All applicants will be notified of their status within four months of the final submission deadline.

Yes

All filmmakers applying for the screenwriting and development/packaging stage must complete a residency period of four weeks. The 4 weeks do not need to be contiguous. The residency does not include living arrangements, but is an open workspace at SFFILM’s FilmHouse office. The residency includes peer-to-peer engagement with SFFILM’s year-round residents and feedback sessions, one-on-one meetings with expert advisors working in various sectors of the film industry, space to work from including a quiet screenwriting room and editing suite, year-round programming including talks, workshops, table reads, and work-in-progress screenings, and support from SFFILM’s Artist Development team. We strongly encourage filmmakers to fulfill the residency requirement during the annual San Francisco International Film Festival in April in order to take advantage of the industry and programming. In consideration of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, our goal is to hold this residency in person and require proof of vaccination, but we plan to make virtual accommodations for those who are unable to do so.

Projects and filmmakers do not have to be rooted in the Bay Area in order to apply. However, we ask applicants to consider how they can best both learn from and give back to the Bay Area filmmaking community to reach their goals. This can be done by shooting in the Bay Area, participating and hosting talks and events at Filmhouse during the residency, or connecting with local communities or resources within the Bay Area, among other contributions.

No, there is no limit. Projects may reapply and state what significant progress has been made since the last submission.