film funding
NAPT Announces 2012 Open Call for Media Makers
Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. (NAPT) announced a March 16 deadline for proposals from media makers. With funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the NAPT Public Media Content Fund will award support to video projects with significant Native involvement — particularly projects that profile Native American leaders, activists, and artists — and help bring the projects to national broadcast on public television. Submitted proposals must be postmarked by March 16, 2012.
“The purpose of the Content Fund is to increase the diversity of voices in public media,” said NAPT Executive Director Shirley K. Sneve (Rosebud Sioux). “There are very few avenues open to documentary filmmakers, and NAPT believes that our organization has a great responsibility to support the creation, promotion and distribution of Native media. NAPT also believes that support from NAPT can help open other doors for various forms of other funding.”
Projects in any phase of production are eligible to apply for funding with NAPT. Awards for research and development range from $5,000 to $20,000, awards for production or completion can be up to $100,000, and New Media awards range from $5,000 to $20,000. NAPT does not fully fund programs, and awardees are required to seek additional funding from other sources. Projects funded through NAPT will be considered for additional distribution opportunities, such as educational and home DVD distribution through VisionMaker; theatrical; non-theatrical; television (free, pay syndicated, and video-on-demand); multimedia; and Internet broadcasting (including podcasting and streaming).
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Live Chat on ITVS’s International Call
ITVS International Call 2012′s deadline is Friday, December 9, 2011. On Monday, December 5 at 6AM PT — core members of our ITVS International team will answer your questions about the call in a live chat on BTB. The discussion is open to ask any question — no topic is too big or too small — regarding International Call, ITVS, what we’re looking for, the process, the contract, etc. Log on to BTB at 6AM PT (find out what time that is for you).
Filmmaker Notes from Orientation, Summer 2011
Filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein attended ITVS’s latest producers orientation for Open Call funding and was kind enough to share his notes.
We’re producers. We’re used to 13-hour days, right?
Actually, I heard nary a complaint. Instead, what I heard was praise and genuine joy for an opportunity to be with fellow filmmakers in an atmosphere of celebration and camaraderie.
Take day one of orientation, for example. After a breakfast that included vegan granola (it is San Francisco, after all), we were whisked away into workshops and meetings that were all about the money. Financial reporting. Budgeting. Contract negotiation. It was a lot to absorb and my brain was mushy by 5PM when we gathered to walk over to the Dolby Lab.
Dolby’s screening room is not what I expected from the millions of promo trailers I’ve seen and heard in movie theaters — you know, the ones that culminate in something like the sound of broken glass shards raining over you. The room is like a 1970s revival of a 1920s deco theater — but the sound is pristine.
Every film’s five minute cut was great, from the story of America’s first gay bishop to the story of a family trying to do Christmas without products from China. ITVS had prepared a program to hand out and staff introduced each film. Filmmakers did Q&A. I felt deeply respected and maybe even a little coddled as they introduced our film, As Goes Janesville, one of several that received funding after multiple tries.
Most importantly, the evening reflected the sincere support ITVS conveyed all week. Not only did they successfully create a supportive, collegial space for us to balance contract numbers with content ideas, but they helped us understand how we fit into their broader mission.
Just look at us and our film topics. We are from New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Bay Area, Milwaukee, Austin. We are Jewish, Chinese, African American, Native American, Indian-British, LGBT. We are old and young, men and women, veteran and emerging. We — and the staff of ITVS — are truly diverse, fulfilling a mission originated in the 80s to respond to a report by the Carnegie Foundation that bemoaned a public media system without innovation and diversity. No tokenism here. ITVS is serious about supporting a wide array of filmmaking voices.
The only buzzword as potentially hollow as diversity is innovation. But ITVS is serious about substance in this area too. We learned about FUTURESTATES, short fiction films that imagine a social problem as it plays out at some point in the future. And we learned about Project 360 enhanced, an innovation initiative that supports ITVS filmmakers in creating technology projects that address issues raised by their films, from games and apps to anything you can imagine. Companion websites are so two-thousand and late.
I had not expected to see the intensive three-day orientation through the lens of age, but somehow that’s how it came into focus for me. I had been around ITVS before, first as a producer at Lumiere Productions throughout the 90s, then in 2005 as part of the LINCS initiative with my film, Almost Home. Many of the ITVS staff are still here from each of those times. I chuckled at the references they used during presentations. While one of the more “mature” (as in my age) staff members used a Tom and Jerry reference, another who was likely born around the time I started working in film referenced He Man, a character I had to look up on Wikipedia to discover that it was a popular cartoon in the early eighties.
But this observation is trivial compared to the change I noticed since I was here five years ago. Last time around there was tension over the contracts and especially over distribution strategies. Five years ago filmmakers in my LINCS group felt overwhelmed, even a bit assaulted, by the sheer size and demands of the ITVS contract and what was perceived as a lack of concern for festival and theatrical releases.
