AFS Grant
Austin Film Society
Texas filmmakers have their own state fund: cash for features and shorts in production or post, with camera and finishing packages on top.
up to$20kGrantbetween rounds
Foundation or company fund United States, San Francisco
Building Bridges Documentary Fund
Run by Center for Asian American Media, with the Doris Duke Foundation
Documentaries about American Muslim experience can draw real sums here, from USD 10,000 of research money to USD 100,000 for production or post. CAAM runs the fund with Doris Duke Foundation money alongside partner programs at Sundance Institute and the MPAC Hollywood Bureau, and lists both cohorts it has funded so far.
Grant, $10,000 to $100,000Open to writers in United StatesA writer with a producer
Next dates not yet published
That closing date has passed. We check the funder's page every day and add the next dates once they are published.
The money
- Amount
- $10,000 to $100,000USD 10,000 to 25,000 for research and development, USD 50,000 to 100,000 for production, USD 50,000 to 100,000 for post-production
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer with a producer
- Where you write
- In United States
- Rules
- Filmmakers at any career stage with an independent documentary about Muslim life in the United States, as a feature of 60 minutes or more, a short of 40 minutes or less, or an episodic series. Residency rules are not stated on the page.
- Stages
- Development, production and completion
- Formats
- Documentary, Short, Series
- Language of the application
- English
When to apply
The fund opens once a year. The next cycle's dates are not yet published; we add them when they are. Two cohorts have been funded (2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026); the page asks applicants to watch the newsletter for the next open call.
Also open to writers in United States
Arts Innovator Award
Artist Trust
Two Washington artists a year receive USD 25,000 for pushing at the edges of their field, with no project report attached.
range$25kGrantbetween rounds
Creative Accelerator Fund
Illinois Arts Council
Illinois pays working artists USD 10,000 by lottery rather than by jury: show an active practice with two work samples and the state lottery draws the winners region by region.
range$10kGrantbetween rounds
Fellowship Awards
Artist Trust
Washington State's merit award for working artists: USD 10,000 with no strings, judged on the body of work rather than a project.
range$10kGrantcloses tomorrow
More development funding elsewhere
CMF Indigenous Development, Predevelopment and Production Programs (administered by the ISO)
Indigenous Screen Office with the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund's Indigenous money is handed to the Indigenous Screen Office to run, with higher contribution rates than the general programs: up to 84 percent of a predevelopment…
up toCA$750kGrant or repayablebetween rounds
Development and Predevelopment Funding (Broadcaster Envelope Program, Development)
Canada Media Fund
Television and digital series development in Canada mostly runs through this fund, but a broadcaster has to commit first: the money follows a development deal rather than a pitch.
VariesRepayablecloses in 37 days
Development Program
Telefilm Canada
Canada's federal feature film agency pays for script drafts and packaging through a production company, from a first draft to the attachment of a director and distributor.
up toCA$100kRepayablebetween rounds
Development Program (ISO Story Fund)
Indigenous Screen Office
An Indigenous writer can apply here alone, without a producer or broadcaster, for research, script drafts, story editing, knowledge keepers and pitch materials.
up toCA$40kGrantbetween rounds
Also useful
Fellowships and labsPrograms that pick a few writers and work with them for months, on the events pages.Where Creative Europe's development money goesEvery MEDIA development grant since 2014, by country, company and year.How to write a treatmentThe document a development application is built on, step by step.Screenwriting eventsContests, labs, festivals and conferences, with their deadlines.