SIFF + True Productions $100,000 Documentary Grant | 2020 Film Grants

SIFF + True Productions $100,000 Documentary Grant

$50,000 Documentary Grants

SIFF + True Productions $100,000 Documentary Grant

The 2020 grant cycle will not open for public submissions. Please check back in October 2020 for any changes to the 2021 granting cycle.

2017 SIFF + True Productions $100,000 Documentary Grant Information below.

For the second consecutive year, SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival) and True Productions have partnered to underwrite two $50,000 documentary grants for filmmakers. The sole purpose of the grants is to invest in the filmmaking community, the filmmaking process, and - most of all - the art of true storytelling through the lens. The True Productions + SIFF Documentary grants are generously supported by the Clark Family Legacy Foundation and Áegis Living. ENTRY DEADLINE: November 15, 2016

The 2017 grants will focus on two themes that are very timely and important in our society today:

The first grant, provided by the Clark Family Legacy Foundation, will focus on the very real and relevant theme of heroin/opioid use in youth. With ever-increasing numbers of youth experimenting with, and becoming addicted to, heroin/opioids, this topic touches everyone. The focus of the film can be on any part of this problem: the user, the family, the system, the community, crime, etc.

The second grant, provided by Áegis Living, will focus on immigration, which is a defining challenge in the world today. This focus is very open-ended, and can look at any theme around immigration.

Both grants will be adjudicated separately, and the winning project in each grant topic will be awarded $50,000. The selected grantee must submit the completed film for consideration to the Seattle International Film Festival or SIFF Cinema for its world premiere screening. Although SIFF retains the right of first refusal in terms of where the film may make its premiere, SIFF will work with the grantee to create a festival and exhibition strategy that provides the most advantageous exposure to the film and filmmaking team.

In 2015, two $50,000 filmmaking grants were awarded to films that handled the complex topic of aging. Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday's film BIG SONIA, an absorbing film about Holocaust survivor and 90-year-old Kansas City tailor-shop owner Sonia Warshawski, and Kate Dandel's film GOLD BALLS, which profiles several competitive athletes over age 80 as they pursue a National Championship title in tennis.

Eligibility Requirements

Grant is open to filmmakers that satisfy the following criteria:

  • Applicant must be at least 18 years old.
  • Documentary must be a minimum length of 50 minutes.
  • Applicant must be in a key creative role for the film: ideally, the producer or director.
  • In each grant, the topic of either heroin/opioid use by youth – OR – immigration must be used for the theme of the documentary.

Evaluation Criteria

  • Project reflects excellence in storytelling and visual style.
  • Filmmaker clearly articulates the intended theme and goal for the grant.
  • Filmmaker demonstrates how the grant will impact short- and long-term professional and artistic goals.

Restrictions

  • Filmmaker may not be a SIFF employee, SIFF board member, or a True Productions representative.
  • Filmmaker may not be a full-time student.
  • Project cannot be a work for hire.
  • Only one application per project will be accepted.

SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. SIFF believes in film's unique power to share original stories, diverse perspectives, and rich emotional journeys. Beginning in 1976 with the annual Seattle International Film Festival, expanding into SIFF Education, and most recently operating our year-round five-screen SIFF Cinema, we have provided experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. Our distinctly smart audiences allow us to take risks, host complex conversations, and truly appreciate film.It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive.

More Info: https://www.siff.net

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