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Artist Development > Fund Your Film > SFFILM Rainin Grant

SFFILM Rainin Grant

The SFFILM Rainin Grant is no longer accepting applications for 2023. Sign up for email alerts above to be the first to know when this grant opens to applications in the future.

Overview

The SFFILM Rainin Grant program is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the US. Grants support films that address social justice issues—the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges—in a positive and meaningful way through plot, character, theme, or setting and benefit the Bay Area filmmaking community in a professional and economic capacity.

Awards are made to 15-20 projects once a year in the fall, for screenwriting, development, or post-production. In addition to a cash grant of up to $25,000, recipients secure a one month residency at FilmHouse and benefit from SFFILM’s comprehensive and dynamic artist development programs.

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.

Current SFFILM Rainin Grants are as follows:

  • Screenwriting Grant: These grants are open to filmmakers anywhere in the US, as well as internationally, and are up to $25,000. The funds allow filmmakers to devote dedicated time to furthering their work, and the grant includes a one-month FilmHouse residency in the Bay Area to further develop the screenplay, and have access to both peer and established mentorship engagement.
  • Development Grant: These grants are up to $25,000 for producers of narrative features tackling social justice issues who demonstrate a need to engage with the Bay Area to develop and package their films. The grant includes a one-month FilmHouse residency with peer and established mentorship engagement. Successful projects will be at a stage to pursue financing, casting, location scouting, and/or other key activities to package the film before production. Major screenwriting work should be complete by this stage.
  • Post-production Grant: These grants are up to $40,000 for films that are looking to spend the funds outside of the Bay Area, and up to $50,000 for films looking to do all or some of the post-production in the Bay Area (edit, sound mix, color, etc.). Projects should have significant creative work remaining in the editorial process or have a specific need related to sound or color in post-production. There is no Bay Area residency commitment required for this stage.

Timeline

  • To be announced.

Who Can Apply

  • Filmmakers must be at least 18 years old.
  • Filmmakers may not be an SFFILM or Kenneth Rainin Foundation employee or member of any SFFILM or Kenneth Rainin Foundation Boards.
  • Applicants must be actively engaged in one of the following phases: screenwriting, packaging, or post-production and should apply for the phase of production they expect to be in six months after the final submission deadline.
  • Primary applicants must be in a key creative role for the film: screenwriter, director or producer.
  • Film must feature plot, character, theme and/or setting that explores social justice issues, such as human and civil rights, antidiscrimination, disability issues, gender issues, sexual identity and/or other social issues of our time. Project has strong and recognizable social value, contributing, for example, to a greater public appreciation of a disenfranchised group, identifying an area where social change is needed or bringing to light a difficult or inspirational story, condition or issue.
  • Film must be feature-length fiction film NOT be a documentary, short film, or episodic series.
  • Project may not be work for hire.
  • Project budgets shall be $3,000,000 or under including all phases of production.
  • Projects may reapply and must include what significant progress has been made since the last submission.

How to Apply

To begin the application process, navigate to the “Apply Now” page to review the required items for submission. If you have not yet created an account for the SFFILM Grant Platform, please do so (please note: this is separate from your SFFILM member account).

If you are a member of SFFILM, your application fee is waived. If you are not a member of SFFILM, there is an application fee that must be paid in order for your submission to be considered. To pay the application fee, enter your credit card information at the end of the application after you hit “submit.” Email grants@sffilm.org if you have any technical questions.

Application elements (subject to change):

  • Logline. In a couple of sentences, please describe the crux of your film. (75 words or less)
  • Filmmaker Bio (200 words or less)
  • Project synopsis. (300 words or less)
  • Describe how your film, through plot, character, theme, or setting, explores urgent social issues of our time. (150 words or less)
  • What made you want to tell this story and why is now the right time for you to tell it? (300 words or less)
  • How does the film contribute to or uplift the Bay Area filmmaking community professionally or economically? For Screenwriting or Development Phase (150 words or less)
  • Please describe your artistic vision and stylistic approach. How will your film look and feel? (150 words or less)
  • List the names and roles and briefly describe the qualifications of the other key (up to 5) individuals involved in the project. These individuals could include producers, directors of photography, editors, actors or other key cast and crew. State the date they became attached to the project. (300 words or less)(300 words or less)

Work Sample Materials:

  • Current script sample: Ten consecutive pages of the script you are applying with. The ten pages do not need to be the first ten pages. Please select what you believe to be the best ten pages. Please include a page introducing the script pages that provides any necessary context.
  • Optional: You are welcome to submit a 5–10 minute visual sample however, we can’t guarantee that review committee members will view the sample or view it in its entirety.

Finalist Materials

Approximately 25 applicants will be chosen as finalists. The following materials will be required for further consideration before the winners are selected. Finalists will have approximately three weeks to submit these items:

Screenwriting

  • A one-page writer/director’s statement. This should provide insight into who you are and your process.
  • A two to four page treatment. This should give us a clear sense of the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
  • A minimum of 25 pages of the script you are applying for. The ten pages do not need to be the first ten pages. Please select what you believe to be the best ten pages.
  • A script explanation that gives context in terms of where we are in the script as well as orientates us as to where we are in the story (500 words max)
  • Proof of rights to story (if applicable)
  • Optional: A minimum of ten pages of a previous script. The ten pages do not need to be the first ten pages. Please select what you believe to be the best ten pages. If you don’t have a previous screenplay, you can submit a visual sample, with an online link in an attached document alongside an explanation of the visual sample.

