Grants for Filmmakers and Writers

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Sponsors grants and fellowships to encourage developing filmmakers, including: Nichols Fellowships in Screenwriting and Student Academy Awards. [more]

American Film Institute
Directing Workshop for Women
AFI's DWW is designed specifically for women who are working in the arts and are ready to seriously pursue narrative directing. Applicants must have a minimum of five years experience in the arts but may have no professional credits as a narrative director. If you have just completed film school, it is to your advantage to take some time and build up work experience before applying to the program. [more]

Funding Exchange/Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media
The Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media named to honor this singer, actor and civil rights activist, supports independent film, video and radio projects made by organizations and independent media producers on critical social issues. The Robeson Fund supports pre-production and distribution of film and video, and all stages of radio productions that: combine intellectual clarity with creative use of the medium, will reach a broad audience with an organizing component, demonstrate how the production will be used for social change organizing. [more]

Horizons/Frameline Film & Video Completion Fund
Grants in a range of $2,000 to $3,000 are available for projects in the final stages of production. Submissions are being accepted for documentary, educational, narrative, animated or experimental projects about or of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their communities. The fund also seeks to bring new work to underserved audiences; with this in mind, they especially encourage applications by women and people of color. [more]

Independent Television Service (ITVS)
Each year ITVS funds, distributes and promotes new programs produced by independent producers primarily for public television and beyond. ITVS is looking for proposals, which increase diversity on public television and present a range of subjects, viewpoints and forms that complement and challenge existing public television offerings. All production funding requests must be submitted in accordance with ITVS guidelines. [more]

International Documentary Association
Includes information of funding by deadlines, without deadlines, and information about fiscal sponsorship. [more]

Moxie Film Grants
Moxie Films was founded in 1992 to support the careers of emerging filmmakers as well as the spirit of the independent film, documentary and short. They offer the Moxie Docs Film Grant and a new Digital Feature Production Grant. [more]

National Foundation for Jewish Culture
Provides financial support for theater, music, dance, filmmaking, fiction, and Jewish Studies scholarship. [more]

National Endowment For The Arts
The Arts Endowment supports organizations that are involved in a broad spectrum of activity in the media arts including the production, exhibition, distribution, and preservation of work; the provision of services to the field; and the training of artists. [more]

National Endowment for the Humanities
NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. [more]

New Voices Media Fund
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967. The mission of CPB is to facilitate the development of, and ensure universal access to, non-commercial high-quality programming and telecommunications services. [more]

Open Door Fund
The Center for Asian American Media provides funding and support for provocative and engaging Asian American film and media projects from independent producers. CAAM awards production and completion funds for projects intended for public television broadcast. Funding is made possible with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. [more]

Oppenheimer Camera New Filmmaker Equipment Grant
The Oppenheimer Cine Rental New Filmmaker Equipment Grant Program is a grant to support new filmmakers in producing their first serious film project. The grant awards the use of our Grant Program Arriflex 16SR2 camera package to senior and graduate thesis students and to independent filmmakers for a scheduled period of time. [more]

Pacific Pioneer Fund Awards Grants to Filmmakers in California, Oregon, and Washington
The Pacific Pioneer Fund awards grants to support emerging documentary filmmakers in California, Oregon, and Washington. Grants are limited to public charities that agree to supervise any project for which an individual receives funds. The Fund does not provide support for endowments, building campaigns, accumulated deficits, or operating budgets, nor does it support instructional or performance documentaries, student film projects, or make grants to individuals. In addition, filmmakers are eligible for only one grant from the Fund during their careers. Grants range from $1,000 to $10,000. [more]

Panavision New Filmmakers Program
New Filmmaker Program is an ongoing grant program. Through this program, Panavision donates the use of 16mm or 35mm motion picture camera equipment to filmmakers who are making Public Service Announcements, Showcase Reels, “Low-Budget” Independent Features or any other type of Short, Non-Profit film. [more]

Avid Film Camp

The Avid Film Camp program is a pairing of filmmakers and editors that was founded in 1997. The driving force behind the organization is "enriching the the world with quality independent motion pictures."

The year-round camp is the core program, and AFC has added two new programs that allow independent directors to finish their projects — Filmmix and Avid Symphony Online.

For more information, go to www.filmcamp.com.