Rooftop Filmmakers Fund” Grants For Past Festival Participants

“So often, filmmakers spend so much of their resources making one film that it’s hard for them to produce another. But unlike festivals which give away awards for filmmakers’ past work, the Rooftop Filmmakers Fund is an opportunity to help deserving filmmakers make their next movie. We’ve been screening films since 1997, and every filmmaker who has ever shown a film with Rooftop is eligible for our grants—now over 1,800 artists. Past grantees have included Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild and Glory at Sea, Johannes Nyholm’s Las Palmas, Lucy Walker’s The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, and dozens more.

Rooftop Films has seven grants available—four for feature-length films and three for short films. In 2012, Rooftop Films will give away over $23,000 in cash grants, and over $50,000 in equipment and services.”

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog for up-to-the-minute updates!  Or follow us on Twitter!

Metro Screen offers a variety of film grants

“Metro Screen’s production support programs are unique with participants receiving a cash budget, production facilities, training, mentorship, script development and a cast and crew screening with particular emphasis placed on a diverse production slate that allows individuals to take risks.”  The categories are:

• First Break – $3000 for emerging filmmakers with no previous credits
• Breakout – $15,000 for emerging filmmakers with one previous credit
• Indigenous Breakthrough – $22,000 for Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander Australian emerging film makers with one previous credit
• Out-there and Deadly – filmmakers of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, the opportunity to develop their film and storytelling skills through the production their short work
• Jump Start – $45,000 worth of in-kind equipment and facilities
• Pitching Competition – $15,000 prize

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog for up-to-the-minute updates!

Hubert Balls Fund supports films in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe

“International Film Festival Rotterdam’s (IFFR) Hubert Bals Fund supports remarkable or urgent feature films by innovative and talented filmmakers from developing countries. Since its establishment in 1988, close to 900 projects from independent filmmakers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe have received support. Approximately 80% of these projects have been realized or are currently in production.”

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

Sportskool is accepting completed sports documentaries

SPORTSKOOL  is accepting completed feature-length documentaries about sports and sports related topics to air nationwide on cable on-demand channels. Documentaries should have all rights cleared by the owner and be available on a broadcast quality format such as digi-beta.

Previous sports documentaries seen on SPORTSKOOL include:

Yogi Berra – Get to know baseball legend Yogi Berra then and now.  Yogi is joined by his biggest fans – from celebrities to family members – to shed some light on his enduring legacy.

Morgan Lacrosse Doc – A look into the formation of the 1970s Morgan State University lacrosse team, the first and only varsity program at a historically black institution.  Told by the athletes and coaches who changed the face of this traditionally white sport.

Chasing the Dream – Hit the waves before class with the pro surfing hopefuls at Huntington Beach High.  On this team, if you want to hand ten, then drop and give me twenty!

Submissions should be sent to:

            SPORTSKOOL

            100 Cathedral Street, Suite 9

            Annapolis, MD 21204

Include a DVD screener and 1-sheet synopsis.

Email questions to info@gracecreek.com

 

SPORTSKOOL is the only on-demand television network where the biggest names in sports deliver the secrets to better performance, winnings scores and bigger tricks. Join Shaun White, Doug Flutie, Mia Hamm, Bode Miller, Misty May, Tony Gwynn, Bill Walton, Mike Vallely (Mike V.) and other star athletes for one-on-one training and instruction…when and where you want it.

SPORTSKOOL is currently available to more than 34 million digital television subscribers. Television providers carrying SPORTSKOOL include Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Mediacom, Insight, Verizon FiOS, Mid-Hudson, Shrewsbury and Suddenlink.

Visit SPORTSKOOL online at sportskool.com

Jan Jrijman Fund grants for documentaries and festival in developing world

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam funds once yearly; the 2012 deadline is in January.  They have supported over 400 projects so far.

“IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund supports documentary filmmakers and festivals in developing countries. Its goal is to stimulate local film cultures and to turn the creative documentary into a truly global film art.”

