Chicago Media Project Information

Chicago Media Project (CMP) is a multifaceted organization that provides support to documentary films and filmmakers. Known as an innovator in its field, CMP is at its core a philanthropic community of documentary film lovers who believe in the power of media to bring about social change and move hearts. Created by Paula Froehle and Steve Cohen in 2014, CMP uses a unique Community Model of Philanthropy that aggregates generous membership contributions to support impactful films and media organizations through four areas of programming: direct film financing, large-scale community events, exclusive member events and tech & media innovation. Since 2015, CMP has granted more than $300,000 to over 15 social impact documentary films through its Impact Grand Fund, which supports early-stage funding, filmmaker sustainability and innovation in outreach. Supported films include RECOVERY BOYS, THIS IS THE HOUSE WHERE I LEARNED NOT TO SLEEP, WATER WARRIORS, THE PUSHOUTS, CRIP CAMP, DARK MONEY and BORN IN CHINA, to name a few. In 2016, CMP expanded its programming with the launch of the annual DOC10 Film Festival in Chicago, a highly-selective festival of 10 cinematically powerful non-fiction films, along with VR and immersive events to illustrate the power of great storytelling in documentary form. In 2018, CMP extended its impact by seed-funding the American Documentary’s (AmDoc) Artist Emergency Fund that provides emergency financial assistance to filmmakers facing unexpected personal calamities.