If, like all of Hollywood, you took a long August break, we’re here to help you get back on the horse. Our fall list includes deadlines for TV writing opportunities as well as labs, fellowships, and financial support for docs and narratives in all stages of production.
While the chaos of our current administration has unfortunately impacted grantmaking, notably at California Humanities and the Rogovy Foundation, we have scoured the landscape for the new opportunities that have emerged.
Opportunities are organized by deadline – from September through early December-- and by category: documentaries, narratives, and screenwriting. An asterisk(*) indicates an opportunity available in multiple categories.
As always, use your best judgment when deciding to apply.
Documentary
‘Mayor’ directed by David Osit | Supported by the Catapult Film Fund
Female Film Club*
The Female Film Club, a London-based organization created to foster community during the pandemic shutdown, is offering €10,000 in funding to short documentary and narrative films to filmmakers anywhere in the world.
The budget is allowed to be higher than the grant, but to ensure the film gets made, the filmmaker needs to have all additional funding in place by Sept 8th. This is a fast-track opportunity and requires a realistic plan in place to finish the film by October 2026.
Application fee is £50
Deadline: September 7
The Catapult Development Grant
Catapult’s flagship program will offer fifteen (15) grants of up to $25,000 USD to filmmakers worldwide who are in development with a documentary feature or short.
This grant can be used for a variety of development needs and must result in the creation of a fundraising piece as the final deliverable. We prioritize artful, moving storytelling and are not tied to any specific social issue agenda. Applicants will need to have a confirmed US-based 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor in order to receive the funds.
Previous grantees include Rita Baghdadi, David Osit, and Elan and Jonathan Bogarín.
From Catapult:
“We look for artful, compelling stories with a preference for character-driven narratives. The project should be motivated first by story. Some types of films, such as survey, are less likely to be a good fit for Catapult, but we are always open to creative approaches. We usually do not fund projects that rely purely on interviews as the primary narrative device, or historical and biographical films, unless there is a unique angle or approach that makes the subject matter timely and relevant.”
Deadline: September 8
Women in Media Short Film Finishing Grant*
Women and gender non-conforming film professionals who are California residents are eligible for this grant, made possible by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.
Short Form Grants --between $500-$3,000 cash-- will support completion of a short documentary, with a completed runtime of no more than 30 minutes.
There is no fee to submit, but you must be a registered member of Women In Media at a rate of $60 for students and $120 for industry professionals.
Grantees will also receive targeted consultations, mentorships, and services for film finishing. Consultants include: Vickie Sampson – Post production sound; Jennifer Smith – Music clearance; and Kimberley Browning – Film festival strategy.
Last year’s grantees include Catie Skipp, for her short doc ‘Monster Slayer’ (premiered at Tribeca 2025).
Deadline: September 15
Stay in LA Documentary Action Grant
Funded by All Facts, a company started by two LA-based filmmakers in 2020, this grant will provide direct, unrestricted development funding to empower documentary filmmakers living and working in Los Angeles County.
$10,000 - $30,000 per project will be given to individual documentary filmmakers (Director and/or Producer in a key creative role) for feature-length documentaries intended for principal photography primarily within Los Angeles County. Stories should explore Los Angeles subjects, issues, cultures, peoples, or histories.
Funds are unrestricted but intended for development activities such as research, writing, creating pitch materials/sizzle reels, securing initial rights or location scouting/travel within LA.
Deadline: September 15
First Flights Short Film Fund*
This fund, administered by Film Birmingham, is offering grants of up to $10,000 in production funding to scripted documentary short filmmakers worldwide. Awards will be given to projects that intend to be in production no more than six months after the deadline closes.
Filmmakers can also compete in a special category to shoot their film on genuine 16mm film stock. Winners of this category will receive 10 x 400ft rolls of KODAK 16mm film stock, along with processing costs. Submission fee is £30
Regular Deadline: September 30
Breaking Through The Lens Action Grant*
This €10,000 grant is open to feature film directors --narrative or documentary-- who experience marginalization due to their gender or sexuality. The winner will also receive market guidance and production support for their project.
