Grants for Emerging Filmmaker

Welcome! \/

Well

Casey, I hate to say this, but I think the best luck you'll have is with family or friends. Many investors can not see the oprortunities of short films. Many people who invest would rather have a definite return, good or bad. So, your great aunt who is hard of hearing and has believed in you since childhood or a crazy guy who has more money than he knows what to do with and has a crush on your sister is your best choice.

Sorry, I am of no help. I don't even know why I exist.

Poke

We are forgetting individual donations. Not by family or friends. If you can get a fiscal sponsor (like a local media arts center) to take you under their non-profit umbrella you can solicit tax-deductible donations. This takes work so it depends on how much you really want to finance these films.

If the subject of your film is interesting to a particular company, foundation or group, you may find partial funding there. I know one guy who made a film with a strong "traditional morals" message (good kid goes bad, winds up on the streets, helped to recover and return to home and hearth by an older runaway who found God) and he got substantial funding from a group of churches, despite the fact that the film is not likely to ever to be widely distributed or ever make a penny.

Another script that I heard about but have never read, involved a plot that actually portrayed a huge petrochemical pipeline as a positive influence on a Third World country. This guy was seeking funding support from (guess who) oil companies.

If you are making a gay romance, seek funding from gay advocate organizations. If you are making a film about cowboys, seek funding from a boot manufacturer, etc. Making a war movie? Military equipment wholesalers and firearms companies. Done correctly, product placement could finance the project and not intrude on the plot.
The idea is to secure enough funds to make the thing. Anything and anybody is a potential financial resource.

Sometimes I get to wondering what the deal is with all these mafia movies, you know? Hmmm.

Product placement is an option but a difficult one. The problem with investors is that there is next to no market for shorts - depending on length - and most likely you won’t even make enough money to cover your expenses. I see the most value in a short as a way to attract attention for larger projects. Sort of a calling card “see what I can do” thing to get bigger and better stuff. That being said, I, myself, am gearing up to produce a short for festivals, but I’m only doing it because I can produce it very cheap and I’m funding it myself. Good luck on the creative financing!

how much are you talking about?

Me? I have a total budget of $500. I could do it for less but I have to rent some equipment and since everyone is working for C&C I’m having it fully catered. I was also able to get a lot of equipment for gratis.