This morning, SFFILM announced an exciting new development resource for independent filmmakers in the U.S. The SFFILM / Westridge Grants, aimed at independent narrative feature films, will award four to five grants of $20,000–$25,000 each spring and fall. The first application period is now open through February 2018.

The new grant was created to support the screenwriting and development phases of U.S.-based films that focus on what SFFilm describes as "significant social issues and questions of our time." The inaugural winners will be announced in May 2018.

In addition to the cash grants, recipients will also receive various benefits through SFFILM's artist development program, as well as support and feedback. Grantees will also get the opportunity to spend a week in the Bay Area attending a programmed retreat geared towards honing their craft and making connections in the industry.

"We can’t wait to get started finding next year’s breakthrough talent and giving them the help they need to build the proper foundations for their films," said Caroline von Kuhn, a program director at SFFilm. Past recipients of SFFilm grants include Fruitvale Station, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Short Term 12, and Patti Cake$.

According to the site, this grant is open to filmmakers who meet the following criteria:

  • Applicant must explore current social issues through plot, character, theme, and/or setting.
  • Project must NOT be a documentary.
  • Project must be aligned with the SFFILM mission and represent an imaginative contribution to film.
  • Must not be fully funded and/or have secured distribution.
  • Applicants with projects in the screenwriting phase must be the writer or writer/director on their project. If there is a co-writer, director who is not a writer, or producer attached to the project, they must be the co-applicant(s).
  • Applicants with projects in the development phase must be the producer(s) of the project. The writer or writer/director must be the co-applicant(s).
  • Applicant and co-applicant must become SFFILM members at the Filmmaker Pro level or above prior to SFFILM distributing funds to the project.
  • Applicant must be willing to spend one week in San Francisco attending the SFFILM / Westridge programmed retreat. Round-trip travel and accommodations will be covered.

Email any questions to: grants@sffilm.org.

Apply for an SFFilm / Westridge Grant here.

Featured image courtesy from past SFFILM grant recipient 'Fruitvale Station.'

SFFILM
Grants, Contests, & Awards