One of the finalists will receive the SIMBELLE IMPACT AWARD --an additional $10,000 unrestricted grant for the filmmaker-- to be decided by Jury Member Lauren Melinda, founder of Simbelle Productions.
Filmmakers applying with documentary projects must have begun production and must be seeking finishing funds. Application fee is $60
From BTTL:
“Applicants must demonstrate how the grant funding will allow you to advance in a critical area of development – be it casting, location scouting, hiring crew, or shooting a scene – there are no limits, as long as the action taken moves the needle on your project. This is about finding films with strong artistic merit and a bold original vision, ready to go into production before the end of 2026.”
Deadline: October 1 (Late Deadline)
BFI Future Takes*
BFI and Film4 Future Takes offers support for higher-budget live action, short-form projects from teams of writers, directors, and producers based in the UK. They will support up to six short films, with funding of between £60,000 and £90,000 per film.
Future Takes supports scripted live action work or hybrid documentary involving scripted or dramatised elements. Films can be a maximum length of 25 minutes, and the application must be made by the lead producer with an established track record in moving image work and be a UK resident. The producer cannot be the writer or director of the project.
The director must have an established creative track record in scripted moving image work and had no more than one feature film produced and commercially distributed in the UK.
From Future Takes:
“As it becomes harder to get debut features financed and in front of an audience, there is a considerable gap in the support available to filmmakers who may have started their careers but are missing the piece of work that will allow them to move on to bigger, bolder work.
Future Takes aims to support the creation of innovative, ambitious short-form works that command a higher budget and will not be realisable without support. This could mean ideas, settings or filming techniques that are truly boundary pushing, either in form or content.”
Deadline: October 20
National Film Board of Canada Filmmaker Assistance Program*
Despite its unfortunate acronym, the Filmmaker Assistance Program (FAP) can be a lifesaver for Canadian citizens looking to get their film over the finish line.
This program offers selected Canadian filmmakers the opportunity to travel to Montreal to complete a portion of their post-production in-house at Balmoral Studios. Services provided include post-production services and access to post-production equipment such as picture and sound editing suites, online editing services, title and credits design, sound effects, voice recording, mixing, access to the NFB archives, master copies, and authoring of a complete digital cinema package (DCP).
Filmmakers living within 150 km of Montreal must cover 10% of the total cost of requested post-production services. For filmmakers who live more than 150 km from Montreal but wish to travel to Montreal to access the services, the NFB waives the 10%.
The film must be an independent Canadian production. Eligible formats and genres include: Short, medium-length, or feature-length documentaries, documentary series for the web, animated short, medium, or feature film, short fiction, and experimental films.
Deadline: November 14
The IDFA Bertha Fund
The IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF) is dedicated to empowering the creative documentary sector in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Oceania with development grants of up to €7,500 per project and production grants of up to €25,000.
In addition to their funding schemes, the IBF offers a range of activities to empower filmmakers throughout the creative and production processes, including tailored consultancies, talent development opportunities, and access to IDFA’s markets.
From the Bertha Fund:
“Documentary films supported by the IBF express the artistic vision of filmmakers, using strong visual treatments to tell compelling stories that can reach a global audience. We take risks on unknown and seasoned filmmakers, supporting their breakthrough from marginalized positions to the most respected platforms.”
Deadline: December 10
Yale Law School DocProject
Launched in 2018, The DocProject is a program of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School. Under the guidance of experienced media lawyers, Yale law students provide filmmakers with pro bono legal research and advice from the earliest stages of their projects through rough-cuts. Supported films include ‘Missing In Brooks County’, ‘Pay or Die’ and ‘Unseen’.
From DocProject:
“The project’s mission is twofold: to assist documentary filmmakers who would not otherwise have access to legal resources, and to train the next generation of media lawyers.”
