We recommend sending 1-2 scenes so that the review committee can get a sense of the story and characters and if it can sustain a feature length film, your access to the central subjects, and the artistic voice and direction of the film. We recommend sending the scene(s) you feel most strongly portray these elements in lieu of a trailer. We understand the scenes will be in progress and do not expect them to be picture locked, color corrected, or finalized in any way.

If you have a longer sample already cut, you are welcome to send that. If you send materials over 10 minutes, we cannot guarantee that the review committee will be able to watch more than the first five minutes of the materials you send. If you do not want the first five minutes to be watched, please include the timecode of the five minutes you would like the committee to watch.

The SFFILM Doc Film Fund supports feature-length documentaries in post-production. While we know the documentary production process is often nonlinear with various stages happening at the same time, a project must be within about 3 months of beginning post-production from the final deadline.

No. The SFFILM Doc Film Fund is open to filmmakers based anywhere in the U.S. or internationally.

All applicants will be notified of their status through the SFFILM grant platform within four months of the final deadline.

For this screenwriting grant, the funds are awarded to the writer or writer/director and can be used for cost of living expenses and childcare while the filmmaker works on the project. Filmmakers have also used the funds for research trips, consultants, developing materials, and table reads, but the general expectation is that these funds can help offset some of the need to take on other freelance work or side projects to supplement their income and allow filmmakers time to solely focus on their scripts.