Grants and Awards

Each year, Film Independent awards a number of grants and fellowships to help filmmakers with their current projects, as well as to recognize them for past accomplishments. Since 1995, we have given out over $860,000 in cash grants to our Fellows.

Jameson FIND Your Audience Award

Film Independent is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Jameson FIND Your Audience Award. The award includes a cash grant of $40, 000 designed to assist the winning filmmaker with a qualifying feature film build the audience for his or her film. All applications are due by December 2, 2011.

Spirit Awards Grants

Every year at the Spirit Awards, Film Independent gives out three Filmmaker Grants. The recipients of these awards become Film Independent Fellows and receive unrestricted cash grants of $25,000. The awards are by nomination only.

• The Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
• The AVEENO® Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention.
• The Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.
• The Jameson FIND Your Audience Award provides a $50K marketing and distribution grant designed to meet independent filmmakers’ biggest challenge today: How to get their films out into the marketplace.

Alfred P. Sloan Grants

Each year, Film Independent awards two grants  that are funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation: the Sloan Producers Grant which provides $25,000 in development funds to a Producers Lab Fellow developing a narrative film with a scientific, mathematical, and/or technological theme; and the Sloan Fast Track Grant, which provides $15,000 to one film in the Fast Track program that also fulfill’s the Sloan Foundation’s mission. Learn more about the Sloan Foundation on its website.

Hollywood Rentals Grants

Each year, Film Independent awards a limited number of grants for production services from Hollywood Rentals to qualified filmmakers who are in production on their feature films. To be eligible for these grants, one must be an alumnus of one or more of FIND’s Artist Development programs – the Filmmaker Labs, Project:Involve, Fast Track, or the cash grants given out at the Spirit Awards and the festival.  Recent grant recipients include Mynette Louie (2010 Fast Track) and Sharat Raju (2007 Directors Lab).

Kodak Film Grants

Each year, Film Independent awards a limited number of grants of Kodak film stock to qualified filmmakers who are in production on their feature films. To be eligible for these grants, one must be an alumnus of one or more of FIND’s Artist Development programs – the Filmmaker Labs, Project:Involve, Fast Track, or the cash grants given out at the Spirit Awards and the festival.

ELLE/Garnier Directing Fellpwship

Each year, Film Independent awards the ELLE/Garnier Directing Fellowhip to one filmmaker from our Directors Lab. The fellowship carries a production grant of $10,000, funded by ELLE and Garnier.

Elizabeth Peña Fellowship

This fellowship recognizes an outstanding Latino filmmaker participating in Film Independent’s signature diversity program, Project:Involve, and provides the winning filmmaker with a $10,000 production grant, as well as year-round support from Film Independent.

Sponsor a Grant

Donors have the opportunity to directly support individual FIND Fellows by establishing a Donor Named Fellowship – providing filmmaker grants and education to exceptional artists.