Deadline: Rolling
'Voices From The Caravan’ directed by Ilse Fernandez, screened this summer at Works-In-Progress
Film Independent Non-Fiction Work In Progress Series
Finished your feature doc and looking for a test audience? Film Independent has your back. Their L.A.-based screening series offers a place for filmmakers to share their projects and receive constructive feedback. Audiences are invited to watch films as they enter the final stages of editing, offering feedback via in-depth surveys and a moderated discussion, helping to ready their projects for festivals and distribution.
The program is open to filmmakers located anywhere, but the director and/or key members of the creative team must be able to attend the screening in person. Filmmakers must provide a full edit at the time of submission. There is a $25 application fee.
NOTE: Film Independent membership is not required when applying to Artist Development programs. However, all participants accepted into programs are required to join Film Independent at the standard annual General Membership rate of $105, in addition to the initial application fee.
Deadline: Rolling
Screen Australia’s Documentary Development Program
If you're an Australian-based filmmaker, you’re probably already aware of Screen Australia. Their documentary development program awards grants of up to $30,000 (Australian) to one-off and series documentaries, as well as VR. A full list of Screen Australia’s funding opportunities can be found here.
From Screen Australia:
“Screen Australia is committed to building equity into its programs and its engagement with the community. Gender equity, anti-racism, authentic story-telling, from and about under-represented groups, and inclusivity are priorities for Screen Australia. We expect that the lived experience portrayed through the narrative and characters are reflected within the key creative team. It is vital the creative team has the cultural authorship to tell the story so that telling of the story is authentic. This will be taken into account when assessing applications.”
Deadline: Rolling
The Scottish Documentary Institute Consultancies
Free consultation to support documentary filmmakers based in Scotland, sponsored by the Scottish Documentary Institute.
From SDI:
“Our consultancies are delivered as one-on-one short online meeting sessions discussing your project and giving advice that best supports you at the stage you are at. This can come in the form of guidance on pitching and suggesting funding opportunities; we may be able to facilitate introductions to industry contacts who can help, or we may form a direct collaboration.”
Deadline: Rolling
Narrative
‘Chasers’ directed by Erin Brown Thomas | Supported by the WIM Short Film Finishing Grant
Female Film Club*
The Female Film Club, a London-based organization created to foster community during the pandemic shutdown, is offering €10,000 in funding to short documentary and narrative films to filmmakers anywhere in the world.
The budget is allowed to be higher than the grant, but to ensure the film gets made, the filmmaker needs to have all additional funding in place by Sept 8th. This is a fast-track opportunity and requires a realistic plan in place to finish the film by October 2026.
Application fee is £50
Deadline: September 7
Women in Media Short Film Finishing Grant*
Women and gender non-conforming film professionals who are California residents are eligible for this grant, made possible by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.
Short Form Grants, between $500 - $3,000 cash, will support completion of a short documentary, with a completed runtime of no more than 30 minutes.
There is no fee to submit, but you must be a registered member of Women In Media at a rate of $60 for students and $120 for industry professionals.
Grantees will also receive targeted consultations, mentorships, and services for film finishing. Consultants include: Vickie Sampson – Post production sound; Jennifer Smith – Music clearance; and Kimberley Browning – Film festival strategy.
Last year’s grantees include Erin Brown Thomas, for her pilot ‘Chasers’ (premiered at Sundance 2025).
Deadline: September 15
Film Independent Episodic Directing Intensive
An intensive, three-day online program designed for narrative filmmakers who wish to make the transition into the episodic directing space. Filmmakers must provide two samples of directing work, one of which must be a narrative short or feature. Past advisers include Beth Schachter, Jen Arnold, and Maggie Kiley.
From FI:
“Six directors, whose work embodies the diversity, innovation, and uniqueness we nurture and champion at Film Independent, will be selected…Ideal candidates are those who have honed their directorial skills and artistic vision through experience, including directing short films, feature films, or commercial projects.”
