our mission
Color Congress is an ecosystem-builder that is committed to organizations led by people of color that serve nonfiction filmmakers, leaders, and audiences of color across the United States and US islands. We are a membership organization that includes film festivals, artist support and narrative change entities, micro cinemas, filmmaker collectives, and public media. We serve this ecosystem by supporting, resourcing, connecting and championing these organizations to build their collective power. Our vision is to actualize a reimagined documentary landscape toward one that strengthens people of color visibility, voice, and power, laying the groundwork for a future of the field that is a more powerful force for social change.
Our Members’ Vision
We, Color Congress organizations, are committed to (re)building a documentary sector that reflects the diversity of our communities and this country. We envision a thriving sector where the barriers between filmmakers, our stories, and audiences are dismantled and where accessibility is centered. We see an abundance of resources flowing to all of our organizations and communities, and for our values of just compensation, authorship and creative freedom to be reflected. We see a documentary field that respects the contributions and ancestral wisdom of all our communities and that supports youth and intergenerational solidarity. We want a decentralized sector made up of human-centered institutions that value process as much as product, that support the careers and well-being of the artists and leaders who make up our sector, and that reflect a culture of care, mutual support, and holistic wellness. The members of Color Congress are a community of organizations that are accountable to one another, and are committed to one another’s success.
Our Story
Founded in 2022 by Sahar Driver and Sonya Childress, Color Congress is an ecosystem builder committed to organizations led by people of color (POC) that serve nonfiction filmmakers, leaders, and audiences of color. Our mandate is informed by research conducted by Sahar Driver, commissioned by the Ford Foundation, called Beyond Inclusion: Critical Role of People of Color in the U.S. Documentary Ecosystem, which made visible the deep contributions of POC-led documentary organizations despite historic disinvestment and lacking industry recognition.
Operating as an intermediary, Color Congress supports, resources, connects, and champions the ecosystem through trust-based grantmaking, organizational development resources, member-directed funds and a free membership program. Our goal is to strengthen the organizations that serve as conduits between community-rooted storytellers and social movements. By building their collective power, we help these organizations reassert the power of documentary as an instrument for change. The stronger the ecosystem, the more empowered our industry is to shape narratives that advance change, contribute to national discourse in meaningful ways, and move society in the direction of pluralism and liberation.
