To help inspire change through film: this is the objective of the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI).  Founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in the wake of September 11, 2001, the Tribeca Film Institute is a nonprofit arts organization, which empowers filmmakers through grants and professional development. “We recognize the invaluable role that documentary films play in helping to bring important social concerns out into the open and thus create meaningful conversation,” said Beth Janson, Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Institute.   On June 1st, 2011 the Tribeca Film Institute and Gucci announced the 9 recipients selected for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. Chosen among 450 submissions from 38 countries these feature-length films’ projects highlight and humanize issues of social importance from around the world. In addition to finishing funding up to $100,000, grantees will each receive year-round support from TFI, including one-on-one guidance and consultation, helping each film to reach completion and enter the marketplace in the best possible position.  

New this year, the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights has joined the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, and created the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award. Initiated by Frida Giannini, Creative Director of Gucci and Board Member of the PPR Foundation, this special Award will annually provide funding of $50,000 to at least two film projects that illuminate the courage, compassion, extraordinary strength of character, and contributions of women from around the world. An initiative largely supported by François-Henri Pinault, Chairman of the PPR Foundation, who declared: “This award dedicated to films about women is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about women’s issues such as violence, rights, and empowerment to a large audience.”  Selected by a jury consisting of Jessica Alba, Amir Bar-Lev, Wendy Ettinger, Frida Giannini, Edward Norton, and Mariane Pearl, the three projects chosen for the inaugural 2011 Spotlighting Women Documentary Award are:  

• Barefoot Engineers, Directed by Jehane Noujaim—Barefoot Engineers follows three women who leave their remote villages to go on a life-changing journey to India with the hopes of becoming Solar Engineers. When they return to their villages, they will wire their communities and turn on the lights.
• Justice for Sale, Directored by Ilse & Femke van Velzen—Justice for Sale is a dramatic story which follows two young, courageous human rights lawyers who refuse to accept that justice is indeed "For Sale" in their country. Claudine and her husband Eugene, fight for justice to end impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• The World Before Her, Directed by Nisha Pahuja—The World Before Her asks: Beauty Pageants-- passé in the West--but in India, where women remain second-class citizens, can they actually be empowering? The World Before Her follows two converging story lines--that of the girls who want to become Miss India, and that of the forces that want the pageant banned.

Why this choice? “These projects defy established conventions, taking audiences to places that they never imagined existed,” answered jury member Amir Bar-lev.  “These are the films that people should be keeping an eye out for in the months ahead.” The PPR Foundation will follow his advice.