ACADEMY NICHOLL SCREENWRITING COMPETITION
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
DEADLINES / FEES:
Regular: April 3, 2021 by 11:59pm PT ($63)
Late: May 3, 2021 by 11:59pm PT ($88)
INFO: Each year, the Academy Nicholl screenwriting competition awards up to five $35,000 fellowships to amateur screenwriters. To enter, submit a feature length screenplay and entry fee via the online application when the competition is open for submissions. Fellowship winners are invited to participate in awards week ceremonies and seminars, receive individualized Academy member mentorship and are expected to complete at least one original feature film screenplay during their Fellowship year.
QUALIFICATIONS: Up to five $35,000 fellowships are awarded each year to promising new screenwriters. From the program’s inception in 1986 through 2020, 181 fellowships totaling $4.75 million have been awarded.
FELLOWSHIP OBLIGATIONS:
Up to five fellows in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition will be invited to participate in awards week ceremonies and seminars in November.
Fellowship recipients will be expected to complete at least one original feature film screenplay during the fellowship year.
Fellowship payments will be made quarterly subject to satisfactory progress of the recipient’s work, as judged by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee.
The Academy reserves the right to grant no awards if, in the opinion of the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee, no entry is of sufficient merit.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Original feature film screenplay (no shorter than 70 pages and no longer than 160 pages) in PDF format only
Completed online application form
https://www.oscars.org/nicholl/about
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2021 Uprise Grant Fund
Sundance Institute
DEADLINE: April 5, 2021
INFO: As part of the Sundance Institute's continued commitment to supporting artists from underrepresented communities, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Uprise Grant Fund. Acknowledging the disproportionate effects the pandemic and racial terror have had on storytellers of color and other systematically marginalized groups, our goal is to provide financial support at key moments in an artist's career by supporting their personal livelihoods and creative projects. This is a need-based artist-support grant where need will be partially determined by the response to the pandemic impact question. To apply, please submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) here. Finalists will later be invited to submit a complete application.
This fund meets the most urgent needs of U.S.-based emerging artists of color from historically marginalized communities who are looking to sustain their creative practice, ensuring that these critical stories and voices are not erased. Artists must identify as being Black, Indigenous, and/or a person of color, and we encourage artists who also identify as disabled, LGBTQ+, and/or undocumented to apply. Sundance defines “emerging” as artists who have yet to complete a longform or major work in the specific discipline of the program in question. In serving these communities, we additionally seek to uphold values of narrative sovereignty, justice, and joy.
We’ve titled this grant fund Uprise in honor of communities around the world fighting for liberation through creative expression.
For any questions about this application, please do not hesitate to contact us at inclusion@sundance.org. You can learn more about the Sundance Institute’s Outreach & Inclusion Program here.
To request an accessibility accommodation related to completing this application, please email is at inclusion @sundance.org
FAQ:
What happens after I submit my LOI?
The Uprise Grant Fund will operate in two phases:
The first phase consists of an open call for letters of inquiry (LOIs). Of those LOIs, approximately 50 applicants will be invited to submit a full application in the finalist stage
Finalists will be notified by mid-May, at which point they will be invited to submit a complete application with more detail on current projects (if any), the proposed use of funds, etc.
Of those finalists, approximately 25 grantees will be selected per round.
How are grant selections determined?
We enlist a panel of BIPOC reviewers to support the LOI review process to assist in the determination of the finalists. When finalist applications are received, we also engage a culturally abundant and artistically diverse group of external panelists in the final decision making process.
Do artists need to be working in a particular discipline to be eligible for Uprise?
About 70% to 80% of grant funds in each round will be awarded to artists working in traditional film disciplines (prior work or current projects that are shorts, features and series, either fiction and nonfiction), and 20% to 30% will be awarded to artists working primarily in emerging media or theatre disciplines. Selected grantees can expect to receive funds by August 2021.
How much funding can I request to receive through Uprise?
Uprise Grants range from $1K to $5K, and are unrestricted. This means that the funds may be used for applicants’ living expenses, project advancement, or general creative development. Please note that in our hopes of maximizing the reach and impact of the entire Uprise Grant Fund, we may not be able to fulfill your entire funding request. Grant amounts are subject to final determination by Sundance Institute staff and external review panel.
https://apply.sundance.org/prog/2021_uprise_grant_fund/
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DIVERSE VOICES SCREENWRITING LAB
WeScreenplay
DEADLINE: April 15, 2021
INFO: Diverse Voices is a screenplay competition and lab that strives to encourage stories that are told from perspectives that are often underrepresented in Hollywood today. This includes writers of color, womxn writers, writers with disabilities, writers over 40, writers in the LGBTQ+ community, and any other voices that have historically been ignored by Hollywood.
