The California Story Fund, presented by California Council for the Humanities (CCH), supports public humanities programs that bring light to compelling stories from California's diverse communities and provide opportunities for collective reflection and public discussion. ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must have California tax-exempt organizational status or partner with a California tax-exempt organization that will serve as a fiscal sponsor, not have an open grant with CCH, and be in good standing with CCH. Projects should be based on stories gathered from community members, include a public discussion component and at least one humanities expert. Film/video projects should not exceed a total budget of $50,000. AWARDS: Applicants may request up to $10,000, which must be matched by at least an equivalent contribution of non-federal funds or in-kind services. DEADLINE: November 15, 2011. WEBSITE: calhum.org/guidelines/guidelines_csf.htm.
San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) Cultural Equity Grants provide "financial support for the enrichment of San Francisco's multicultural landscape." ELIGIBILITY: Organization Project Grants provide up to $15,000 to support the presentation of high quality works of art and arts activities, including film and video screenings and arts festivals. All art forms will be considered. To be eligible, organizations must have 501(c)(3) status or use a fiscal sponsor. Grant Period: June 15, 2012 - December 31, 2013. AWARDS: Grants awards are up to 15,000 to support the enhancement of arts facilities in the city. DEADLINE: November 10, 2011. WEBSITE: sfartscommission.org/ceg/grants/index.html#opg.
Catapult Film Fund provides early development funding to documentary filmmakers who have a compelling story to tell. It supports powerful stories, and moving storytelling, across a broad spectrum of issues and perspectives. ELIGIBILITY: Applicant must be 18 or older. Catapult Film Fund does not award grants for student films. Documentary projects must be 28 minutes or longer. Development funds must specifically be used to complete early writing, shooting and editing once story and characters are in place. Applicants must be independent producers. They must own the copyright of their production, and have artistic, budgetary and editorial control of their project. Applicants must have previous film or television production experience in a principal role as demonstrated by submitting previously completed work sample. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have successfully fund-raised for an independent documentary film, in line with its original budget. AWARDS: Catapult Film Fund development grants range from $5,000 to $20,000. DEADLINE: November 7, 2011. WEBSITE: catapultfilmfund.org/.
Durfee Foundation Artists' Resource for Completion Grants give individual artists money to complete work for a specific, imminent opportunity that may significantly benefit their career. AWARDS: up to $3,500. ELIGIBILITY Artists must be Los Angeles County residents, 21 years or older and have secured an invitation from an established organization to present the work. Full-time students are ineligible. Current DEADLINE: Quarterly, current November 1, 2011. WEBSITE: durfee.org/programs/arc/index.html.
The TFI Documentary Fund provides grants and guidance to exceptional filmmakers developing engaging feature-length documentaries which emphasize character and that allow audiences to consider history, culture and society through the experiences of extraordinary individuals. ELIGIBILITY: Submissions must be non-fiction motion pictures with an intended length of at least 70 minutes and should creatively document unique character(s); submissions can be in the advanced stages of development, production or post-production and must not have aired on any form. Foreign language documentaries are eligible, but must be subtitled and suitable for an American audience. Applicants must be over 18-years old. $25 entry fee. AWARDS: Grants of at least $10,000 will be awarded in 2012. DEADLINE: October 10, 2011. WEBSITE: tribecafilminstitute.org/tfi_documentary/.
The TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund supports innovative film and video artists who are living or working in Mexico, Central and South America and working independently in their efforts to reach a larger audience. ELIGIBILITY: Submissions must be animation, documentary and/or hybrid feature-length films with an intended length of at least 70 minutes. Submissions must be in production or post-production and must not have aired on any form of television, been screened publicly or have been distributed in theaters or via the internet. Projects may be in any language or dialect. Applicants must be over 18 years old. Student films and stand-alone short films are not eligible for submission. $25 entry fee. AWARDS: Last year, the Fund administered $10,000 grants to four selected films. In addition to funding, each grantee will receive a U.S. based advisor and guidance from the Tribeca Film Institute. DEADLINE: October 10, 2011. WEBSITE: tribecafilminstitute.org/filmmakers/latin_fund/.
Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.
Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.
Goldman Prize-winning environmentalists' work highlighted in short-form pieces by Parrinello, Antonelli and Dusenbery.