Deadline: September 22
Lynn Shelton ‘Of A Certain Age’ Grant
A project-based award for cis and trans women and non-binary directors, aged 39 or older, who are working on their first narrative feature. This unrestricted, $25,000 award seeks to recognize filmmakers for their distinct visions, storytelling and singularity.
From Of A Certain Age:
“The Lynn Shelton “Of A Certain Age” Grant was created…to honor the legacy of beloved filmmaker Lynn Shelton…Shelton often spoke of feeling inspired after seeing filmmaker Claire Denis speak at Northwest Film Forum and learning that Denis did not make her first feature until age 40. Shelton went on to make her own first feature film (We Go Way Back) at the age of 39. In the years since, she built a prolific canon of feature and television work and made an indelible mark on the landscape of American cinema.”
Deadline: September 27
First Flights Short Film Fund*
This fund, administered by Film Birmingham, is offering grants of up to $10,000 in production funding to scripted documentary short filmmakers worldwide. Awards will be given to projects that intend to be in production no more than six months after the deadline closes.
Filmmakers can also compete in a special category to shoot their film on genuine 16mm film stock. Winners of this category will receive 10 x 400ft rolls of KODAK 16mm film stock, along with processing costs.
Submission fee is £30
Regular Deadline: September 30
Breaking Through The Lens Action Grant*
This €10,000 grant is open to feature film directors -- narrative or documentary -- who experience marginalization due to their gender or sexuality. The winner will also receive market guidance and production support for their project.
One of the finalists will receive the SIMBELLE IMPACT AWARD –an additional $10,000 unrestricted grant for the filmmaker – to be decided by Jury Member Lauren Melinda, founder of Simbelle Productions.
From BTTL:
“Applicants must demonstrate how the grant funding will allow you to advance in a critical area of development – be it casting, location scouting, hiring crew, or shooting a scene – there are no limits, as long as the action taken moves the needle on your project. This is about finding films with strong artistic merit and a bold original vision, ready to go into production before the end of 2026.”
Deadline: October 1 (Late Deadline)
‘Leaving Ikorodu in 1999’, directed by Rashida Seriki | Supported by BFI Future Takes
BFI Future Takes*
BFI and Film4 Future Takes offers support for higher-budget live action, short-form projects from teams of writers, directors, and producers based in the UK. They will support up to six short films, with funding of between £60,000 and £90,000 per film.
Future Takes supports scripted live action work or hybrid documentary involving scripted or dramatised elements. Films can be a maximum length of 25 minutes, and the application must be made by the lead producer with an established track record in moving image work and be a UK resident. The producer cannot be the writer or director of the project.
The director must have an established creative track record in scripted moving image work and had no more than one feature film produced and commercially distributed in the UK.
From Future Takes:
“As it becomes harder to get debut features financed and in front of an audience, there is a considerable gap in the support available to filmmakers who may have started their careers but are missing the piece of work that will allow them to move on to bigger, bolder work.
Future Takes aims to support the creation of innovative, ambitious short-form works that command a higher budget and will not be realisable without support. This could mean ideas, settings or filming techniques that are truly boundary pushing, either in form or content.”
Deadline: October 20
Shore Scripts Fund
Shore Scripts is offering a $15,000 production grant for a winning short film script, plus $4,000 in finishing funds to a separate winner.
From Shore:
“As much as we love to read scripts, too many excellent shorts never progress beyond the written word, which is why we established the Short Film Fund to help take those compelling stories off the page and onto the screen.
Previous winners have gone on to gain representation, sold screenplays, and been staffed on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, & BBC shows as a direct result of winning and producing their shorts with us.”
Late Deadline: October 31
National Film Board of Canada Filmmaker Assistance Program*
Despite its unfortunate acronym, the Filmmaker Assistance Program (FAP) can be a lifesaver for Canadian citizens looking to get their film over the finish line.
This program offers selected Canadian filmmakers the opportunity to travel to Montreal to complete a portion of their post-production in-house at Balmoral Studios. Services provided include post-production services and access to post-production equipment such as picture and sound editing suites, online editing services, title and credits design, sound effects, voice recording, mixing, access to the NFB archives, master copies, and authoring of a complete digital cinema package (DCP).
