C4, Puma leap to aid of documakers

Helen Jackson

U.K. pubcaster Channel 4 has teamed with German sports brand Puma to help boost the production of social-issue docus.

Pact between Puma and the Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation — an org that helps documakers broker partnerships and develop innovative biz models — will give a helping hand to projects that address creative, social justice, peace and environmental issues, and that aim to educate viewers and deliver a call to action.

Britdoc and Puma have set up four funds:

The Catalyst Awards: 40 grants of E5,000 ($6,300) each a year to fund trailer production;
The Impact Award: $63,600 a year to the docu that is the most action-evoking and has the greatest social impact;
Catalyst Program: Providing workshops and education to first-time filmmakers;
Mobility Awards: grants to cover travel costs.

Docus will be broadcast through traditional and nontraditional methods of distribution, including screenings, social networking sites and brand partnerships.

Puma chairman-CEO Jochen Zeitz, said the company wants to encourage its consumers to behave in a responsible and ethical way.