ITVS, Global Fund for Women, Spark and Women's Funding Network present a prescreening of issues doc 'Peace Unveiled,' part of a new PBS miniseries, 'Women, War & Peace,' launching this fall. Producer Abigail Disney and guests will be present for post-screening panel discussion. More info at pbs.org.
ITVS, Global Fund for Women, Spark and Women's Funding Network present a prescreening of issues doc 'Peace Unveiled,' part of a new PBS miniseries, 'Women, War & Peace,' launching this fall. Producer Abigail Disney and guests will be present for post-screening panel discussion. More info at pbs.org.
The Roy W. Dean Film and Writing Grants fund shorts, documentaries and low budget independent features. ELIGIBILITY: New film and video projects (including works-in-progress) that are unique and benefit the society. Student filmmakers, independent producers or independent production companies are all welcome. AWARDS: Winner gets a variety of awards including scholarships and cash prizes for different production fields. DEADLINE: August 30, 2011. WEBSITE: fromtheheartproductions.com/grant-lavideo.shtml.
Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.
Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.
Powerfully positioned San Francisco-based champion of independent docs and dramas for television begins to navigate its third decade.
John Antonelli finds good news, bad news and plenty of drama in African environmental stories.
John Antonelli finds good news, bad news and plenty of drama in African environmental stories.
Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
Long story short: A filmmaker finds the right length for his South American health doc.
Filmmaker/photographer Laurel Nakadate talks about acting, power and identity.
Filmmaker/photographer Laurel Nakadate talks about acting, power and identity.
Filmmaker/photographer Laurel Nakadate talks about acting, power and identity.
Short and feature films completed over the previous year by the Scary Cow’s co-op members play at Castro Theater. Attendees vote on which filmmakers should receive funding for future projects. More at scarycow.com.
Press release: "...The new initiative, called JustFilms, will invest $10 million a year over the next five years to support and expand the community of filmmakers and mediamakers around the world focused on creating documentaries with passion and purpose, but who often lack funding to realize their visions or reach audiences." More at fordfoundation.org.
Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."
Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."
Horror legend George Romero offers fundraising advice to first-timers: "Just make the movie. Don’t worry about the money."
"Ten Bay Area filmmakers got good news this month when the San Francisco Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation announced that they had narrowed their choices to a short list of contenders competing for $225,000 in cash," writes Hugh Hart. "The awards will go toward funding projects that explore civil rights, discrimination, gender and sexual identity. Winners will be named in November." More at SFGate.
If you re making a short narrative, foundations give you no respect. Financiers turn a cold shoulder. Government grantors snort. And festivals slot your film Sunday at midnight.
If you re making a short narrative, foundations give you no respect. Financiers turn a cold shoulder. Government grantors snort. And festivals slot your film Sunday at midnight.
You are awesome. Spectacular, incredible, interesting, accomplished and generally just way awesome. Everyone wants to hear every possible thing there is to know about you.
The culture war is over, and the reactionaries have won. In this climate, Jerome Hiler and Owsley Brown III s Music Makes a City is a revelation,
I've asked people for all kinds of money for all kinds of reasons. Whether I'm asking for $1,000 or $100,000, I've found some key concepts rule.
Seems like every filmmaker I know is ready to party! Everyone s throwing fundraising events for their films. So many babes in the party-planning woods.
Here are a few ways to both entice and reward your donors, as well as some tips for thanking them when all's said and done.
Aroy's film excavates the history and contributions of Filipino farmworkers in the Golden State since the 1920s.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Notes on assembling the basic ingredients for a great foundation funding proposal.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Notes on assembling the basic ingredients for a great foundation funding proposal.
High-concept cabaret-act favorite in the Bay Area who sidelines as a filmmaker, Cory McAbee (The American Astronaut) speaks about his latest, Stingray Sam.
Ellen Schneider speaks on the impact of social-issue documentaries and her San Francisco-based strategic communications company Active Voice.
Dina Ciraulo's debut feature reconsiders the curious case of nature writer Opal Whiteley, who burst to prominence—and controversy— in the 1920s.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Are Your "Friends" Worthless?
The Edit Room: I decided to set my New Doc Editing research team on a mission to find out what structural models are getting funded these days.
New Zealand transplant Richard Levien, a longstanding fixture of the San Francisco indie film community, breaks out of the editing room with Immersion.
