The San Francisco Film Society announced the 11 finalists for the $100,000 2012 SFFS Documentary Film Fund, which supports feature-length documentaries in postproduction. The SFFS Documentary Film Fund was created to support singular nonfiction film work that is distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters and an innovative visual approach. 

From 2011 to 2013, a total of $300,000 will be disbursed to further new work by documentary filmmakers nationwide. Expected to grow in the coming years as further underwriting is secured, the Documentary Fund was inaugurated thanks to a generous gift from valued Film Society patrons Sharon and Larry Malcolmson.

2012 Finalists

Mike Plunkett, director; Anna Farrell, producer, Charge

Charge is a character-driven story about Bolivians’ relentless fight to control their country’s abundant natural resources.

Katy Chevigny, codirector/coproducer; Ross Kauffman, codirector/coproducer, E-Team

E-Team follows the intense and courageous work of three intrepid members of Human Rights Watch’s Emergency Team on the front lines of identifying international human rights abuses.

Roger Ross Williams, director; Julie Goldman, producer, God Loves Uganda

God Loves Uganda goes inside the powerful and underreported evangelical campaign to change the face of African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. As the radical effort to eliminate “sexual immorality” creates a wave of religious violence and hatred, an embattled Ugandan pastor searches for solutions.

Charles Schultz, director/producer, The Last Crop

Seven out of every ten of America’s farms will change hands over the next twenty years as aging farmers face retirement. In California’s Central Valley one family’s struggle to ensure their farm’s future conveys the powerful emotions and deep values inherent in this national issue. For more information: thelastcropfilm.com 

David Sampliner, director/producer, My Own Man

As Sampliner turns 40 and faces marriage and fatherhood, he finds himself in an identity crisis. Stalled in his career and feeling alienated from other men, the filmmaker decides to get in better touch with his manhood. He explores a range of manly pursuits and seeks out a broad spectrum of men to explore the complex world of contemporary masculinity.

Shaul Schwarz, director; Lars Knudsen, producer; Jay Van Hoy, producer, Narco Cultura 

Narco Cultura explores the phenomenon of narcotics culture in North America through the personal stories of those entangled in the drug wars, from cartel-sponsored musicians and filmmakers to a crime scene investigator.

Holen Kahn, codirector/coproducer; Alessandra Zeka, codirector/coproducer, A Quiet Inquisition

When abortion is criminalized in Nicaragua an OB/GYN doctor at a public hospital must choose between disregarding her medical ethics by obeying the new law or risking incarceration by breaking the law to treat girls and women whom she believes are in danger.

Matt Wolf, director; Kyle Martin, producer, Teenage

Based on a groundbreaking book by punk author John Savage, Teenage is an unconventional historical film about the invention of the term “teenager.” Bringing to life fascinating youths from the early 20th century — from party-crazed flappers and punk swing kids to brainwashed Nazi Youth and frenzied, consumerist sub-debs — the film reveals the prehistory of the modern teenager and the struggle between adults and adolescents to define youth.

Johanna Hamilton, director/producer, Untitled 1971

Hamilton continues her exploration of social movements and the limits of dissent, this time turning her lens to domestic contradictions in North America.

Nicholas Philipides, codirector/coproducer; Benjamin Schuder, codirector/coproducer, The Village of Peace

The Village of Peace explores the lives of four individuals in an Israeli village that was settled 40 years ago by African Americans from Chicago. The four main characters each provide a different perspective on the village and its history, as well as their individual place within Israeli culture. For more information: villageofpeacemovie.com

Emily Topper, director; Mary Posatko, producer, The Wreckage

Topper’s grandfather was shot in Baltimore in 1972, and because race seemed to be involved, the topic became taboo within her family. The Wreckage is a close to-the-bone examination of the murder and the family’s reaction.