Important Changes to the LINCS Initiative

LINCS is now accepting applications year-round, as well as seeking projects with transmedia elements.

Independent Producers and Public Television Stations currently face similar challenges as they respond to a rapidly shifting media landscape. The evolution of new ways to create and distribute media accompanied by shrinking resources has made this an exciting as well as an anxious time.

ITVS is evaluating how we can improve our LINCS initiative and take advantage of the opportunities that independent producer and station partnerships can offer in the new media landscape.

› Continue reading

Tags: film financing, funding, LINCS, public television, resources

ITVS LINCS Funding: Deadline June 18

Looking for film funding? Don’t miss out on LINCS, which provides matching funds up to $100,000 for single non-fiction public television programs on any subject and from any viewpoint, in partnership with a public television station.

The deadline for LINCS submissions is Friday, June 18, 2010. Due dates are not postmark deadlines and all materials must arrive at ITVS by 5:00 PM PDT.

Find more information about guidelines and how to apply >>

Have additional questions about LINCS? Email jonathan_archer@itvs.org or call 415-356-8383 x284.

Looking for advice on how to create a more compelling proposal? Click on the “continue reading” button below to get some insider tips.
› Continue reading

Tags: funding, LINCS

Ask Programming: Recent Questions from Filmmakers

ITVS programming staff answer questions from filmmakers about the funding process:

LINCS Initiative

Q: My proposal was declined from the last round of Open Call. Can I apply to LINCS with the same project?

A. Yes, you may apply for LINCS with the same project. The application and evaluation processes for the two initiatives are distinct and a declination in one initiative does not affect your chances in the other. There are differences between the initiatives. The most notable is that the LINCS initiative requires a producer and public television station partnership while Open Call does not. Please read the full guidelines to see if your project is a good fit for LINCS.

Q: I have had communications with two stations who are interested in supporting my proposal for LINCS this year. Can I partner with both?

A. Yes, you can partner with more than one public television station for the LINCS initiative. Letters of Agreement with each station must be negotiated and included with the proposal materials. These letters should make clear how the required LINCS partnership responsibilities are divided up among the partnering stations. You can also use the combined in-kind from both stations in your matching funds request from LINCS (up to $100,00).

› Continue reading

Tags: film resources, filmmaking, funding, LINCS, PBS

WTIU-Bloomington LINCS Partnership: BLACKING UP

Linking Independents and Co-Producing Stations (LINCS) provides matching funds (up to $100,000) to partnerships between public television stations and independent producers. To apply for LINCS funds, independents must first approach a public television station and establish a partnership.

Learn more about a recent LINCS partnership with WTIU-Bloomington, IN and the film BLACKING UP: Hip-Hop’s Remix of Race and Identity, which explores the tension between white racial identity and black cultural propriety at a time when hip-hop is redefining American life. Brent Molnar, program manager at WTIU, shares his thoughts about the film, which airs in December on public television.

As a Program Manager of a local PBS station, I was brought into the BLACKING UP project to assist the producer, Robert Clift, in creating a more conservative version of his original documentary, and to make recommendations for editing strong language and specific content that public television viewers might find objectionable. Initially, I thought my role with the documentary was to be fairly nuts and bolts – bleep this, pull that out, say this in a different way, etc.

What I didn’t expect, however, was the amount of historical content and the broad range of perspectives BLACKING UP contained. As a society, I think we sometimes gloss over the human experience, and may even begin to pocket people into different categories, just to be able to deal with everything that comes at us in a given day. When this happens, I think we lose part of the richness and depth that our culture really possesses. This can lead to us not only missing out on opportunities to understand one another, but to understand ourselves as well.

› Continue reading

Tags: film resources, hip hop, KLRU, LINCS

KLRU-Austin LINCS Partnership: TATTOOED UNDER FIRE

Linking Independents and Co-Producing Stations (LINCS) provides matching funds (up to $100,000) to partnerships between public television stations and independent producers. To apply for LINCS funds, independents must first approach a public television station and establish a partnership.

Learn more about a recent LINCS partnership with KLRU-Austin and the film TATTOOED UNDER FIRE, which looks at a tattoo parlor in Killeen, Texas where war-bound and returning soldiers go under the needle and confess their deepest secrets and fears. Maria Rodriguez, senior vice president of programming at KLRU-Austin, shares her thoughts about the film, which airs in November on public television.

I am deeply saddened by the events at Fort Hood this past week. My thoughts and prayers go out to the soldiers and their families at this time.

When I first watched clips of TATTOOED UNDER FIRE by Nancy Schiesari, I saw an outline of a unique story that needed to be brought to public television. I saw young men and women just out of high school who were preparing to go to war in Iraq as they as visited a local tattoo parlor near their base. There they revealed their American pride, their concerns and fears about going over to fight. Then the film provides more revelations upon their return from Iraq. Each soldier gives their own personal perspective giving us the sense of the human and cultural cost of war. It gives a perspective and an experience that very few of us will ever experience in our lifetime.

› Continue reading

Tags: film resources, Iraq, KLRU, LINCS

LINCS Film Funding: Q&A with Panelist

Linking Independents and Co-Producing Stations (LINCS) provides matching funds (up to $100,000) to partnerships between public television stations and independent producers. For the past two days, the LINCS panel––made up of peers in the independent film and television community––has been convening to recommend eight to ten projects for ITVS funding from a slate of 30 finalists. The identities of readers and panelists are not disclosed for each initiative, but below is a Q&A with one of our current LINCS panelist.

In serving on the LINCS panel, what is the principal challenge for you?
LINCS Panelist: The biggest challenge is deciding which of the 30 proposals best fit the LINCS objectives. This initiative was created to bring indies and public television stations together, and it has been a very successful. So I’m always challenged to look beyond the projects that appeal to me personally and to project which have the potential to make the greatest impact with broadcast and community outreach. Fortunately, these criteria often intersect.

What do you enjoy most about serving on the LINCS panel?
LP: I watch a lot of programs in my daily life but serving on the panel is special because I get the opportunity to meet fascinating filmmakers and public television programmers and to hear other points of view about a wide range to ideas. It’s amazing that no matter how diverse our real life experiences are, we always end up agreeing on the top projects. We may not rank them quite the same but we generally agree on why each indie-station partnership proposal will make good television.

What makes a great panelist?
LP: A great panelist is someone with strong opinions about what he/she likes and dislikes and why––but who isn’t bound by an ideological passion that shuts down the discussion. For the filmmakers on the panel, this is an inside peek on how public television programmers think and respond to programs, and for programmers, it is very insightful to hear why filmmakers are so driven to make films.

› Continue reading

Tags: film resources, independent film, LINCS