A List of Upcoming Grants for Filmmakers

To give everyone more time to work on your films and scripts and a little less time researching how to fund them find relevant opportunities for your narrative films, documentaries, and screenplays with deadlines.

It's hard enough to find grants, let alone decipher which ones might be relevant to your current project. The following grants, labs, and pitch opportunities are organized by deadline from February to May. A few grants with rolling deadlines are thrown in, and an asterisk next to the grant title means there is an equivalent grant for both doc and narrative.

DOCUMENTARIES

In the documentary world, grant money tends to be earmarked for films that address important issues of our time, but granting agencies have an array of ideas about what those are! From projects about animals, the American South, or international co-productions, there are grants for everything, and storytelling reigns supreme.

Southern Documentary Fund In-the-Works Program

http://southerndocfund.tumblr.com/post/73208711961/the-southern-document...

If you've got a rough cut with a connection to the American south, take it to the Full Frame festival and have audiences discuss your film with a moderator. From the SDF:

The In-the-Works program offers Full Frame audiences the unique opportunity to view documentaries in the final stages of editing, and participate in the critique process.

Deadline: Feb 17

History Unscripted Development Pipeline

http://www.nytvf.com/2014_history_pipeline.html#entry

Through the NY TV Festival, pitch a 2 - 5 minute pilot about charismatic male characters living in surprising worlds to the History Channel. From NYTVF:

Finalists will receive notes from the network and $2,500 to shoot short presentations that further explore their subject. One winning project, selected by History, will be awarded $10,000, and the creator(s) will have the opportunity to participate in the possible production of a pilot.

Deadline: Feb 24

IFP Independent Documentary Lab*

http://www.ifp.org/programs

Submit your rough cut to the long-standing support of independent film for a year-long mentorship program that supports first time filmmakers. From IFP:

Focusing exclusively on low-budget features, this highly immersive program provides filmmakers with the technical, creative and strategic tools necessary to launch their films - and their careers.

Deadline: March 7

Bertha BRITDOC Connect Fund

http://britdoc.org/real_funds/bertha-britdoc-connect-fund

This joint initiative between Bertha Foundation and BRITDOCc is the first European based fund open to filmmakers from anywhere with outreach campaigns. From BRITDOC:

The fund is looking to support smart, strategic outreach campaigns for ambitious independent documentary films with a social issue at their core; films which have the ability to achieve real change on a local, regional or global level.

Deadline: March 24

Independent Lens

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/about/submissions.html

This well curated PBS series offers a handsome sum for broadcast distribution of films each season. From PBS:

Independent Lens is currently seeking submissions of films in advanced rough cut or fine cut stage or completed films to broadcast during the October 2014 - June 2015 season.

Deadline: March 28

Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund

http://www.documentary.org/parelorentz

Each year, $95,000 worth of grants are doled out to documentaries about pressing issues in the United States. From the PLDF:

Grants will be made to up to 6 projects that tell a compelling story and focus on one of Pare Lorentz's central concerns-the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all or the illumination of pressing social problems.

Deadline: March 31

Good Pitch Australia

https://goodpitch.org/events/gpau2014

A sequel location of a popular pitch session where selected films get to pitch their projects in front of an array of funding agencies.

Good Pitch Australia is a satellite event [for projects] committed to outreach goals and audience engagement ambitions, and looking for partners and collaborators to make your film truly influential and not just commercially successful.

Deadline: April 11

IDFA Bertha Fund

http://www.idfa.nl/industry/idfa-bertha-fund.aspx

A grant from the largest and most prestigious doc-only film festival IDFA is worth looking into if you have an international film. From IDFA:

The IDFA Bertha Fund is the only fund in the world dedicated solely to stimulating and empowering the creative documentary sector in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe The fund is looking for new creative documentary projects which can be submitted in project development, production, and post production.

Deadline: May 15

Vision Maker Media - Public Media Content Fund

http://www.visionmakermedia.org/filmmakers/2014-public-media-content-fund

A grant that funds part of the budget for Native American stories that appeal to broad audiences. From VMM:

We're particularly looking for stories that advance CPB's initiatives-The American Graduate, and Women & Girls Lead. Awards for research and development range from $5,000 to $20,000; awards for production or completion can be up to $100,000; and, new media awards range from $5,000 to $20,000.

Deadline: March 10

Pacific Pioneer Fund

http://www.pacificpioneerfund.com/

A grant of $1,000 - $10,000 specifically for West Coast emerging filmmakers with no more than ten years in the field. From PPF:

Documentary makers can receive only one Pacific Pioneer grant during their career. If this is your FIRST documentary of 28 minutes or longer, please do not apply, unless you have a lot of experience as an editor.

Deadline: May 1

MacArthur Foundation Documentary Open Call

http://www.macfound.org/info-grantseekers/grantmaking-guidelines/media-g...

Doles out grant

LINK:	http://www.filmcontact.com/africa/south-africa/list-upcoming-grants-fi...
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