Filmmakers living within 150 km of Montreal must cover 10% of the total cost of requested post-production services. For filmmakers who live more than 150 km from Montreal but wish to travel to Montreal to access the services, the NFB waives the 10%.
The film must be an independent Canadian production. Eligible formats and genres include: Short, medium-length, or feature-length documentaries, documentary series for the web, animated short, medium, or feature film, short fiction, and experimental films.
Deadline: November 14
Kodansha Creators Lab
For the second year in a row, Japan-based Manga publisher Kodansha is calling for short film pitches from around the world, funding budgets up to ¥10,000,000 (about $68,000). They welcome applications from directors, producers, animators, CG creators, and production companies.
From Kodansha:
“We are calling for submissions from a wide range of creators, including not only filmmakers but also artists with ideas and also screenwriters…Kodansha's purpose is to "Inspire Impossible Stories." We are looking for submissions from visual creators who want to work with us to create impossible stories that go beyond imagination, that will inspire the world and the hearts of others!”
Deadline: November 30
Panavision's New Filmmaker Program
If you are a U.S. or Canada-based student or low-budget indie filmmaker, Panavision may supply you with a free camera package.
Deadline: Rolling
Film Independent Sloan Distribution Grant
If you have a nearly completed (or finished) narrative film with a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, or mathematician, this grant could be for you.
From Film Independent:
“The Sloan Distribution Grant is a $50,000 grant awarded by Film Independent to a film that is entering its distribution phase. Eligible films must depict themes, stories and characters grounded in real science, technology or economics.”
Deadline: Rolling
Screenwriting
‘Flora Borealis’ written and directed by Casey Friedman, MacDowell alum
Film Independent Screenwriting Lab
The Screenwriting Lab is a two-week workshop held in Los Angeles, designed to provide individualized story and career development for emerging screenwriters with a fiction feature screenplay.
Each Screenwriting Fellow is paired with a creative advisor, with whom they’ll work one-on-one and in group sessions. A variety of guest speakers are invited to screen and discuss their own films and offer career insights, and a final pitch event offers further opportunity for individualized feedback and interaction with industry executives.
Past Screenwriting Lab projects include Chloé Zhao’s ‘Songs My Brothers Taught Me’ and Robbie Pickering’s SXSW winner ‘Natural Selection’. Past advisors include Eliza Hittman, Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi, and Ti West. There is a $65 application fee.
Extended Deadline: September 8
MacDowell Spring/Summer Residency
MacDowell’s prestigious residency program has supported hundreds of artists since its founding in 1907. Artists are provided with a private studio, chef-prepared meals, and living accommodations on their 450-acre property in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Residencies last from 4-6 weeks.
Past screenwriting residents include Julia Solomonoff, Shaka King, and Josh Locy.
From MacDowell:
“About 300 artists in seven disciplines are awarded Fellowships each year, and the sole criterion for acceptance is artistic excellence. There are no residency fees, and need-based stipends and travel reimbursement grants are available to open the residency to the broadest possible community of artists.”
Deadline: September 10
Cinequest Screenwriting Competition
The competition associated with the Cinequest Film Festival offers $5,000 for the winning feature script, and $1,000 for a short/teleplay as well as recognition during the Writers Celebration at the fest.
From Cinequest:
"...the Cinequest Screenwriting Competition empowers creative and innovative writers with the opportunity to interact with producers and industry professionals from around the world. Finalists will be honored during the Cinequest Writers Celebration, a day filled with a dynamic collection of Writer Meet Producer events, Business of Writing forums, Pitch Training, VIP Writers Lunch, and an awards ceremony announcing the winners of the competition."
