25 Documentary Filmmaking Grants You Need to Apply for this Year
Whether you’re just beginning to film a documentary or are in distribution, securing funding can seem like a monumental task. There are so many ways to fund documentaries, short or feature-length, that you might not even know where to begin.
While you have the option of crowdfunding on platforms like Indiegogo or Seed&Spark, securing brand or non-profit sponsorships, or even pitching a short doc on Storyhunter to publishers like Great Big Story or 60 Second Docs, one of the best ways to secure funding is to apply for documentary filmmaking grants. There are dozens of opportunities for feature-length documentary filmmakers to receive support from pre-production all the way through post-production and promotion. Here are 25 great grants you should apply to this year if you are filming a documentary:
Any stage of production:
1. American Documentary Film Fund: Up to $50K
Independent filmmakers may apply to this fund to begin or complete their film. International filmmakers are eligible and 2017 applications are not open yet.
2. BRITDOC Bertha Journalism Fund: £5,000 to £50,000
This BRITDOC fund is for documentaries of a journalistic nature that bring important and unreported issues to the screen. The fund may go to research and development, production, editorial support, hostile environment training, and legal advice. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
3. The Filmmaker Fund: Up to $75K
For both experienced and emerging filmmakers, the Filmmaker Fund provides funding from the earliest stages of development through post-production. Along with the grants, the filmmakers awarded receive an invitation to their annual retreat, help with navigating festivals, and advice on distribution strategies. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
4. The Fledgling Fund: $10K to $25K
Fledgling supports documentaries in any stage of production that focus on social issues and inspire positive social change. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
5. Ford Foundation JustFilms: Unspecified
The Ford Foundation supports documentaries that are artist-driven and explore aspects of inequality. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
6. Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund: Up to $35K
The fund provides experienced filmmakers with up to 20% of their total production costs for films that are suitable for theatrical release or broadcast. Canadian filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
7. Miller / Packan Documentary Film Fund: $5K to $25K
The fund supports documentaries that address social issues and inspire others. Films must be in the advanced development, production, or post-production stage. Filmmakers must have a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor and applications are due on May 15.
8. netPix/firstPix Crowdfunding Grant: Up to $5K
This grant supports films that are humanitarian/humanistic in content and are raising money through crowdfunding. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
9. Rooftop Filmmakers Fund: Multiple Grants
These seven different grants include a cash grant for $25,000, $15,000 in publicity services, full-color correction services, a full sound mixing package, 30 days of lighting and grip equipment, a full post-production package, and 30 days of camera gear. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are not open yet.
10. Roy W. Dean Film Grants: $3,500 plus discounted film services
The grant supports unique independent feature films, documentaries, web series, and short films that will make a contribution to society. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted three times a year.
11. Screen Australia Documentary Development: Up to $30K
The funding program helps experienced documentary filmmakers develop their projects from research to post-production. Australian filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted three times a year.
12. Sundance Documentary Film Fund: Up to $50K
The Sundance Institute supports non-fiction filmmakers year-round. They offer up to $20,000 for projects still in development and pre-production, up to $50,000 for projects in production or post-production, and up to $20,000 for audience engagement with the final film. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
13. Tribeca Film Institute Documentary Fund: $25K to $50K
Filmmakers can apply at any stage of production for support. The TFI fund sponsors documentaries that spotlight contemporary themes with unique, creative filmmaking. International filmmakers are eligible and applications open in the fall.
Pre-production:
14. BRITDOC Pulse Genesis Fund: £5,000
This fund supports filmmakers who are at the beginning of the filmmaking process and are still experimenting with form, their approach or need funds to make a trailer. BRITDOC will also help connect filmmakers to new funders. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are not open yet.
15. Catapult Film Fund: $5K to $20K
The fund supports the development of documentaries with strong storytelling and compelling characters. The grant can only be made to a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor for the project. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
16. ITVS Digital Open Call: Up to $30K
The Independent Television Service funds documentary series that have not yet begun production. US filmmakers are eligible and applications are due on February 17.
In production or post-production:
17. AFAC’s Documentary Program: Up to $50K
The fund supports documentaries in production or post-production that address social issues in the Arab world in creative ways. Arab filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted in three yearly cycles.
18. Derek Freese Documentary Fund: Up to $35K
The fund supports films in production and post-production, and that have powerful stories and a strong vision for the finished film. Filmmakers must have a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor and applications are due on June 12.
19. EFILM | Company 3 Feature Film Grant: Up to $50K in services
The grant supports documentaries in post-production by offering filmmakers color correction and digital intermediate services. Film Independent Fellows and alumni of the LA Film Festival and Film Independent Spirit Award Nominees are eligible and applications are not yet open. Film Independent is accepting applications for other filmmaking grants as well.
20. Firelight Media Documentary Lab: Up to $25K
This program supports emerging, diverse filmmakers with workshops, networking opportunities, and funding. The film must be in progress and the funding is meant to take it to the next step in the production process. US-based filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
21. Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund: $10K to $15K
The fund supports films that are in advanced development, production, or post-production and highlight social issues from around the world. Filmmakers will also receive guidance from the Tribeca Film Institute, notes and feedback, private screenings, and more. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are due on February 5.
22. IDA Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund: $15K to $25K
This fund from the International Documentary Association supports documentaries that explore pressing issues in the United States, such as environmental, justice, and social problems. Films must be in production while still having substantial production or post-production work left. International filmmakers are eligible and applications are accepted on a rolling basis until July 31.
23. ITVS Open Call: $150K to $350K
While not technically a grant, ITVS provides co-production investment in documentary projects of 30 or 60 minutes in length that are intended for public broadcast. US filmmakers are eligible and applications are due in February and August.
24. WIF Film Finishing Fund: Unspecified
This Women in Film fund provides grants to films that have at least a rough cut and are by, for, or about women. International filmmakers are eligible and the next cycle of applications will open this Spring.
25. World Cinema Fund: Up to €80,000
The fund supports production in the WCF regions: Africa, Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Caucasus. Only directors from these regions are eligible to apply as the documentaries should have a connection to the identity and reality of their homelands. Applications for production are due March 2 and distribution requests are accepted on a rolling basis.
Get started on Storyhunter here.
Did we miss any great grants for documentary filmmakers? Tell us in the comments below!
By D. Simone Kovacs, Writer at Storyhunter
