2012 JAMESON FIND YOUR AUDIENCE AWARD

Jeff Malmberg, director of Marwencol - 2011 winner of 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.

Eligibility

1. Applicant must be the director or producer of a recent feature – narrative or documentary – that has not yet received significant distribution. Films seeking the grant must have premiered festivals no earlier than September 2010 and no later than August 2011. Films that have signed overall North American deals with distributors prior to October 20, 2011 are not eligible for this grant. Films that have just been completed and not begun their festival run are not eligible.
2. Applicants must either be either (a) alumni of Film Independent’s Artist Development programs; (b) alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival; (c) a past Spirit Award Nominee or winner; or (d) solicited by Film Independent.
3. Films with innovative marketing and distribution plans are encouraged to apply.
4. All submitted films must be at least 55 minutes long.
5. Submitted films must be made for no more than $2.5 million, including post.
6. All submitted films must be American features, whether documentary or narrative. We define a U.S. film by its key creative components. If two of the three key creative positions (director, writer, producer) are U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S., then the film qualifies as a U.S. feature—no matter what language or country the film is made in.  Every film that isn’t a U.S. feature (as defined above) is foreign and ineligible for the grant.
7. Applicants must be current Film Independent members.
8. Applicants must be legal residents of the United States.

How to Apply

• To be considered for the Jameson FIND Your Audience Award, qualifying filmmakers must apply on the Film Independent website.  There is no application fee. Applicants must submit the online application form, which includes:
• Cover letter explaining your interest in the grant
• Detailed written plan outlining how the filmmaker(s) would spend the grant to assist with the release of their film
• Project status and history, including festivals played, cities the film has screened in, summary of any exposure the film has received
• 3 DVD copies of film. Mailed DVDs must be received on or by December 2, 2011.
• Logline and synopsis
• Bios of key cast and crew attached
• Copies of Press clippings and reviews the film has received to date

Marwencol - Directed by Jeff Malmberg

Selection Process

Film Independent will review all submissions and select a maximum of three finalists and one winner of the grant.  The Winner will be highlighted at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, Saturday February 25, 2012.

Selection Criteria

• Film Independent employs the following guidelines in making its selections:
• Uniqueness of vision
• Original, provocative subject matter
• Economy of means
• Percentage of financing from independent sources
• Well-conceived plan for how to use the grant funds to maximize the audience for one’s film.

Overseeing the Award

Film Independent staff will oversee the distribution of funds to the winning filmmaker, and will monitor the way in which those funds are used. Grant recipients will be required to submit a progress report three months, and then again six months, from the date of the grant award.

Sponsored by

APPLY NOW

Please enter the following coupon code to bypass payment: AUDIENCE.