Films from Mexico, Ukraine receive Grierson-Percy Documentary Grant funding

I Want to Kill My Grandfather follows filmmaker and director Lilyana Torres

The Grierson-Percy Documentary Grant has awarded £25,000 (US$33,521) each to in-production documentaries I Want to Kill My Grandfather and Shooting with Music to fund their completion.

The fledgling grant, made possible by a donation from US political filmmaker and Grierson Trust patron Norma Percy, is intended for projects in the final stages of production, with substantial principal photography completed and the offline edit underway.

I Want to Kill My Grandfather follows filmmaker and director Lilyana Torres as she sets out to confront her grandfather in Tamaulipas, Mexico, following the revelation that he hired hitmen who nearly killed her father.

While hoping to force an apology, she also begins planning how she might murder him, using darkly comic fictional reenactments as she trains for revenge. It is a Misfits Entertainment production with Carlos Morales co-directing and the producers are Lizzie Gillett and Gabriel Stavenhagen.

Shooting with Music looks at Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy

Shooting with Music tells the story of Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy, whose frontman, Slava Vakarchuk, embarked on a global tour at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s request after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is a Frith Street Films production and the directors are Jacqui Morris and David Morris. The producer is Archie Kidd.

The two films were selected by a committee composed of Grierson Trust team members and trustees, Percy and a number of her long-time collaborators.

The grant was launched this year to mark the 100th anniversary of John Grierson first coining the term ‘documentary’ to describe factual filmmaking.

The initiative seeks to support doc films about political or international crises that provide riveting storytelling and new and surprising insights.

Applicants had to demonstrate a realistic budget and completion plan as well as a clear strategy for distribution and audience engagement.