The deadline for the 2016 edition of the Fusion Documentary Challenge is fast approaching, and it's an essential competition for any documentarian salivating at the chance to get out there and work in the field. Indeed, the main draw of this opportunity may not lie in the associated prizes (though they are great), but in the filmmaking challenge itself. 

Hosted by the Audience Awards, your team will be asked to choose a timeframe (November 10-14 or 14-18, 2016) to make a short doc film ranging from four to seven minutes in length. On your chosen start date, you will receive the theme of the project and several topical causes. Two of those causes are then randomly assigned to dictate the content and direction of your film. You have five days to conceptualize, shoot, edit, and upload your submission.

If you are chosen as one of the competition's 12 finalists, your film will premiere at the FUSION Doc Challenge Screening at Slamdance in Park City, Utah from January 20-26. Each finalist team will receive a $100 travel stipend and two all-access passes to attend the festival. Winners will be announced immediately following the screening. The top 12 films, plus an additional eight films, will receive distribution across all of FUSION TV network and its online/mobile distribution channels.

Three additional prizes will be awarded by an Audience Awards People’s Choice Competition, which will go live March 30, 2017. The 12 finalist films will also be screened at the inaugural International Audience Awards Film Festival (IAAFF), April 6-9 in Los Angeles at Laemmle Theatre Noho. Finalists will receive four all-access passes to IAAFF and Content Lab, a three-day workshop to be held at the festival for emerging filmmakers.  

Cash prizes include:

  • Jury Awards

    • FUSION Award — $1,500  
    • Doc Challenge Award — $1,000 
    • Best Score Award — One music license for a film with a budget up to $1 million will be awarded by Filmstro, the world's first soundtrack creation studio ($1,999 value).  

Recognition will also be given to Honorable Mention, Best Use of Theme, Best Cinematography, and Best Film.

  • Audience Awards

    • 1st Place — $500 plus one music license for a film with a budget up to $1 million will be awarded by Filmstro, the world's first soundtrack creation studio ($1,999 value).
    • 2nd Place — $300
    • 3rd Place — $150

The regular deadline for entry is October 6, 2016 and has an entry fee of $69. The late deadline of October 27 has a $79 entry fee, and the extended deadline is November 14, at $89. Enter here.

Top photo credit: 'Lift Like a Girl,' directed by Allie Sultan, a 2015 Fusion Doc Challenge award winner.

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