Make them love it. Make? Oh, words of dread! How do you MAKE somebody love your film?
Make them love it. Make? Oh, words of dread! How do you MAKE somebody love your film?
Fear-Free Fundraising: Holly Million pitches her approach to securing donors, The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
SFIFF handed out approximately $100,000 and announced the winner San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant during its Golden Gate Awards.
City of Borders, the debut film by Bay Area filmmaker Yun Suh, follows several Palestinian characters seeking refuge at a gay bar. The film testifies to the intolerance that members of the LGBTQ community face in addition to all of the other walls, physical and social, separating people in the region.
Mark Kitchell current project is an ambitious summation of the environmental movement, from the protests of the 1960s, the '70s focus on pollution, the Greenpeace campaigns and the global climate change.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Holly Million suggests ways to make approaching individual donors that much easier.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Holly Million suggests ways to make approaching individual donors that much easier.
SF360.org joined in on a conversation about Cinematheque's past and present when Steven Jenkins lunched with Jonathan Marlow at Caffe Centro.
On January 24 the San Francisco film and arts community lost Ave Montague, who was well known for her hard work, creativity and passion for the arts.
First-Person: A program officer at the San Francisco Foundation has a sobering experience making a documentary.
Tom E. Brown talks about producing and funding Pushing Dead, a film about an HIV-positive writer forced to give up his daily drug regimen.
Oakland's Pamela Harris and Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media are connecting media makers with financial resources.
Oakland's Pamela Harris and Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media are connecting media makers with financial resources.
Fear-Free Fundraising: Holly Million on how donor cultivation can make you a successful film fundraiser.
Ask the Documentary Doctor: Fernanda Rossi weighs in on how many different pitches you really need for your documentary.
Epstein and Friedman bring a poem to the screen, while a South Bay director goes Russian.
The Doc Doctor prescribes cures for common pitfalls of demo reels.
The SFFS has added a Gallic counterpart to its long-running New Italian Cinema series.
The Legend of the Holy Net Potato, the first feature by Kerala-based filmmaker Vipin Vijay, concerns a cyborg, black magic, and a hacker.
The Legend of the Holy Net Potato, the first feature by Kerala-based filmmaker Vipin Vijay, concerns a cyborg, black magic, and a hacker.
It may not be easy being Uwe Boll, but it must be fun. He's a boundlessly energetic fanboy-turned-maker who thinks large.
It probably wasn't Romero's original dream to become semi-famous for movies about the flesh-eating undead.
"Not eating your friends after they have died is a relatively new invention."
"Not eating your friends after they have died is a relatively new invention."
Highlights of the upcoming festival were presented by the San Francisco Film Society Executive Director.
Ramin Bahrani's debut feature follows a solitary, quiet immigrant struggling to make a go of it in New York City.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Academy Foundation bestowed a surprise grant of $150,000 over three years.
Transnational tales stand out at the 2006 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Foundation Film Scholars Program is stimulating and supporting new and significant works of film scholarship. ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be established scholars, writers, historians or researchers possessing either a significant record of achievement, or exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishments in their field. Applicants must have written and published at least one book or a comparable collection of articles or monographs. AWARDS: Two grants of $25,000 will be made to qualified and worthy applicants, as reviewed and selected by the Academy's Grants Committee and staff. The Academy will distribute the grant money in two parts: at the commencement and upon completion of the proposed project. The Academy will also cover travel, lodging and per diem expenses, if necessary, for the recipients to attend the Film Scholars awards luncheon and to make their lecture presentation. DEADLINE: Application materials must be received by October 3, 2011. WEBSITE: oscars.org/education-outreach/grants/filmscholars/apply.html.
The Oppenheimer Cine Rental New Filmmaker Equipment Grant Program supports new filmmakers in producing their first serious film project. The grant awards the use of Grant Program Arriflex 16SR2 camera package to senior and graduate thesis students and to independent filmmakers for a scheduled period of time. ELIGIBILITY: Students, media arts center members and unaffiliated independents are encouraged to apply. Proposed projects may be of any noncommercial nature: dramatic, narrative, documentary, experimental, etc. (Commercial projects, music videos and PSAs will not be considered.) DEADLINE: Ongoing. WEBSITE: oppenheimercinerental.com/grant.html.