Get Up to $30,000 for Your Next Narrative Short with SHIFT's New Grant Program
Grants this generous for narrative shorts are few and far between.
If you've got a narrative short in pre-production and are stressing out how to find the funds to make it, then, believe me, you're not alone. The amount of money sometimes needed to pull off your vision, especially in the short form, can often be underestimated.
Unlike a documentary short where you can often get by with minimal crew, gear, and set-up, production of a narrative short can start to add up fast. That makes the scarcity of grants available (compared to those offered for nonfiction work) even more frustrating. Luckily, this new grant from SHIFT, which launched last month as the new brand identity for the combined MediaSilo and Wiredrive businesses, has added an option for filmmakers to pursue.
The SHIFT Creative Fund is a grant program designed to provide up-and-coming filmmakers with the resources they need to develop and deliver a finished short film. Encouraging creativity and collaboration, the SHIFT Creative Fund will support four narrative short films with up to $30,000 each this year. Applications will be accepted until May 31 and selected applicants announced on June 30.
Selected projects will also receive these benefits that could end up cutting even more costs:
- Collaboration with award-winning SHIFT partners—consult with writers, producers, distributors and post-production experts through each stage of the creative process.
- Access to the SHIFT Creator Space in Los Angeles—meeting rooms, editing bays, computer workstations, interview space, and more will be available to filmmakers.
- Two weeks of access to the SHIFT Airstream—a fully-equipped mobile production trailer for off-site or on-the-road production days.
- Access to SHIFT solutions for streamlined video review and approval.
- Partnership with the SHIFT creative team in Los Angeles for production, post-production, and distribution assistance.
- Premiere screening event in Los Angeles for finished films, attended by SHIFT clients and partners.
Interested filmmakers can submit their short film script, a full production budget and schedule, links to previous work, and other general information about their film project here.
