Screenwriting grants and film funding in Hong Kong

19 funds a writer based in Hong Kong can apply to: 1 at home and 18 from Europe and the world. 6 take an application from the writer alone.

19 listed.

Based in Hong Kong

National and regional funds, broadcasters and foundations at home.

ProductionHong KongNational fund

Film Production Financing Scheme and Financing Scheme 2.0

Hong Kong Film Development Council, Film Development Fund (Create Hong Kong)

Hong Kong co-finances commercial features as a government investor: Scheme 2.0 puts in 40 percent of a budget up to HKD 10 million for films costing HKD 8 to 25 million, the older scheme…

Applications taken any timeA production companyFeature, Animation

up toHK$10MInvestmentany time

Also open to writers in Hong Kong

European and international funds, and funds from other countries that take applications from here.

WritingSouth KoreaInternational fund

Asian Cinema Fund Script Development Fund

Busan International Film Festival

A true script grant: KRW 10 million to finish a first or second feature screenplay, applied for by the writer-director with a five to ten page treatment and no producer required.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer aloneFeature

range₩10MGrantbetween rounds

DevelopmentUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

Catapult Development Grant

Catapult Film Fund

Seed money for documentaries at the point where nobody else will pay: a grant to shoot and cut the sample that raises the rest.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer with a producerDocumentary

range$25kGrantbetween rounds

ProductionCompletionDistributionUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

Documentary Film Support

Perspective Fund

A private documentary funder that reads inquiries all year and writes checks of USD 25,000 to 150,000 without taking rights or credits below USD 150,000.

Applications taken any timeA writer with a producerDocumentary, Short

range$150kGrantany time

ProductionUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund

International Documentary Association, with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

A production fund for documentaries built on reporting, created in 2017 as an answer to misinformation.

Not taking applications this cycleA writer with a producerDocumentary

VariesGrantpaused

DevelopmentProductionCompletionUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

JustFilms

Ford Foundation

The foundation behind much of American social-issue documentary takes direct proposals from filmmakers through a periodic open call, scored on fit with Ford's justice themes…

Not taking applications this cycleA writer with a producerDocumentary

VariesGrantpaused

WritingUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The best known paid year of writing in American film: a USD 35,000 stipend to finish a new feature screenplay, open to unproduced writers anywhere in the world.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer aloneFeature

range$35kGrantbetween rounds

DevelopmentUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

Research & Development Grant

Chicken & Egg Films

Paid thinking time for women and gender-expansive documentary directors between films: a USD 10,000 research grant or a USD 20,000 development grant, with the stage chosen by the applicant.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer with a producerDocumentary

range$20kGrantbetween rounds

DevelopmentProductionCompletionUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

Roy W. Dean Grant

From the Heart Productions

Small cash, large bundle: the winner takes USD 3,500 and a package of donated post, music and consulting worth several times that, for a film meant to do some good.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer alone or a writer with a producerFeature, Series, Short, Documentary, Animation

range$3.5kGrant or repayablebetween rounds

CompletionUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

SFFILM Documentary Film Fund

Post-production money for feature documentaries that are shot but not cut, from the San Francisco festival's foundation arm.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer with a producerDocumentary

range$20kGrantbetween rounds

WritingDevelopmentCompletionUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

SFFILM Rainin Grant

SFFILM, with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation

One of the few American grants that pays a screenwriter directly to write, and it can also fund packaging or the edit of the same film later.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer alone or a writer with a producerFeature

up to$25kGrantbetween rounds

ProductionCompletionFranceNational fund

Aide aux cinémas du monde (world cinema support)

CNC, Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, with the Institut français

The French door for filmmakers from anywhere else: a grant of up to EUR 300,000 for a feature co-produced with a French company, and a smaller sum to finish a film already shot.

Next deadline Nov 9, 2026A production companyFeature, Animation, Documentary

up to€300kGrantcloses in 8 days

WritingFranceFoundation or company fund

Bourse d'écriture télévision (television writing bursary)

Association Beaumarchais-SACD

The television twin of the Beaumarchais feature bursary: EUR 5,000 to an emerging writer for an original series or single drama in French, with web series welcome.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer aloneSeries

range€5kGrantbetween rounds

ProductionItalyRegional fund

Film Fund (Trentino Film Commission)

Trentino Film Commission, Trentino Sviluppo (Provincia autonoma di Trento)

A production fund for works shot in Trentino, with the committee meeting about every three months and approved projects listed on the portal back to 2011.

Not taking applications this cycleA production companyFeature, Series, Documentary

up to€400kGrantpaused

ProductionItalyRegional fundNames no past recipients

Fondo Grandi Produzioni (large productions fund)

Regione Autonoma della Sardegna and Fondazione Sardegna Film Commission

Money for bigger films that bring a shoot to Sardinia, in three categories by budget size, with a documentary strand. The round was reopened in autumn 2026 for the remaining funds.

Reopened round Nov 9, 2026A production companyFeature, Documentary

up to€338kGrantcloses in 8 days

ProductionItalyRegional fund

FVG Film Fund (Friuli Venezia Giulia regional production fund)

Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia, through Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission

A production fund scored on how much of the film happens in the region, with three closing dates a year and a ranking issued within 30 days of each.

Next dates not yet publishedA production companyFeature, Series, Documentary, Short

up to€350kGrantbetween rounds

DevelopmentProductionCompletionQatarInternational fund

Doha Film Institute Grants Programme

A rare worldwide grant for a first or second feature at the development stage, with real money behind it: up to USD 20,000 to write and package a narrative feature, more later for…

Next dates not yet publishedA writer with a producerFeature, Short, Series, Documentary

up to$100kGrantbetween rounds

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