Development/Packaging

  • A one-page director’s statement. This should provide insight into who you are and your process.
  • A one-page producer’s statement. This should provide insight into who you are and your process.
  • A two to four page treatment. This should give us a clear sense of the beginning, middle and end of the story.
  • Full Script: Please submit the latest draft of the script you are applying for.
  • Full Script Explanation: Provide any relevant context for your script submission. Please note that some members of the review committee may be unable to read the full script. Make sure to include page numbers for an excerpt of at least 10 pages you’d like the committee to read if they’re unable to read the script in its entirety.
  • A full budget that includes all expenses AND revenue. *Revenue section must include: Actual funds raised to date, in-kind donations with associated market value and any outstanding or pending funds.
  • Optional but encouraged: Previous Work Sample. A ten-minute sample of a previous work of the writer/director (short or feature). This can be one ten-minute sample, two five minutes samples, etc. We will only accept online links.

Post-production

  • A one-page writer/director’s statement. This should provide insight into who you are and your process.
  • A one-page producer’s statement. This should provide insight into who you are and your process.
  • A two- to four-page treatment. This should give us a clear sense of the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
  • Current Script Sample: A minimum of ten pages of the script you are applying for. The ten pages do not need to be the first ten pages. Please select what you believe to be the best ten pages. You are also welcome to submit your full screenplay – however, we can’t guarantee we will read it in its entirety. Should you choose to submit it please send it as a separate PDF.
  • A full budget that includes all expenses AND revenue. *Revenue section must include: Actual funds raised to date, in-kind donations with associated market value and any outstanding or pending funds.
  • Work sample one: A ten-minute sample of the work in progress. We also invite you to submit a full copy of the film but we can’t guarantee we will watch more than ten minutes. Should you choose to submit the entire project please submit it as a separate link.
  • Optional but encouraged work sample two: A ten-minute sample of a previous work of the writer/director (short or feature). This can be one ten-minute sample, two five minutes samples, etc. We only accept online links.

Click here to download a PDF containing additional details about grantee requirements.

Since 2009, the SFFILM Rainin Filmmaking Grants program has funded more than 100 film projects, including Fernando Frias’s I’m No Longer Here, Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss Juneteenth, Antoneta Kastrati’s Zana, Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Nijla Mu’min’s Jinn, Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Monsters and Men, Jeremiah Zagar’s We the Animals, Chloé Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild. Supported films have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, South by Southwest, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Festival. Learn more about the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

FAQs

  • Do I need to live in the Bay Area?

    The SFFILM Rainin grant is open to applicants who live anywhere in the U.S. or internationally. The stories can be set anywhere in the world.

  • What stages does the Rainin grant support?

    Rainin supports films in the screenwriting stage, development/packaging, and post-production.

  • How much funding can I request?

    Screenwriting and development grants can be up to $25,000. For post-production grants, if you intend to spend the money outside of the Bay Area, you can request up to $40,000. If you plan on spending at least half of the grant on post services in the Bay Area, you can request up to $50,000.

  • Is there a budget cap?

    Yes, the film’s budget must be below $3 million.

  • What are acceptable uses of the funds?

    For the screenwriting stage, 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, and table reads. For the development stage, the funds are awarded to the producer and should be spent on parts of the development process such as casting agents, location scouts, and/or lookbooks. As of 2019, up to 40% of the awarded funds can be used to create a proof-of-concept, mood reel, or a closely related short film if the producer feels that this is the best use of those funds to unlock additional support for the film. For post-production, you should clarify which elements of post-production you would like to put the grant towards.

  • Which phase should I apply for?
    • Screenwriting Grant: These grants are open to filmmakers anywhere in the US, as well as internationally, and are up to $25,000. The funds allow filmmakers to devote dedicated time to furthering their work, and the grant includes a one month FilmHouse residency in the Bay Area to further develop the screenplay, and have access to both peer and established mentorship engagement. The screenplay must explore issues pertaining to social justice.
    • Development Grant: These grants are up to $25,000 for Bay Area-based producers tackling social justice issues O. The development grant continues the organization’s commitment to producers in film through financial and artist development support
    • Post-production Grant: These grants are up to $40,000 for films that are looking to spend the funds outside of the Bay Area, and up to $50,000 for films looking to do all or some of the post-production in the Bay Area (edit, sound mix, color, etc.). This stage supports films with an exceptional commitment to social justice. Projects should have significant creative work remaining in the editorial process or have a specific need related to sound or color in post-production. There is NO Bay Area residency commitment required for this stage.
  • Is there a limit to the number of times I can apply?

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

  • The application asks how my project uplifts the Bay Area filmmaking community. I do not live there and my film is not set there. What are the expectations?

    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.

  • What is the residency? Is it mandatory?

    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.

  • I don’t live in the Bay Area and am not shooting there. Can I still apply for the development/packaging grant?

    Yes


For more information about our grants and fellowships, visit our FAQ page.
For any and all questions, please contact grants@sffilm.org.

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