A couple of cool things about this program: since it started in 2015, Diverse Voices has raised over $35,000 for various nonprofit organizations and over a dozen past winners have been signed, staffed, and optioned. All readers for this competition come from diverse backgrounds, and all entrants will receive a page of written feedback on their script from their first round’s judge.
PRIZES: The Diverse Voices Lab is a one-of-a-kind lab experience. Those chosen for the lab will have a long weekend PACKED with workshops to hone their craft, mentorship calls with working writers, and general meetings with studio execs, literary reps, and more. It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for any emerging screenwriter.
Additionally, the winners get access to ongoing mentorship from WeScreenplay including an initial phone call, guidance for drafting query letters, research methods for finding the right representation, prep before big meetings, and strategic planning for next steps in their careers — all based on the writer’s specific goals.
JURY:
Talitha Watkins - Head of the Management for Issa Rae's company, ColorCreative
Charlie Swinbourne - Screenwriter focused on Deaf Culture
Jen Ray - Literary Manager at Heroes and Villains Entertainment
https://www.wescreenplay.com/diverse-voices/
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Bethany Arts Community Residencies
DEADLINE: April 15, 2021
INFO: BAC offers short term residencies attracting artists at different stages of their careers from around the world for the development of both new works and works in progress. BAC welcomes artists working across most disciplines, including visual artists in any medium, writers, playwrights, choreographers, musicians, composers, performance artists, filmmakers, and lighting, projection, costume and sound designers. During their time on site, these artists will develop new works while engaging with local artists and the public.
BAC provides a collective environment for artists of all disciplines where they can engage in meaningful interaction and stimulating discussions with their peers, while pursuing individual or group projects. It is an ideal setting for the exchange of ideas, the inspiration for new work, and the harmonious cross-fertilization of disciplines. Successful applicants are typically mid-career or established artists. However, emerging artists who believe their work is of exceptional merit are eligible as well.
Individuals and small teams of up to 3 artists may apply.
BAC residencies have three important parts:
Evening Meals: All residents must attend evening meals (provided by BAC) with their fellow artists.
Residency Plan: All residents must have a plan of action for what they will complete during their time at BAC.
Public Component: All residencies must include a public component accessible to the outside community that connects to their residency plan.
Public Component
The public component of your application must relate to your artist residency and engage the local and broader community. This may include open studio visits, presentations, teaching a class/workshop, works-in-progress showing, exhibition, or other outreach or community engagement project. BAC will help you schedule your public component but it is up to you to plan how you will execute this event and identify any outside community partners that you are interested in working with in your application. Please make sure that the public component you identify is able to be completed while you are in residence. BAC encourages all the artists to engage with and support each other during their stay, including attending fellow residents’ public programs.
Past Resident Artist examples >
Artist Live/Work Spaces
The artist living spaces are inviting and comfortable with expansive views of our scenic property. Residents have access to our facilities and 25-acre grounds offering a fruit orchard and meditation trail. At the heart of the campus is our commercial kitchen and dining area where artists in residence and visitors of BAC can gather for daily meals.
Learn more about our facilities and grounds >
Meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided during your stay. All residents must attend evening meals with their fellow artists. These dinner gatherings encourage the exchange of ideas and the development of collaborative relationships with other residents. This allows the artists to gain familiarity with each other’s’ work and establish a vigorous, engaging dialogue that supports collaboration and connection. We will do our very best to accommodate all food allergies and sensitivities, please let us know of any concerns you may have or specific needs in your application.
Subsidy
BAC offers a weekly subsidy to resident artists.
https://bethanyarts.org/residencies/
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HAMBIDGE RESIDENCIES
Hambidge Center
DEADLINE: April 15, 2021 (for Fall Session - September through December).
INFO: The Hambidge Center is situated on 600 forested acres in the mountains of north Georgia and offers miles of nature trails, meadows, waterfalls, a swimming hole and an abundance of wildflowers.
The oldest residency program in the Southeast, Hambidge provides a self-directed program that honors the creative process and trusts individuals to know what they need to cultivate their talent, whether it’s to work and produce, to think, to experiment or to rejuvenate. Residents’ time is their own; there are no workshops, critiques, nor required activities.