But this time workshops and one-on-one meetings made the contract transparent and understandable. What’s more, ITVS’s lawyer (whom I shall not name here) is a kind, gentle, dare I say, baby-faced man who makes contracts go down like honey. And ITVS is light years ahead of other outlets with whom you may have negotiated when it comes to distribution. Instead of arguing over release windows, the entire team is ready to work with filmmakers to devise a strategy that helps our films reach audiences through festivals, PBS broadcast, outreach and community engagement activity and public relations. We met with each department over the course of three days. If anything, I felt like I would struggle just to keep up with ITVS’s support for our film.
I wish I could be more critical, if not ironic. Yet I can’t. The orientation days were long, yes, but they were lovely and I left energized to make our film and very happy to know a fantastic bunch of filmmakers well. I wish I could find something to complain about. Okay, I know, the room we were in most of the time had no windows. C’mon ITVS, can you work on that?
Funding Deadline: Open Call Applications Due July 29
The deadline for ITVS’s biggest funding opportunity, Open Call, is in two weeks on Friday, July 29. Last month, we announced our new digital application process, but it’s worth reiterating some main points to help you on your way. Read on…
1. Read the How To Apply page. Some requirements have changed, particularly regarding previous work samples and the work-in-progress.
2. Create an account. You can do this any time, and complete the application over the next two weeks. We encourage you to start the process early. You can save your progress and return any time up to the deadline.
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Open Call Funding Application Goes Digital
As ITVS moves into its 20th year, the organization’s largest funding initiative, Open Call, is making the switch to digital. Starting this summer, all materials must be submitted online, including video.
What are the benefits of doing this?
• Faster and more streamlined communication with ITVS staff.
• Ability to track the progress of your project online,
• Promotes sustainable practices by saving reams of paper, and greatly reducing the carbon-footprint of ITVS and the indie documentary community.
• Significant cost savings with the elimination of postage and overnight mailing fees, as well as printing, dubbing, and other expenses.
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Deadline News Indies Can Use
One of BTB’s chief responsibilities is to keep an eye out for news the independent producer can use. With that in mind, we asked our Programming Department to highlight upcoming deadlines for us — featuring funding opportunities, festival deadlines, and other things you may find helpful. These will be for both U.S. and international producers … Enjoy and good luck!
FUNDING
Jan Vrijman Fund
DEADLINE: May 15, 2011
The Jan Vrijman Fund is looking for creative documentaries and documentary events in developing countries (PDF). Funding categories include Script and Project Development, Production and Post-Production, and Other activities (including Distribution Initiatives; Documentary Film Festivals; Documentary Workshops). The Jan Vrijman Fund gives financial support twice a year. Application deadlines are January 15 and May 15. Click here for more details.
CAAM Media Fund
DEADLINE: May 19, 2011
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) seeks provocative and engaging proposals from independent media producers with projects intended for public television broadcast. Offered once a year, this round of funding is for applicants with documentary projects at the production and/or post-production stage. Click here for more details.
Film Arts Forum: Igniting the Classroom
San Francisco Film Society presents a panel discussion on educational media
The 2011 series of the San Francisco Film Society’s Film Arts Forum kicks off with a focus on educational media: the filmmakers that produce it and the teachers who use it. Experts in media education from ITVS’s Community Classroom, local production companies and schools will share their stories of and experiences with making films that are great educational resources, as well as the strategies and tactics they use to engage students through media. Tonight’s event will be streamed live on the Film Society’s website, starting at 7:30 PM PT.
Live Chat: All About Open Call
Attention all filmmakers! We are days away from the Open Call deadline of this Friday, January 7, 2011.
Earlier today, ITVS Senior Programming Manager Richard Saiz spent an hour fielding questions from Open Call participants in a live video chat. Watch a replay of the event below (much easier to see if you make it full-screen).
Review the application details here and get your questions ready for Richard at noon Pacific on Wednesday. Once you provide your login info, start submitting your questions so we can get to as many as possible.
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Deadline for INPUT 2011: Dare the Future
INPUT (International Public Television) is an organization that brings together producers, media professionals, and broadcasters from around the world for a weeklong showcase of content and discussion each year, creating a forum “where the rules of broadcasting are challenged and redefined.”
U.S. INPUT is now accepting American submissions for INPUT 2011: Dare the Future in Seoul, Korea. The deadline is Nov. 5, 2010 and there is no entry fee! For more information check out: www.scetv.org/input.
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Emmy Winner Geoffrey Smith on The English Surgeon
Filmmaker Geoffrey Smith won an Emmy Monday night for The English Surgeon
Filmmaker Geoffrey Smith has made more than 22 films throughout his career and has collected numerous awards for his work. On Monday night, he picked up an Emmy for The English Surgeon, his film about a British neurosurgeon who confronts the dilemmas of the doctor-patient relationship on his latest mission to Ukraine. The documentary was supported by ITVS International (speaking of, the deadline for our 2011 International Call has been changed to December 10, 2010). Smith spoke to BTB about the Emmy, the film, and the ITVS funding that helped from the start.
First off, congratulations on the Emmy! What can you tell us about Monday night’s event in NYC?
Thanks! It was very wet in New York City. Central Park looked very British and so I felt right at home. It was great to see all of my colleagues.
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