There is no shortage of ideas in the filmmaking world, but when it comes to funding those ideas, well, that's a different story. Finding enough money and resources to create the film you're envisioning is one of the biggest obstacles you'll ever have to overcome, but Musicbed is hoping to make it all a little easier. If you have a burning desire to tell a story, the Musicbed Film Initiative wants to bring it to life by offering you $70K worth of cash, production gear, and post-production support.
This is only the second year of the Musicbed Film Initiative, but it has clearly struck a chord with the filmmaking community's desire to not only tell the stories that we're passionate about, but to also connect with those who want to offer support in our efforts to do so. After receiving nearly 7,500 submissions for the contest in 2016, Musicbed decided to up the ante and offer $20K more in prizes.
No Film School spoke with Musicbed founder and CEO Daniel McCarthy about his desire to help filmmakers develop their passion projects through the Musicbed Film Initiative. "Every filmmaker has at least one story in their head that they want to tell at some point, but so many of those stories never see the light of day," said McCarthy. "With the Musicbed Film Initiative, we’re making that day come sooner for one filmmaker." He continued, "We were floored to see thousands of the entries pouring in when we launched the Initiative last year. It obviously resonates with the filmmaker community, which is why the grant is even larger this year.”
The Musicbed Film Initiative is looking for any type of project, whether it's a black-and-white Western, a short film, or a feature length documentary about cats. Really, the sky's the limit, and with the award package they're offering—which includes $20K in cash, a MōVI Pro gimbal stabilizer, and tons of post-production software—you'll be able to take your project there, too.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges, which includes Stranger Things writer Jesse Nickson Lopez; Senior Curator at Vimeo, Ian Durkin; Venice Film Festival programmer and CEO of CINEMAVEN, Tom Davia; and President of Batya Communications, Nancy Jacobs, as well as last year's Musicbed Film Initiative winner Patrick Beisemans. Winners will be announced April 7th.
The Musicbed Film Initiative is free and open to filmmakers in any part of the world. The submission process is simple: write a short synopsis for your idea and then upload a PDF of your pitch, which can include your script, treatment, or mood board. The call for entries is open now and closes March 24th (3:00pm CT).
So, if you want to make your great film idea a reality, Musicbed is ready to help make it happen. Head on over to their website to get the process started.
Source: Musicbed Film Initiative
