NEH Cuts Impacting FC Filmmakers & What You Can Do to Help!
April 7, 2025
On March 31, 2025, the Trump administration made drastic cuts at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), by placing 80% of its staff on indefinite administrative leave and cancelling all open grants. These extreme cuts were made by DOGE, part of Elon Musk’s government restructuring effort.
Filmmakers Collaborative has received a letter stating that funding for FC filmmaker Jon Dunham’s project, “The Library of Darkness”, is being terminated. This is extremely difficult news for Jon and all the other independent filmmakers affected by this decision who are in the middle of production.
While gravely alarmed, we remain hopeful that alternative means of funding can be found. What’s more, there are two ways that you can help today!
#1: Help us finish “The Library of Darkness” by making a tax deductible contribution of any size.
Most of the world knows about Pompeii, the ancient roman city on the Gulf of Naples that was famously destroyed and buried for nearly 1,700 years following a catastrophic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Far fewer however have heard of the nearby site of Herculaneum, Pompeii’s sister city which suffered the same fate. While lesser known than Pompeii, Herculaneum is no less special. In fact, because of its proximity on the western slope of Vesuvius, and the nature of the eruption that buried it, the city is uniquely preserved; in many ways better than Pompeii. Wooden doors, window frames and even furniture survived at Herculaneum. There are also the skeletons of hundreds of victims found frozen in anguish as they attempted to escape the unimaginable heat and gas of the volcano.
What really makes Herculaneum special however is its “Villa dei Papiri” discovered just outside the city and containing the largest library from the ancient world ever found. THE LIBRARY OF DARKNESS will be a documentary film that explores this most unique archeological treasure, the attempts and failures to open and read its ancient papyrus and now the creative application of super high-tech imaging and artificial intelligence to “virtually unwrap” the scrolls. For the first time in 2,000 years we are about to learn their secrets.
Please help us finish this important story!
#2: Take Action NOW and contact your Congressional Representatives
The National Humanities Alliance has made it very easy to urge members of Congress to speak up for the NEH and ensure that the agency is able to fulfill its congressional mandate.
Please contact your representatives in Congress and let them know how crucial this funding is.
Thank you so much for continued support not only for independent filmmakers but for all state humanities councils and cultural institutions that rely on NEH funding.
