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
Catapult Research Grant
Run by Catapult Film Fund
Ten thousand dollars to think before you shoot. This grant pays an experienced documentary director for the research phase of the next film and pairs the money with four months of advisors and a cohort. It is the earlier sibling of Catapult's development grant and the only one of the two limited to US-based filmmakers.
Grant, $10,000Open 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
- $10,000USD 10,000 a project, paid through a US fiscal sponsor
- What it is
- Grant
- To apply
- Free
Who can apply
- Applicant
- A writer with a producer
- Where you write
- In United States
- Rules
- Directors living in the US mainland, Puerto Rico or another US territory, aged 18 or over and not students, who have completed at least one publicly shown feature documentary. The new project must be a feature or short documentary at the research or earliest development stage; series are not taken.
- Stages
- Development
- Formats
- Documentary, Short
- 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. The 2026 round is closed; the program ran March to June 2026 with a report due in September. The next call goes out by newsletter.
What it gives besides money
A four-month cohort program with live group sessions and one-on-one advisor calls, about seven to ten hours a month.
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.