Each resident is given their own private studio which provides work and living space with a bathroom and full kitchen. The studios are designed to protect the time, space and solitude that allows residents to focus on their work.
Resident groups are intentionally kept small enough (8-10 people) to gather around the dinner table each evening, Tuesday through Friday, for delicious vegetarian meals prepared by our chef. These communal meals are an essential part of the Hambidge residency experience. Serious topics are discussed (and light-hearted ones, too), experiences are shared, and encouragement is given. Many a collaboration and life-long friendship have begun at the Hambidge dinner table.
Members of each resident group come from different walks of life and work in different creative disciplines; from musicians, chefs and scientists, to visual artists, writers, and beyond. Each year, residents of all ages come to Hambidge from over 30 states across the U.S., as well as internationally.
Specialized equipment and facilities include the Antinori Pottery Studio, and a beautifully rebuilt turn-of-the-century Steinway grand piano housed in Garden Studio.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU APPLY
The studios are comfortable, but rustic and secluded. They are purposely simple, and most are out of sight of each other, if not quite isolated.
We are located in a forested environment. Residents should expect to occasionally encounter wildlife and insects – and sometimes the insects are inside the studios.
It is dark at night. There are no street lights or ambient light, other than the moon and stars.
Due to our remote location, there is no cell service at Hambidge. Each studio has a phone for emergency, local and incoming calls.
To encourage focused creativity, there is no internet in the studios. Wi-fi is available 24 hours a day in the communal space of Lucinda's Rock House.
ELIGIBILITY: Qualified applicants must be working at a professional level in their field. We seek applications from emerging and mid-career creatives, as well as from those who are established with national and/or international reputations.
Applications for residency are judged primarily on the quality of submitted work samples and professional promise. Hambidge accepts approximately 170 artists each year. There are no publication, exhibition, or performance requirements contingent on a Hambidge residency.
The Hambidge Center encourages creative professionals of all backgrounds to apply for admission. We celebrate varied ideas, world views, and personal characteristics, and are committed to being an organization that welcomes and respects everyone regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, race, religion, philosophical or political beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, nationality, geographic origin, and socioeconomic status.
FEES: There is a $30 application fee. If this represents a barrier to submitting an application, please contact our Operations Manager at center@hambidge.org to discuss a waiver.
The residency fee is $250 per week.
Note: the actual cost of a residency is $1500/wk. Every year, the Hambidge Center raises funds to supplement $1250 for every residency week, leaving each resident with only the $250/wk fee.
FUNDING: Hambidge offers several merit-based Distinguished Fellowships which remove the fees for a two-week residency and provide a $700 stipend. Available Distinguished Fellowships vary from session to session and are listed in the Awards & Financial Assistance section of each session's application. Unless otherwise noted, they are reserved for first-time residents. The list of previously awarded Distinguished Fellowships can be seen here.
FINANCIAL AID: Hambidge offers limited financial aid scholarships to accepted residents. Priority will be given to minority residents with the goal of a more diverse and inclusive residency program.
Upon acceptance to the program and receiving the financial aid forms, applicants will be required to provide completed documents within 5 days, including last year’s Tax Return, and a Statement of Need. The Statement is a description of financial needs: the reasons for requesting aid and an explanation of the applicant’s financial situation, including current expenses, debt, and sources of income. International applicants will be asked to complete a questionnaire instead of providing a tax return.
Admission Panels: Applications in each discipline are reviewed by panels of three esteemed peers within that discipline. Panel membership is rotated frequently.
Length of Stay: Applicants may request stays between two weeks and eight weeks. Residents arrive on Tuesday and depart on Sunday. Residencies of one week are available to Arts & Culture Administrator applicants and Culinary applicants ONLY. Eight-week residencies will only be scheduled in the Fall and Spring Sessions. The maximum length of residencies awarded in Summer Session is four weeks. Because of differing lengths of individual stays, residents will arrive and depart on varying schedules.
Creative Disciplines
Hambidge accepts applications in the following disciplines:
ARTS & CULTURE ADMINISTRATION - including propopsals for professional projects and/or personal creative projects by administrators working for arts, culture or environmental organizations, or independently (a freelance curator, for example). It is not a requirement that the organization be a non-profit, however it must be an organization that works with or assists other people or produces public projects.
