- Private foundations that specialize in providing funds to artists offer grants to filmmakers. Creative Capital gives individual grants of up to $50,000 to established artists over 25 years old who are working on what the organization considers visionary projects of artistic significance. The Puffin Foundation gives grants of up to $2,500 to film and video artists who create cutting-edge, non-mainstream works. Filmmakers working on nonfiction projects on social issues and current events can apply for funding from the Independent Television Service. The ITVS has two open calls for funding a year, and grant amounts vary.
- State governments provide funds for all types of artistic projects created by residents. Availability of funds vary from year to year because of changes in state budgets. Some states have specific grant programs for individual filmmakers. In New York, filmmakers can apply for an individual artist grant from the New York State Council on the Arts electronic media and film program. In Oregon, state residents can apply for an Oregon Media Arts Fellowship to create a new film work or for a work in progress. A list of state arts agencies can be found on the website of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.
- Filmmakers who live in cities or counties that have arts councils may be able to apply for funding on the local level. Cities that have a long-standing relationship with local artists -- such as Austin, Texas, and Kansas City, Missouri -- disseminate hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to artists. For example, Austin provides matching grants to artists including filmmakers to help create and showcase their work via the city’s cultural funding initiative.
- Organizations dedicated to promoting the visibility of female filmmakers offer grants to help women create and promote and their projects. The Women in Film Foundation gives grants of up to $15,000 for post-production costs after filming and rough editing. New York Women in Film and Television awards funds to women who are working on identifying, preserving and providing public access to historical films made by women. The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice has an invitation-only grant program for filmmakers. Awardees can receive up to several thousand dollars for film projects that address issues in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. POWER UP is another organization that supports the visibility of lesbians and film and provides grants for women to create films.
- For filmmakers who have finished all of the principal photography and rough cuts of their films, finishing grants can provide the final funding needed to complete editing, produce soundtracks and pay for film transfers. The Tribeca Film Institute has a fund for documentary filmmakers to finish their projects. The Independent Filmmaker Project awards two grants per year to filmmakers for post-production work for narrative films and documentaries.
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