Overview
Indie Grants is a short film production funding program administered by the South Carolina Film Commission (SCFC) in partnership with Trident Technical College (TTC). The program provides grants ranging from $25,000 to $45,000 to cover the full production of narrative short film projects, from pre-production through post-production. The 2026-27 funding cycle is currently open, with applications due by 11:59 PM ET on August 3, 2026.
The program is part of a broader South Carolina initiative to develop the state's production industry by supporting local filmmakers, building crew experience, and creating a pipeline of professional talent from training through to professional production. Past Indie Grants films have been official selections at Sundance, Tribeca, American Black Film Festival, Palm Springs, Austin Film Festival, FantasticFest, Slamdance, Sitges, Oxford, Nashville, Atlanta, Indie Memphis, DragonCon, and hundreds more festivals.
If you are a South Carolina-based narrative filmmaker ready to produce a short film at a professional standard, review the application requirements and submit before the August 3, 2026 deadline.
What It Funds
Indie Grants funds the complete production of narrative short film projects, from pre-production through post-production delivery. The grant covers creative development, production costs, and post-production expenses. Funding amounts range from $25,000 to $45,000 per project depending on the scope of the submission and the evaluator's assessment of the budget.
Only live-action narrative fiction short films are eligible. The program does not fund documentary, experimental, or animation projects. Past funded projects have ranged widely in genre, from a Baba Yaga horror tale set in nineteenth-century Russia to a coming-of-age story in the 1980s Greenville punk scene to a mockumentary about underground cloning.
The program also provides non-cash production support, including possible use of Trident Technical College film equipment and resources from grant partners. Selected filmmakers are expected to manage productions with a high level of professionalism, quality, and practicality. Creative thinking, cost-efficiency, smart management of funds, and pooling of resources are key evaluation criteria.
Typical Award Size Range
Indie Grants provides funding ranging from $25,000 to $45,000 per project, covering the full production of narrative short film projects from pre-production through post-production delivery.
- Minimum award: $25,000 (for projects with smaller scope and crew)
- Maximum award: $45,000 (for projects with larger scope, more complex production requirements)
- Average award: Typically falls in the $30,000 to $35,000 range, depending on the cycle and project mix
Exact funding amounts are based on the needs of the selected projects, the amount of funding available through the Indie Grants program, and other factors at the discretion of Indie Grants, the South Carolina Film Commission, Trident Technical College, and their panel of independent industry evaluators. The number of grants awarded each cycle depends on the total available funding and the individual budget requests of selected projects. The program does not publish a fixed number of awards per cycle.
The program also provides non-cash production support, including possible use of Trident Technical College film equipment and resources from grant partners. This in-kind support is not included in the cash grant amount but represents additional value to selected filmmakers.
2026-27 Application Timeline
- Application portal open: Now open via Submittable
- Submission deadline: August 3, 2026, 11:59 PM ET
- Funding decisions: Tentatively scheduled for October 2026
- Production period: Must be completed within the state fiscal year (July 1 to June 30). All production funds must be used within that period.
Contracts between TTC and granted filmmakers include benchmark dates for the production within the fiscal year period, mutually agreed upon by the filmmakers, TTC, and SCFC.
Eligibility
South Carolina Requirement
One of the submitting team members must be a current South Carolina resident or a legitimately "home-grown" South Carolina filmmaker. This person must be listed as the main applicant on the submission.
Project Requirements
- Must be a live-action narrative short film (no documentary, experimental, or animation)
- Budget must fall within the $25,000 to $45,000 range
- Projects can be shot anywhere in South Carolina (not limited to the Charleston area despite TTC affiliation). Past projects have been shot in Anderson, Aiken, Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Hollywood, Fort Mill, Greenville, and other communities across the state.
Exclusions
- Enrolled film students and projects intended to fulfill academic requirements are not eligible
- The program is oriented toward filmmakers who are ready to work at a professional standard, not student projects
How Projects Are Evaluated
Submitted budgets are reviewed by independent third-party evaluators who consider each project's production strategy and budget. That analysis, along with the evaluators' assessment of the overall script and project, is used by the evaluators and the SCFC to determine the number of projects funded and the funds each project receives within the available funding pool.
The number of grants awarded each cycle depends on the total available funding and the individual budget requests of selected projects. The program does not publish a fixed number of awards per cycle.
Application Process
- Review the FAQ page and the Application Terms and Conditions on the Indie Grants website
- Prepare your application materials including script, budget, and production plan
- Create a free Submittable account if you do not already have one
- Submit through the Submittable portal before the August 3, 2026 deadline
- Wait for decisions in October 2026. All applicants will be informed of their project's status.
