How To Apply To Film Grants To Fund Your Film

Recently I applied for my first ever film grant and I realized film grant applications are an art of their own that most indie filmmakers don’t necessarily know a lot about. So I figured I’d share with you everything I learned during this extremely time consuming process so you can ace your application and get funding for your film!

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I’m going to walk you through what I submitted for this film grant and the basic elements will be needed to apply to any film grant.

First up, was the finished draft of the script. Companies and organizations want to make sure you actually have a project to make with that money and that it’s good before they put their name on it by funding it. So make sure you have a solid script that’s completely polished and one that fits that specific grant perfectly.

Second, and also super important is your personal statement. This most likely will be a requirement for any grant you submit to and it’s basically your chance to express why you need this grant money, why your film is the right choice for the grant money, and why your film is so important it needs to be made. Now the key word here is money. You’re convincing them to give you a lot of money, so your argument here needs to be very very strong.

Third, is a budget. Once again, you’re convincing people to give you money so they want to know where the money will go and exactly what you’ll be spending it on. Some grants might only require you to do a top sheet budget, which just gives estimates for each department, but I encourage you to expand on that if possible and try to give as detailed of a budget you can. Obviously budgets can change during pre-production, but the clearer you can be about how you’ll spend the money the more likely they’ll be to give it to you.

Fourth is a cast and crew list, and this is really a nice to have and not a need to have as you might not already have your film casted or your crew assembled. If you do though, it’s great to show them who will be working on the project and give a brief bio for each with any impressive and noteworthy projects they’ve worked on.

Fifth is work examples. These are links to various other films you or other cast and crew members have made that are good examples of your work. While this is optional sometimes, I’m gonna say it’s something you should definitely find a way to include, even if they don’t ask for it, as it proves that you’re capable of handling a film shoot and can deliver a solid final product. Again, they are giving you money so you want to do everything in your power to convince them to do so.

And finally sixth, is a look book. Again this is optional but a really great tool to help the grant givers see your vision for the film. This is really the chefs kiss of your grant application, that little something on top that can be the difference between them choosing you over someone else. Showing that you have a strong visual look and style for the film through example images from other films or just google searches, is the best visual tool in your tool belt.

And pro tip, if your entire application looks like it matches the look and feel of your film’s look book, even better! You could even go the extra extra mile like I did and design a poster for your film that matches the look book and put it at the front of your application to tie it all together.

And finally, one last pro tip, spend time on your application. Don’t just rush through making it so you can be the first to submit, though I will admit not being the last has it’s benefits. Grant givers can tell when you spend time on your application, so take the time to make sure your application is perfect. All of that work can earn you a lot of brownie points.

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