Calendar – Past Event

The San Francisco Film Society announced the launch of the Documentary Film Fund, the latest addition to the SFFS grants program housed in the Filmmaker Services Department. Over the next three years SFFS will disburse a series of annual grants totaling $300,000 to support feature-length documentaries in post-production.

Grants will be awarded in the fall of each year. Exact amounts of individual grants and the number of grants made each year will be determined on an annual basis.
In addition to the cash grant, recipients will receive various benefits through the Film Society's comprehensive and dynamic Filmmaker Services programs. These benefits include consultation on production, exhibition, distribution and marketing strategies and networking opportunities; access to the SFFS Project Development & Fiscal Sponsorship program, including full materials and budget review; feature articles on SF360.org, the Film Society's daily online magazine; and work-in-progress screenings and discussion at SFFS Film Arts Forums.
ELIGIBILITY
Grants through the Documentary Film Fund are open to filmmakers that satisfy the following criteria:

• Applicant must be at least 18 years old
• Applicant must reside in the United States
• Project cannot be work for hire
• Project must be a feature documentary

•    Project must be in, or within three months of post-production
•    Applicant must be in a key creative role for the film: ideally, the producer or director

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

Restrictions

• Filmmaker may not be SFFS employee or board member
• Filmmaker may not be a full-time student
• Project cannot be a work for hire
• Only one application per project will be accepted

APPLICATION GUIDELINES
How to Apply
1. Click here and become SFFS Filmmaker Pro member
2. Or, non-members must pay a $25 administrative fee (if submitted by the early deadline; $45 administrative fee is required after the early deadline and before the late deadline)
3. Submit a Letter of Inquiry on the SFFS website once the funding cycle opens on June 17, 2011.
4. Finalists will be asked to submit the following:
    * A three-to-ten page treatment
    * Work Sample One: A ten-minute sample on DVD or as a link
    to a website of work-in-progress (excerpts or continuous)
    * Work Sample Two: A ten-minute sample on DVD or as a link
    to a website of a previous work (short or feature documentary)
   * A work sample explanation
   * Project budget including money raised to date

Work samples and full application must be received by 5:00 pm on, or postmarked by September 2, 2011 to:

SFFS Documentary Film Fund
c/o San Francisco Film Society
39 Mesa Street, Suite 110
San Francisco, CA 94129

Location Name:  San FRancisco Film Society

Address: San Francisco, CA