\n<\/p>\n
Subject Matter, an organization that provides funds and resources to nonprofits and documentary films highlighting urgent social issues, will award $120,000 in grants at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.<\/p>\n
Recipients include Sharon Liese\u2019s investigative thriller \u201cSeized,\u201d the nonprofit organization Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Dawn Porter\u2019s \u201cWhen A Witness Recants,\u201d and the nonprofit Gideon\u2019s Promise, each receiving $30,000.<\/p>\n
More from Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSeized\u201d focuses on a troubling police raid in Kansas, which quickly spirals into a national story. Told through police body-cam and surveillance footage, the film will premiere on Jan. 25 at the Ray Theatre and will also be available through Sundance Film Festival\u2019s online program, screening from Jan. 29\u2013Feb. 1. The corresponding nonprofit grant will go to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which provides legal representation, support, and other legal resources at no cost to protect the rights of journalists nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen A Witness Recants\u201d explores the false imprisonment of three innocent teenagers who were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for murder, the truth eventually revealed after 36 years. The film will premiere on Jan. 27 at the Library Center Theatre. The corresponding grant will go to Gideon\u2019s Promise, a nonprofit aiming to transform the criminal legal system by building a movement of public defenders who provide equal justice for marginalized communities.<\/p>\n Subject Matter will also host a public panel discussion at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 26 at the Box at the Ray, for a conversation exploring \u201cwhat happens when the systems designed to protect us\u2014the local police, the courts, and the law\u2014are used to silence the truth, and how audiences can create positive community actions in response to the films.\u201d The conversation will be moderated by Fabio Bertoni, General Counsel at The New Yorker. Subject Matter will add $100 to each audience donation made to either of the nonprofit grantees during the Sundance Film Festival, up to a total of $5,000.<\/p>\n