Deadline: September 12
Writer’s Access Support Staff Training Program
The Writers Guild Foundation, in partnership with TV writers and producers Tanya Saracho (Vida), Mike Royce (One Day at a Time), and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper (Day of the Dead), created this 12-week course to provide writers who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and over the age of 50, with the tools and education to become a writers’ assistant and script coordinator, resulting in meaningful employment opportunities.
Graduates of the program are added to an ongoing list of trained writers’ assistants and script coordinators (WA/SCs) that is made available to studios, networks, and showrunners in order to increase the pool of eligible hires.
The 12-week course incorporates a variety of lessons tailored to the positions of a writers' assistant or script coordinator. By the end of the semester, participants will have a working knowledge to integrate into a writers' room and crucial connections to access these opportunities.
The course will take place between January and May of next year. Applicants must be available for classes, hosted online via Zoom, on Thursday evenings from 7-10 pm PT.
Optional in-person meetups and networking events are held exclusively in Los Angeles.
Deadline: September 16
Starz #Take The Lead Writers Intensive
NALIP and NFMLA are collaborating with STARZ for the fourth season of the STARZ #TakeTheLead Writers’ Intensive — an empowering program aimed at nurturing new voices in television.
Four writers will be selected to connect with 15 industry professionals from a diverse range of TV backgrounds while crafting a spec episode treatment. Each writer will then be paired with a mentor to write a full spec episode script based on an existing STARZ series.
From STARZ:
“#TakeTheLead is STARZ's commitment to amplifying narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences. We hope that by taking the lead and remaining fiercely dedicated to inclusion on and off screen, and throughout the company, as well as our commitment to bold, unapologetic stories and characters, it will inspire others across the industry.”
Deadline: September 18
Channel 4 Screenwriting Course
Sponsored by Channel 4, this course offers 12 UK or Ireland-based writers new to television drama an insight into how the industry works and to provide a “dry-run” of what it can be like to write under a television drama commission, specifically for one-hour series and serial drama, and to work with them as they write an original drama script.
Writers will be expected to write an original one-hour drama or serial pilot episode and a 2 to 3-page series outline between January and June 2026. Each writer will be assigned a script editor who is currently working in the industry to guide them through this process.
Applicants must be available for two separate weekend intensives in London: 17th & 18th January 2026 and 6th & 7th June 2026.
Writers will be paid a fee for participating in the course and for completing two drafts of a one-hour script. All writers will be required to grant Shelley Productions a first option for Channel 4 to acquire all rights in their script and will be told within six months of delivery whether Channel 4 wishes to exercise this option.
Only writers who do not have a broadcast credit as a television writer or a theatrical release as a feature film writer may apply.
Deadline: October 6
‘Istikhara, New York’, written and directed by Yasir Masood, Blacklist/NDRC Climate Fellow
Blacklist/Women In Film: Episodic Lab
The Black List and WiF will co-sponsor 6 aspiring television writers of an underrepresented gender to a four-week episodic lab. The lab will consist of script development, peer workshopping sessions, and master classes with established writers and industry executives. All participants of the 2024 Episodic Lab will also be 2024 WiF Fellows. The Episodic Lab will take place in LA throughout the year, and travel will not be provided for any events; therefore, non-California residents who cannot finance their own travel are discouraged from applying.
Deadline: December 15
Blacklist/NDRC Climate Storytelling Fellowship
This Fellowship will grant $20,000 each to three applicants to support the revision of a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a compelling way. Grantees will receive continued mentorship throughout the revision process, as well as access to relevant experts and consultants. Previous mentors include Brit Marling, Daniel Scheinert, and Mike Schur.
Writers must upload a project onto the blacklist website in order to be considered; qualified screenplays or pilots will receive one free month of Blacklist hosting and one free evaluation.
Deadline: November 28
Useful Links
- Documentary Grants - International Documentary Association
- Sundance Co//ab List of Opportunities - Sundance Institute (sign up for a free Co//ab account to see all grants)
- Res Artis - Worldwide Network of Artist Residencies
Keep an eye on our Grants, Contests & Awards section, where we will be sharing new opportunities that come up throughout the season.
