Regional fund Germany, Düsseldorf

Spielfilm: Produktion und Pre-Production (feature film production and pre-production)

Run by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia film and media foundation)

The production line of Germany's biggest regional fund, covering pre-production, the shoot, post, distribution and world sales. Named recent grants include EUR 450,000 for Rose and EUR 800,000 for a studio franchise shot in Duisburg and Cologne. The writer rides in the producer's package.

Repayable, amount not statedOpen to writers in GermanyA production company

Next deadline Nov 19, 2026 (closes in 18 days)

The money

Amount
Amount not statedNo ceiling stated; recent decisions on the page range from EUR 400,000 to EUR 800,000 per feature. The site's repayment sheet (Tilgungsverpflichtungen) applies.
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
FreeA sheet on PwC audit fees is linked from the funding page.

Who can apply

Applicant
A production company
Where you write
In Germany
Rules
Production companies, from debut features to high-end and international co-productions, applying through the online portal. The page states no residence rule or numeric NRW spend; it says the money should bring value, talent and creative work to the state.
Stages
Development, production, completion and distribution
Formats
Feature, Series, Documentary
Language of the application
German

When to apply

The next closing date is Nov 19, 2026. The dates below are the current cycle's, as the funder states them.

RoundCloses
Production, pre-production, series, co-productionNov 19, 2026
Post-productionJan 21, 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

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