The following funders have announced film grant opportunities for Fall 2023. ORCS has compiled this list for School of the Arts and VMA faculty who have expressed interest in finding funding for film and media projects.
Some of these funders make awards to individual artists; some may require a fiscal sponsor. Emerson can serve as a fiscal sponsor many of those cases. Please contact us at orcs@emerson.edu for more details.
Funder Name
Film Type/Topic
Next Deadline
The Episodic Lab is open to any emerging writer applying with a completed draft of a half hour or hour-long television pilot they wish to workshop during the program. The teleplay should have a scientific, mathematical and/or technological theme and storyline or have a leading character that is a scientist, engineer or mathematician.
Application open: 10 November, 2023 – 10 February, 2024
Hatched provides support to US-based filmmakers who are nearing completion or have recently completed a documentary film and who have plans to strategize, build, and launch an impact campaign.
Application open: 15 November, 2023 – 17 January, 2024
The Climate Story Fund supports compelling storytelling and impact campaigns from around the world that move us closer to a climate just and biodiverse future. We are looking for creative nonfiction projects that can complete production this year with support from the Fund. Awards will range between $20,000 and $100,000.
Application open: 1 December, 2023 – 1 February, 2024
The New Filmmaker Program loans digital camera packages (based on availability) to filmmakers for student thesis films and low-budget independent features.
Application open: 20 January, 2023 – 20 January, 2024
The Ford Foundation seeks to reduce inequality in all of its forms, and artist-driven documentary and emerging media projects are crucial to this effort. As part of the Creativity and Free Expression program, JustFilms funds social justice storytelling and the 21st-century arts infrastructure that supports it.
Application open: 5 September, 2023 – 5 September, 2024
