Support the Fine Cut Fund & Documentary Production at UC Berkeley

A few years ago, legendary documentary producer and Prof. Jon Else, who shaped the prestigious documentary program at UC Berkeley, launched the Fine Cut Fund to help defray the hard costs of graduate student filmmaking—travel and shooting expenses, outlays for equipment, research, fixers and post-production costs through individual grants to students. 

Our goal now—through this $50,000+ crowd-funding campaign is to replenish current funds—almost at zero now— keep those reserves healthy, and have money available for emergencies. Remember, students are already paying an average cost of $21,700 for in-state and $36,800 for out of state and international students, figures that don’t include living expenses and other costs, which can come to tens of thousands or more over the two years of the program.

We're hoping the entire documentary community, from filmmakers, to editors, to distributors and more will, as the saying goes, "send the elevator back down" and help the next generation kick-start their careers in non-fiction storytelling with less debt.

Note: This is the first time we've collaborated with campus to design Berkeley Journalism-branded clothing. Wear it with pride, and help us keep our five year Student Academy Award winning/medaling streak going!

About the Documentary Program at UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley’s documentary program is widely considered one of the most important graduate nonfiction film programs in the country. Carrying on the work begun in the 1980s by veteran producer Andrew Stern and pioneering African American filmmaker Marlon T. Riggs, professors Jon Else, Orlando Bagwell, Dawn Porter, Carrie Lozano, Cassandra Herrman and others have trained hundreds of filmmakers of remarkable talent, diversity and accomplishment.  Grounded in the values of professional journalism–accuracy, eloquence, aggressive research and reporting, strong writing, ethics and analysis–combined with the fundamentals of filmmaking craft, documentary at UC Berkeley emphasizes visual storytelling in a wide range of storytelling styles: investigative, historical, biography, personal essay and cinéma vérité. Alumni routinely have premiere screenings at the top film festivals in the world, among them Sundance, Cannes, SXSW, and Tribeca.