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered. The portal closes at 11:59 PM ET on August 3, 2026.
Past Recipients and What They Made with the Money
Indie Grants has funded dozens of short films since its launch, with several going on to major festival premieres and awards:
- Maria White Mebane - The Debutante Hunters won the Yahoo! Audience Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, selected as one of 64 short films from over 7,000 submissions. Filmed entirely on location in the South Carolina Lowcountry with Trident Technical College students on crew. The film also screened at the Charleston International Film Festival.
- Tess Goldwyn - Brothers in Arms (2025-26 cycle), a short film about a conniving entrepreneur manipulating his younger brother into a sinister scheme to secure their inheritance. Goldwyn's short films have screened at Boston Film Festival, Hollyshorts, and New York International Shorts. Her debut feature I'm Your Dog is set for production in summer 2026.
- Erik Aldolphson - Civil, screened at the Charleston International Film Festival as part of the Indie Grants shorts block.
- Rebecca Pryce - Liberating Jessie, a work-in-progress presented at the Charleston International Film Festival.
- Steve Daniels - Dirty Silverware, a Jean-Pierre Jeunet-inspired short that played at the 2011 Charleston International Film Festival.
- Waldrep - Toogoodoo, screened at the 2011 Charleston International Film Festival alongside other Indie Grants-funded shorts.
Past Indie Grants films have been official selections at Sundance, Tribeca, American Black Film Festival, Palm Springs, Austin Film Festival, FantasticFest, Slamdance, Sitges, Oxford, Nashville, Atlanta, Indie Memphis, DragonCon, and hundreds more festivals. The program's track record of festival placements is the strongest evidence that the funding produces real, distributable work.
What Makes an Application Competitive
The Indie Grants evaluation process is run by independent third-party evaluators who review each project's production strategy and budget alongside the script. The evaluators and the SCFC jointly determine the number of projects funded and the funding amount per project.
Competitive applications share these characteristics:
- A production-ready screenplay: The script is the primary creative evaluation material. Maximum 15 pages, industry standard format. The script must be producible within the $25,000 to $45,000 budget range, which means avoiding set pieces, locations, or effects that would blow the budget.
- A detailed project deck: The deck must cover creative vision (look book with comparable films, setting, cinematography, production design, mood, tone) and production strategy (shoot locations in South Carolina, estimated shoot days, bios with work samples for the core team, casting strategy, festival plan).
- At least two key collaborators attached: The application requires at least two key collaborators beyond the writer/director/producer to be attached before submitting. These can be a DP, AD, production designer, VFX supervisor, editor, or composer. Work samples for each must be included.
- A realistic budget: The application requires a preliminary budget showing how the film will be produced within the funding range. Sample budgets are provided as reference. The more judicious and reasonable the budget, the more likely the project receives funding.
- A South Carolina connection: At least one core team member must be a current South Carolina resident or a legitimately "home-grown" South Carolina filmmaker. The application asks for a South Carolina address or a 500-word explanation of the filmmaker's South Carolina roots.
- Cost-efficiency and resourcefulness: The evaluators specifically look for creative thinking, cost-efficiency, smart management of funds, and pooling of resources. The program is a micro-budgeted short film fund, and applications that treat it like a studio production get eliminated.
2025-26 Selected Projects
The most recent cycle selected the following projects, announced in 2025:
- BROTHERS IN ARMS (Greenville, SC and Charleston, SC) - Directed by Tess Goldwyn. Under the thumb of his tyrant uncle, a conniving entrepreneur manipulates his younger brother into a sinister scheme to secure their inheritance. Goldwyn's short films have screened at Boston Film Festival, Hollyshorts, and New York International Shorts. Her debut feature I'm Your Dog is set for production in summer 2026.
Additional 2025-26 selections are listed on the Indie Grants website.
Who Should Apply
South Carolina-based narrative filmmakers who are ready to produce a short film at a professional standard and who want production funding that includes equipment access and production support alongside the cash grant. The program is particularly well suited to filmmakers who have completed lower-budget short work and are ready to take a significant step up in production quality.
Filmmakers who do not meet the South Carolina residency requirement, who are currently enrolled students, or who want to produce documentary, animation, or experimental work should look to other funding sources.
Watch
The Indie Grants program maintains a YouTube channel where previous funded short films and program information are published. The following video is an Indie Grants info session hosted by program producers and past recipients, detailing the submission and production process with extensive Q&A. It is the primary resource for filmmakers preparing an application.
See Also
For planning a short film production budget and timeline, use the Post Production Timeline Calculator. For estimating overall production costs, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator. For understanding how a strong short film connects to feature development and distribution, see Film Grants and the Development Pathway.