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

A Review of Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

I am a sucker for performance documentaries. There is always the music, art or comedy to lean on if the style or structure is otherwise weak. However, that was not the case with “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.” The story telling in this documentary about the legendary rap group was well crafted, visually interesting and insightful. And, the music made me run to download songs from iTunes as soon as the film was over.

I don’t pretend to be a rap music aficionado but I did enjoy listening, dancing and rapping along with A Tribe Called Quest songs in my young adult days. I still do. So learning about how members Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad got together, made music and fell apart was all new and fascinating to me. That there was a fourth member, Jarobi White, was a total revelation. To see Q-Tip’s thoughtfulness and genius of production is creatively inspiring. Just the way he rifles through record bins at the speed of light lets you know a little bit about depth of his
relationship with music.

“Beats, Rhymes & Lif”e was not just a nostalgic “Behind The Music” style piece honoring A Tribe Called Quest’s music. During filming, the group members were living through major struggles. Q-Tip and Phife were not on speaking terms, locked in a stalemate of hurt feelings that only brothers can cause. Ali was stuck in the middle while other rap greats such as De La Soul members were disappointed to see their musical compadres’ behavior of not living up to essence behind their songs. Phife was also awaiting a kidney transplant due to his long struggle with diabetes. In both cases, I found myself rooting for positive outcomes and was never sure if it would come before the final credits.

A long list of rap industry icons gave interviews to help shed light on why A Tribe Called Quest was so successful. They included Monie Love, Pharrell Williams, The Roots and The Beastie Boys. Director Michael Rapaport could be heard from time to time asking questions. I would have liked to hear more about the personal lives of Q-Tip and Ali like we did for Phife and Jarobi. It seemed slightly unbalanced in favor of the Phife camp.

Despite the trials and tribulations of the group, “Beats, Rhymes & Life” was a fun documentary with a great soundtrack. As some of the interviewees in this documentary point out, when rap music was turning the corner from party music to anger, A Tribe Called Quest walked a line in between. The stance of being proud of who they are and where they’re from but not letting it define them is a universal theme that still resonates today.

For other reviews, visit the Reviews category.

ACE Grants for Documentary Films Exploring Animal Rights

The ACE grant competition offer $20,000 for the winning grant for documentaries exploring animal rights issues.  Documentaries can be in any stage and plan to be at least 40-minutes long.

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

Documentary Completion Grants from San Francisco Film Society

“San Francisco Film Society Announces New $300,000 Documentary Film Fund Supporting Feature-Length Documentaries in Post-production.  The SFFS Documentary Film Fund is created to support singular nonfiction film work that is distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters and an innovative visual approach. Each year from 2011 to 2013, a total of $100,000 will be disbursed to further new work by documentary filmmakers nationwide.”

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

The Fledging Fund Makes $1.5Million in Grants Annually

“The Fledgling Fund considers requests for creative media projects in two funding cycles each year”

With approximately $1.5 million in funding disbursed annually, we are interested in making strategic grants and investments that help fledgling projects take flight.   We look for opportunities where our funding can play a key role in the life of a creative media project that we think has the potential to ignite social change. Typically, these are grants at a critical stage of a media project where timely funding could amplify its social impact.”

Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.

To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog for up-to-the-minute updates!  Or follow us on Twitter!

Mary Kay looks for women to produce Domestic Violence Videos

“The Mary Kay® Inspiring Stories program hopes to inspire, educate, and create a conversation on the issue of Domestic Violence through the creation of three empowering documentaries.

Three all-female crews will each create, produce, and direct a documentary that will share inspiring stories of women – young and old – who have been affected by Domestic Violence. In the past 3 years, 80% of shelters report an increase in women seeking assistance for Domestic Violence. Creating these documentaries will allow participants to offer support and inspiration to women to help end the cycle of violence. The films will be viewed online and at a Premiere Event to spread a powerful message of hope and prevention.”