The Flaherty is currently accepting applications for the Professional Development, Graduate Student and LEF New England Fellowships. The deadline for applying is Thursday, March 1. Keep an eye out for announcements about additional fellowships in the coming weeks.

Each year the Flaherty offers fellowships to graduate students and emerging and mid-career filmmakers and media professionals. The fellowship program is led by an academic who has attended previous Flaherty Seminars and is designed to further your knowledge of cinema through participation in an array of unique activities. Besides interacting with the group at large, Flaherty fellows take part in private meetings and discussions with the featured artists and other special guests in attendance, including programmers, writers, and academics. The program is rigorous and rewarding; Fellows arrive on campus a day before the Seminar begins to learn about the history of the Seminar, discuss pre-assigned readings relating to the theme, and watch and discuss each other’s films, by way of an informal Fellows’ film screening. Fellows will be able to return home with creative inspiration, experiences and connections, which will aid them in furthering their own careers and artistic endeavors.

ELIGIBILITY/CRITERIA
We search for applicants who have demonstrated achievement in their profession or field of study, or who show potential to be an emerging talent. In the required essay, applicants should effectively convey reasons they would like to attend the Seminar and also how they feel they can contribute to the event. All Seminar attendees are encouraged to participate in discussions and the overall discourse, and we want to know what you can add. Graduate Student fellowships are only open for graduate-level students and applicants must show proof of enrollment in a higher educational institution. In order to receive a fellowship, you must be available to arrive on campus by Friday, June 15 at 5 pm for the start of the fellowship program. If you have received a fellowship to attend the Seminar in the past, you are ineligible to apply.

2012 FELLOWSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES:

Professional Development Fellowships:
The Professional Development Fellowship is designed for emerging or mid-career professionals such as filmmakers, programmers, writers, scholars, archivists, and media professionals, from both the U.S. and abroad. Awards are partial grants that cover a portion of the registration fee (usually half). Grants are applied directly towards registration for the Seminar.

Graduate Student Fellowships:
Graduate Student fellowships are open to graduate students only, who are currently enrolled in a degree program. All areas of study are welcome; we select a diverse array of graduate students from throughout the U.S., as well as internationally. Awards are partial grants that cover a portion of the registration fee (usually half). Grants are applied directly towards registration for the Seminar.

LEF New England Fellowships:
LEF New England, a regional office of the LEF Foundation, is supporting the participation of four New England-area filmmakers to attend the Seminar. The award covers the entire registration fee, which includes room, board, and all special events throughout the week. The mission of LEF New England is to fund the work of independent film and video artists in the region and broaden recognition and support for their work locally and nationally. If you have previously received a LEF Fellowship you are not eligible to apply at this time. Sorry, students are not eligible to apply.

Click here for Fellowship Application

The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund provides finishing funds to feature-length documentaries which highlight and humanize issues of social importance from around the world. Funded films are driven by thoughtful and in-depth storytelling, bolstered by a compelling visual approach.

As mainstream media moves away from in-depth coverage of world affairs, domestic issues and social conflicts, the documentary has become an important and much needed tool to draw attention to the serious issues facing our world today. At the same time, the craft of the documentary is expanding in exciting directions, merging diverse points-of-view with new technologies and responding to the immediacy of the internet.

Funding

In 2011, the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, through the Tribeca Film Institute, offered grants ranging from $10,000 – $25,000. 2011 projects were selected by a jury consisting of Jessica Alba, Amir Bar-Lev, Wendy Ettinger, Frida Giannini, Edward Norton and Mariane Pearl. The committee chose the recipients from finalists selected by TFI. In addition to funding, grantees will each receive year-round support from TFI, including one-on-one guidance and consultation, helping each film to reach completion and enter the marketplace in the best possible position.

Guidelines

The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund seeks feature-length documentaries that are in production or post-production with the intended premiere exhibition in late 2012 or 2013. Eligible films highlight the most critical, important stories affecting the world we live in today told in a humanizing, illuminating way. We are looking for films which challenge the status quo not just as it pertains to subject matter but also in form. Films should be able to exist on multiple distribution platforms and should resonate with a wide audience.

The All Roads Film Project is multimedia festival and grants program dedicated to providing a platform for indigenous and underrepresented minority-culture storytellers from around the world. The objectives are to showcase works by these artists to promote knowledge, dialogue, and understanding with a broader global audience.

The All Roads Seed Grant program funds film projects by or about indigenous and underrepresented minority cultures from around the world and seeks to support filmmakers who bring their community stories to light through first-person storytelling. Submission deadlines are the 15th of each March, June, September, and December. Grant award notifications are approximately six weeks later.

To apply, download an application in Microsoft Word or PDF.

Decision makers view online one-minute pitch teasers of innovative documentary ideas (uploaded via Distrify), along with short synopses, biographical information and headline budget figures, in advance of Doc/Fest. From this, they select which projects they would like to discuss in one-to-one meetings at MeetMarket. Projects can also be in any genre of documentary/factual, from factual entertainment through to art/installation documentaries. We also welcome cross-platform/interactive projects and those projects looking to raise finance and distribute/exhibit their projects through alternative strategies including via crowd funding and third sector. Once again, MeetMarket will feature experts in these areas for you to meet, alongside broadcasters, film funds, sales agents and distributors.

Location Name:  Sheffield Doc/Fest

Address: Sheffield, England