Regional fund Germany, Munich

Projektentwicklung (project development)

Run by FFF Bayern, FilmFernsehFonds Bayern (Bavarian film and television fund)

The step between a finished Bavarian screenplay and the shoot: a loan to the producer for casting, budgeting and further drafts, with recent awards between EUR 30,000 and EUR 85,000 per film. Series can draw up to EUR 150,000.

Repayable, up to €100,000Open to writers in GermanyA production company

Window closes Jan 25, 2027 (closes in 85 days)

The money

Amount
Up to €100,000Up to 70 percent of the development costs, capped at EUR 100,000 for a film and EUR 150,000 for a series, as an interest-free loan offset against later production funding.
What it is
RepayableA loan, an advance on receipts or a conditionally repayable grant: it is paid back only out of what the film earns.
To apply
Free

Who can apply

Applicant
A production company
Where you write
In Germany
Rules
Producers with a seat, branch or site in Germany. A screenplay or filmable source must exist; series need a concept, the first episode's script and outlines. Costs should be spent in Bavaria as far as possible and the stated Bavaria effect becomes part of the contract.
Stages
Development
Formats
Feature, Series, Documentary
Language of the application
German

When to apply

The next closing date is Jan 25, 2027. The dates below are the current cycle's, as the funder states them.

RoundCloses
Window closesJan 25, 2027
Window closesMar 22, 2027
Window closesJun 14, 2027
Window closesOct 11, 2027

Dates are as the funder states them. Check the time of day and the time zone on the official page.

Also open to writers in Germany

See every fund for Germany

DevelopmentGermanyNational fund

Jurybasierte kulturelle Projektentwicklungsförderung (jury-based project development funding)

FFA, Filmförderungsanstalt (German Federal Film Board)

Development money for the stage after the script: rights, further drafts, casting, budgeting. A production company applies, except in documentary, where writers and directors may come alone.

Next deadline Dec 15, 2026A production company or a writer aloneFeature, Documentary, Animation

up to€100kGrantcloses in 44 days

WritingGermanyNational fund

Stipendium Stoffentwicklung (story development stipend, Talentfilm)

Kuratorium junger deutscher Film (foundation for young German film)

Germany's talent fund pays a writer up to EUR 25,000 to develop an original idea from research to script over ten months, with a dramaturg attached.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer aloneFeature, Series, Documentary, Animation

up to€25kRepayablebetween rounds

More development funding elsewhere

See all development funding

WritingDevelopmentUnited StatesRegional fund

Grants for Artist Projects (GAP)

Artist Trust

Small, fast and plentiful: 65 Washington artists a year receive USD 2,500 toward a specific project, from research travel to a first draft.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer aloneFeature, Series, Short, Documentary, Animation

range$2.5kGrantbetween rounds

DevelopmentUnited StatesBroadcaster

Incubator Fund

ITVS, Independent Television Service

ITVS's development door, replacing its earlier diversity development fund: a small first payment to shape a nonfiction feature or web series for PBS streaming, with a few months of…

Not taking applications this cycleA writer with a producerDocumentary, Series

up to$10kGrantpaused

DevelopmentProductionCompletionUnited StatesBroadcaster

Public Media Content Fund

Latino Public Broadcasting

Documentaries and limited series about Latino life for national public television, funded from first research through the final mix.

Next dates not yet publishedA writer with a producer or a production companyDocumentary, Series

range$100kInvestmentbetween rounds

DevelopmentUnited StatesFoundation or company fund

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grants at Film Independent

Film Independent, with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Science on screen pays here: three cash grants a year for fiction projects about scientists or technology, awarded inside Film Independent's Episodic Lab, Producing Lab and Fast Track…

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

range$30kGrantbetween rounds

Also useful

Where Creative Europe's development money goesEvery MEDIA development grant since 2014, by country, company and year.Fellowships and labsPrograms that pick a few writers and work with them for months, on the events pages.How to write a treatmentThe document a development application is built on, step by step.Screenwriting eventsContests, labs, festivals and conferences, with their deadlines.