CERAMICS - including functional and sculptural
CULINARY ARTS - including recipe development, cookbook writing, food writing, food styling, food photography, and food preservation
DANCE - including choreography, performance, and theory
MUSIC - including composition, performance, vocal, and theory, in all genres of music
SCIENCE - this residency offers scientists in any branch of science a place to write and/or organize research
VISUAL ARTS - including book arts, conceptual art, design, drawing, environmental art, fiber arts, film & video, installation arts, metalworking, mixed media, multimedia art, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and woodworking. Note: We do not have darkroom or printmaking facilities, but provide exploration space for artists working in those disciplines. Those working in wood or metal must bring their own tools and machinery.
WRITING - including academic scholarship, criticism, fiction, history, poetry, journalism, nonfiction, philosophy, playwriting, screenwriting, storytelling.
References: Hambidge no longer requires letters of recommendation as part of the application materials.
Collaborations and Couples: Collaborators must submit individual applications, but may choose to share studio/living space. Applications must contain a joint proposal of the work they intend to do while in residence and an example of previous collaborative work. The acceptance of one collaborator does NOT guarantee the acceptance of the other.
Non-collaborating couples who wish to be in residence together must submit individual applications. Upon acceptance, they may request concurrent residency dates and choose whether or not to share studio/living space. No other provisions are made for partners. The acceptance of one partner does NOT guarantee the acceptance of the other.
Children: Hambidge has successfully hosted several residents accompanied by their children. We are still developing our parental program, but we are quite willing to work with resident parents to find the best timing and to recommend part-time childcare for their stay. Please contact us at center@hambidge.org or 706-746-7324 to discuss these options before submitting your application.
Pets: With the exception of licensed service animals (as defined by the ADA), pets are not permitted.
International Applicants: Hambidge welcomes applicants in all disciplines from around the world. Writers who work in languages other than English should supply samples of work in translation as well as in the original. A working understanding of English is required. Hambidge does not provide an interpreter for residents who speak little or no English.
Application Instructions: All application materials must be submitted electronically through hambidge.slideroom.com. Step-by-step instructions are included in each application. For technical assistance during the application process, contact Slidroom Support in the Help tab of the application portal.
Late applications will not be accepted. Notification of results is sent via email approximately 5 weeks after the application deadline.
NOTE: We will contact you using the EMAIL address in your Slideroom Account Information. Before submitting your application, please double check to make sure ALL your Slideroom account info is current.
https://www.hambidge.org/guidelines-apply
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OPEN CALL FOr EMERGING FILMMAKERS
PBS
DEADLINE: April 16, 2021
INFO: To further amplify the voices of emerging and diverse/BIPOC content creators across public media, PBS has issued an open call for proposals to support long and short form documentaries produced and created by diverse/BIPOC filmmakers that explore a broad range and collection of experiences, perspectives, and points of view. Proposals may be submitted across a range of genres/themes that resonate with a U.S. audience, including (but not limited to) personal history, arts, culture, science, and democracy/civics.
Originality, creativity, engaging storytelling, and an ability to reach the intended audience are encouraged. We welcome innovative approaches and invite you to include animation, found footage, or personal audio/visual material.
Projects must be in the production stage or near completion and are subject to PBS editorial criteria. All submissions will be reviewed by a group of editorial executives, public media professionals, and filmmakers. Funding recipients will be selected based on editorial merit. PBS will make the final determination on the specific funding amount based on production status of each project.
Projects receiving PBS funding will be eligible for distribution across select PBS platforms (linear or digital), which will be determined at PBS’s discretion.
FUNDING CATEGORIES:
Broadcast Long Form (30, 60, or 90 minutes): Projects submitted in this category for Production or Completion Funding may be eligible for up to $50,000.
Digital Short Form (8-25 minutes): Projects submitted in this category for Production or Completion Funding may be eligible for up to $15,000.
PBS POLICIES: Films selected must be produced and delivered in accordance with all applicable PBS policies, including the PBS Editorial Standards & Practices; the PBS Funding Standards & Practices; the PBS Producer’s Handbook; and the PBS Technical Operating Specifications. All four of these guides can be found here.
DELIVERABLES & TERM: If selected, in addition to adhering to PBS policies, filmmakers will be required to provide contractual deliverables including, but not limited to, a review cut, production stills, description, production credits, program underwriters, program master, audio splits, and a range of promotional assets. The exact deliverables required will be dependent on format of project and distribution platform determined upon selection.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
You must download and complete the application. Your submission must also include the following:
Filmmaker/Production Team Biography
Project Treatment
Line-Item Expense Budget
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
To be eligible, applicants must meet the following criteria:
The filmmaker or production entity must retain copyright and have the ability to clear the project for all PBS platforms.
