next generation of women and femmes.

ONE NIGHT AT BABE’S
Angelo Madsen Minax
Location: Vermont
At Babe’s Bar, Cribbage tournaments overlap with punk shows, while drag performances weave through afternoons of football and potluck chili. ONE NIGHT AT BABE’S takes an intimate glimpse into the life of a rural q***r bar and its dynamic intersection of patrons to trace a tenuous, yet rich alliance.

***rfilm ***rfilmmaker ***rfilmmakers ***rfilm

16/06/2023

📣Announcing our 2023 IF/Then x Hulu Short Doc Lab cohort! These 3 short doc teams, elevating LGBTQIA+ stories, will receive $30k each in production funding for their projects and individual mentorship over the course of a six month production intensive led by and , including an in-person screening event and cohort reception at in Los Angeles.

“We cannot wait to begin this journey with these exceptional teams. These stories each engage with diverse interpretations of “home”: building it, returning to it, reshaping it, through strength of self and support of the q***r community. Each of these filmmakers is at such an impressive moment in their careers, receiving national and international acclaim, and we are very fortunate to collaborate with them on their next project.” - , IF/Then Co-Director

STITCHING FORWARD
and Tyler Hill
Location: Iowa and Guam
Reuniting with their craft, family, and culture, a costume designer travels from Iowa to their homeland of Guam to create costumes for a children’s theater production.

MOTHER
and
Location: California
In San Francisco, a city known for its vibrant gay community, nowhere feels like home anymore to Malia Spanyol, a self-identified d**e who sets out to build a space for the next generation of women and femmes.

ONE NIGHT AT BABE’S

Location: Vermont
At Babe’s Bar, Cribbage tournaments overlap with punk shows, while drag performances weave through afternoons of football and potluck chili. ONE NIGHT AT BABE’S takes an intimate glimpse into the life of a rural q***r bar and its dynamic intersection of patrons to trace a tenuous, yet rich alliance.

***rfilm ***rfilmmaker ***rfilmmakers ***rfilm

08/06/2023

📣 🎥 Call for Media to Advance Workers' Rights!

You have the right to organize! Working Films and our partners at Amazon Labor Union, NC State AFL-CIO, SBWorkersUnited, Union of Southern Service Workers, and UFW are looking for documentary films that uplift workers organizing their workplace.

🔴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 worker organizing.

DEADLINE
Tuesday, August 1, 2023

💻 Learn more: https://bit.ly/docsinaction2023.

05/06/2023

PUFFLING will have its California Premiere at Palm Springs International Film Festival Short Fest this June.

Directed by Jessica Bishopp
Produced by Alice Hughes, Gannesh Rajah, Ada Benjamínsdóttir
Location: Iceland, UK

PUFFLING participated in our 2022 SHIFTING LANDSCAPES LAB, a program created in partnership with Spiritual Ecology: Emergence Magazine and IF/Then Shorts.

01/06/2023

UK Filmmakers, check this out!

Hey UK doc makers👋 The MADE OF TRUTH: BFI Doc Society Short Film Fund is NOW OPEN for applications!

📢 We’re looking to support standout nonfiction films by new and emerging storytellers from all across the UK. As part of with support from funds, supports:

✨Up to £25k per project
✨5-40 minutes in length
✨Apply before TUESDAY 27 JUNE, 12pm BST

📅 Want to know more about making an application? Register at for our Made of Truth fund WEBINAR on Tuesday 6 June at 12pm - 1pm! https://tinyurl.com/MOTwebinar

Find out all the details at our website and get cracking!➡ www.docsociety.org/bfi-doc-shorts

18/05/2023

PUFFLING will have its NY Premiere at the Rooftop Films Summer Series, playing alongside Charlotte Regan's Sundance-award winning debut feature SCRAPPER.

Fri Aug 4th at The Old American Can Factory.

Directed by Jessica Bishopp
Produced by Alice Hughes, Gannesh Rajah, Ada Benjamínsdóttir
Location: Iceland, UK

rooftopfilms.com/event/scrapper/

15/05/2023

PUFFLING is headed to its DC Premiere at DC DOX Festival this June!

Directed by Jessica Bishopp
Produced by Alice Hughes, Gannesh Rajah, Ada Benjamínsdóttir
Location: Iceland, UK

dcdoxfest.com/films/puffling

Every summer, on a remote island off the coast of Iceland, 18-year-old Birta and 16-year-old Selma rescue pufflings (young puffins) from imminent danger. The pufflings leave their nests for the first time and, guided by the light of the moon, make their journey out to sea to transition into adulthood. Unfortunately they get lost in town, mistaking the harbour lights for the moon. Set over one night, we follow Birta and Selma as they take it upon themselves to counteract humanity's damaging impact on nature; exchanging night-time parties for puffin rescues. A coming-of-age documentary about growing up and making choices, worrying about the future, and dealing with encroaching environmental pressures, PUFFLING explores the delicate interplay between wildlife, the environment, and human life.

11/05/2023

📣 See these 4 IF/Then-supported projects at high elevation at Mountainfilm this May 25-29!

MOUNTAIN MAN
Directed by Arun Bhattarai
Location: Bhutan
mountainfilm.eventive.org/films/64515265f2a3c800773eaa03

PUFFLING
Directed by Jessica Bishopp
Produced by Alice Hughes, Gannesh Rajah, Ada Benjamínsdóttir
Location: Iceland, UK
mountainfilm.eventive.org/films/64515265f2a3c800773eaa0d

SLICE
Directed & produced by Zaire Love
Co-produced by Joyya Baines
Location: USA
mountainfilm.eventive.org/films/64515265f2a3c800773eaa17

BETWEEN EARTH & SKY
Directed & produced by Andrew Nadkarni
Produced by Swetha Regunathan, Katie Schiller
Location: USA, Costa Rica
mountainfilm.eventive.org/films/64515265f2a3c800773ea9e1

11/05/2023

✨World Premiere of FLOWER CHASERS and European Premiere of BETWEEN EARTH & SKY at Sheffield DocFest this June!

🐝 FLOWER CHASERS
Directed by Zhiqi Pan. Produced by Jia Zhao.

Following the seasons as flowers bloom across China, a family of beekeepers try to sustain their traditional lifestyle in the face of a global ecological crisis.

https://sheffdocfest.com/film/flower-chasers

FLOWER CHASERS participated in our 2022 SHIFTING LANDSCAPES LAB, a program created in partnership with and .

🌳 BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY
Directed by Andrew Nadkarni. Produced by Swetha Regunathan, Katie Schiller, Andrew Nadkarni.

For her entire professional life, renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni pioneered climbing techniques to study "what grows back” after an ecological disturbance in the rainforest canopy. Now, after surviving a life-threatening fall from a tree, she must turn her research question onto herself in order to understand the effects of disturbance and recovery throughout her life.

https://www.sheffdocfest.com/film/between-earth-sky

won the IF/Then x 2021 Nature Access Pitch .