Filmmaking & Video Journalism Grants: Winter 2017/2018 Deadlines

With the new year approaching, you may want to secure funding for your upcoming projects to plan research, travel, and production budgets. Here are a list of documentary filmmaking and video journalism grants for the winter season that offer support to a diverse range of projects.

CrossCurrents Doc Fund: November 30

The CrossCurrents Doc Fund is an international production fund offering a storyteller from a marginalized or oppressed community grant money to report on the topic of their choice. The grant winner will receive $10,000 CDN.

National Film Board of Canada Filmmaker Assistance Program: December 3

The National Film Board of Canada is dedicated to promoting the talent of emerging Canadian filmmakers — and serves as a laboratory for creation. Cash awards go up to $3,000 and $5,000 depending on where you live.

The Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant Program: December 7

The Jerome Foundation supports “generative” film and video producers, as well as other art disciplines, by offering funds for domestic and/or international travel for study, exploration, and growth. The travel must be conducive to research or collaboration leading to the creation of new work.

Filmmakers Without Borders: January 1

Filmmakers Without Borders is dedicated to empowering the next generation of digital storytellers. They provide funding and support for independent filmmakers who are involved in narrative, documentary, experimental, and new media projects. Grants are available for development, production, post-production, and film festival applications up to $5,000.

NEH Media Production Grants: January 10

All projects for these grants must be grounded in humanities scholarship in disciplines such as history, art history, film studies, literature, drama, religious studies, philosophy, or anthropology. The grants support the production and distribution of films, television programs, and radio programs or podcasts that promise to engage a broad public audience.

Pacific Pioneer Fund: January 10

Documentary filmmakers in California, Oregon, and Washington, this is the grant for you. The Pacific Pioneer fund offers grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 to emerging filmmakers who do exemplary work in the documentary realm.

Moving Image Grant Funds LEF Foundation: January 14

Directors and producers in New England, the LEF Foundation is offering multiple grants up to $5,000 in pre-production, $15,000 for production, and $25,000 in post-production. The grant winners will be selected based on quality of the cinematic form, originality of voice, and resonance of the film’s core story.

Nextpix/Firstpix Crowdfunding Grant: January 17

Netpix is offering grants to crowdfunded productions with a humanitarian message, using the film’s crowdfunding page as the application. They’re funding up to $5,000 through the crowdfunding campaign of the filmmaker’s choice, and are expecting to assist between one to three projects a year.

Whickers World Foundation: January 31

The Whicker’s World Foundation offers one of the largest grants on our list, delivering £80,000 to a new director with the top pitch for an authored documentary that engages with local contributors and has an original use of technology. They also offer a second award of £15,000 to the runner-up candidate.

Visions Sud Est Fund: February 28

The Swiss fund provides grants for films from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. They aim to make them visible worldwide and guarantees their distribution in Switzerland. They differentiate between funding for production support and post-production, so be sure to fill out the application correctly.

Sundance Documentary Fund: March 2

This fund from the Sundance Institute empowers non-fiction filmmakers around the world who are filming cinematic documentaries on contemporary themes. They’re currently offering up to $15,000 for development, $40,000 for production, and $20,000 for audience engagement.

World Cinema Fund Production Grant: March 5

The Goethe-Institut in joint connection with the Foreign Ministry and German Producers seek to develop cinema in areas where film has has a weaker presence, while supporting the cultural diversity in German cinemas. In particular, the grant supports films that otherwise could not be produced, have an unconventional aesthetic, and tell powerful stories of cultural roots.

The David Ross Fetzer Foundation for Emerging Artists: March 15

The David Ross Fetzer Foundation is awarding one U.S. filmmaker under 35 a $5,000 grant for the production of a short film. That film will be show as a private screening with the filmmaker in attendance at the Davey Foundation Film Showcase in Salt Lake City in December 2018.

Vision Maker Media — Public Media Content Fund: March 18

Vision Maker Media awards $500,000 each year, via numerous funding opportunities, to produce content by and about Native Americans for use by PBS stations. The Public Media Content Fund is an opportunity for those who are producing pieces about Native Americans that are intended for public media broadcasting.

The Bertha BRITDOC Documentary Journalism Fund: Rolling Fund

The Bertha BRITDOC grant funds long-form journalism style documentaries that are exposing injustice or bringing eyes to previously unseen issues. Recoupable grants from £5,000 to £50,000 are available and it is a rolling fund, meaning there is no current application deadline.

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By Jordan M. Rapaport, Storyhunter Writer