Projects may have appeared at film festivals or on broadcast or digital platforms, but the filmmaker must currently hold the copyright or have the ability to grant project rights to PBS.
The filmmaker or production entity must have artistic, budgetary, and editorial control over the proposed project.
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age at time of film submission.
Applicants must be citizens or legal residents of the United States or its territories.
Applications should include link(s) to work sample(s) in the form of a sizzle reel, teaser video, or selects from the project.
Applicants should have previous storytelling experience through a visual medium.
Projects are NOT eligible if:
They are unable to comply with PBS Editorial Standards & Practices; PBS Funding Standards & Practices; the PBS Handbook; and the PBS Technical Operating Specifications.
They do not, at a minimum, have domestic television rights available.
They are intended solely for theatrical release or are commercial in nature.
The projects or production entities are foreign based, owned, or controlled.
The projects are promotional in nature.
NOTIFICATIONS:
PBS will only contact applicants by email if their project has been selected. PBS cannot offer feedback on submissions.
Funding recipients will be announced in Fall 2021.
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WILLIAM GREAVES FUND
Firelight Media
DEADLINE: May 1, 2021
INFO: Firelight Media invites mid-career nonfiction filmmakers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities in the United States and filmmakers in Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Colombia, with particular interest in those who identify as Indigenous and/or of African descent, to apply for the second year of the William Greaves Fund.
This fund, in its second year, is dedicated to resourcing and supporting talented storytellers with grants ranging up to $40K each to support research and development on a feature-length nonfiction film. The Fund also provides grantees with limited coaching hours, as needed and based on the particular requirements of each project. The international nature of the call reflects Firelight’s commitment to nurturing transnational solidarity among filmmakers and artists.
To address the devastating toll that the pandemic has had on the independent film community, and how unstable work in the industry can be for filmmakers of color in general, moving forward the post-pandemic William Greaves Fund will include a basic care stipend that can be put toward any essential need grantees have, from healthcare and childcare costs to any other necessary resources. Firelight Media recognizes that reliable support like this is fundamental to producing creative work.
This change reflects Firelight’s commitment to ensuring underrepresented communities are actively cultivated, participating in, and influencing the nonfiction space and a broader discourse. Our criteria for selection (see below) reflects our commitment to creative rigor, imagination, ethics and accountability to impacted communities in filmmaking practice.
The application opens closes May 1, 2021 with an anticipated announcement and disbursement in late summer 2021.
We will consider projects that address a range of themes and issues.
We will consider projects with a range of aesthetic approaches (verité, essay, experimental, investigative, personal, historical, etc.).
We will consider projects that are ambitious or narrowly focused.
We will consider submissions from filmmakers based in the U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Brazil.
We value and will consider submissions from filmmakers of all refugee and immigration statuses, recognizing that migration flows are necessitated by the global challenges and forces we seek to overcome.
We take notice when projects are socially relevant, formally innovative, address or engage underrepresented issues or communities, and are accountable to the impacted communities their films represent.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Filmmakers must self-identify as being from a racially and ethnically underrepresented community
Filmmakers must be based (i.e. living and working) in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, and/or Brazil
Must be a mid-career* Director**
Must be for a feature-length documentary film in the pre-production phase
Our starting point is to define a mid-career filmmaker as someone with an established track record or substantial body of nonfiction cinema works, including but not limited to the completion of 2 feature-length documentaries to date and 7-25 years of experience. But given the variable backgrounds filmmakers often have, particularly when facing structural barriers in the industry, we will consider proposals that necessitate a different definition of “mid-career.” We expect a clear articulation of why your career trajectory positions you as mid-career if you do not fit this definition of mid-career.
**Producers applying on behalf of a Director should apply in collaboration with the Director. Please note the funds will go towards the Director and not the Producer. Collectives that apply should note that the majority of their collective should identify as being from a racially and ethnically underrepresented community and should be majority mid-career as per the definition above.
FUNDING CRITERIA + SELECTION:
Projects will be selected through a tiered process: the first round by a panel of peers; the second round through an internal review; and the final round through the review and deliberation of an advisory panel comprised of filmmakers and other industry leaders of color and/or of Indigenous and African descent who work in the U.S. and/or countries from which we are accepting applications.
The selection will be based on the strength of the story, the creative approach, it’s social relevance, the viability of the plan proposed, and the ethics and accountability of the approach (e.g. trauma-informed approach and/or consideration of impacts/benefits for participants and impacted communities and/or hiring practices and/or decisions around rights or distribution, etc.).