NYWIFT Women's Film Preservation Fund

Overview

The NYWIFT Women's Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) is a grant program that funds the preservation and restoration of films made by women that are at risk of deterioration or permanent loss. Founded in 1995 by New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, the WFPF is the only program in the world dedicated exclusively to preserving the cultural legacy of women in film through the preservation of films made by women.

In 2025, the WFPF celebrated its 30th anniversary. Over three decades, the fund has preserved more than 150 women-led films, including silent and early color films, experimental and independent films, political and social documentaries, and "orphan films" (forgotten or neglected films with no clear copyright holder). The 2025 grant cycle supported eight films by women filmmakers spanning experimental, documentary, narrative, and performance-based practices, collectively reflecting nearly a century of moving-image history.

The fund awards cash grants of up to $10,000 and in-kind post-production services provided by Cineric, Inc., a New York-based film preservation and post-production company.

What It Funds

Grants of up to $10,000 support the preservation and restoration of specific film works in which women have played a significant creative role. Funded activities include:

• Film-to-digital transfer and digitization: Converting prints, negatives, or original camera materials to digital formats
• Physical preservation of film elements: Cold storage, cleaning, and repair of deteriorating film stock
• Restoration work: Scratch removal, color correction from deteriorated elements, and audio restoration
• Creation of archival preservation masters and access copies: For educational and exhibition use
• Documentation of preservation work: For institutional archive records

The fund supports works at significant risk of loss: films where deterioration is already advanced or where original materials are held in conditions that threaten their survival. The WFPF also preserves "orphan films" that have no clear copyright holder, obscuring the responsibility for preservation.

Important restriction: Eligible films must have been originally shot on film. Born-digital works and videotape productions are not eligible for WFPF grants.

In-Kind Services from Cineric, Inc.

In addition to cash grants, the WFPF provides in-kind post-production services through a partnership with Cineric, Inc. Cineric is a New York-based company specializing in film restoration, preservation, and digital intermediates. The in-kind services supplement the cash grant and can cover restoration work that would exceed the $10,000 cash cap. Filmmakers and archivists should factor this in-kind contribution into their preservation budget when planning their application.

Eligibility

• Applicants: Individuals and not-for-profit organizations, including film archives, educational institutions, and media arts centers. Women filmmakers, as well as the estates, archives, or institutional custodians of films made by women, are eligible to apply.
• The film being preserved: Must have been originally shot on film (not born-digital or videotape). Women must have played a significant creative role in the production.
• Evaluation criteria: Applications are assessed on:

- Artistic, historic, cultural, and/or educational importance of the film, especially its relation to the role of women in film history

- Significance of the key creative women in the production

- Evidence of the artistic and technical expertise of those planning and executing the project

- Urgency of the need to preserve the film

- Appropriateness of the budget for the proposed work

- Realistic plan for making the film available to professionals, scholars, and interested audiences

Application Process and Deadline

The 2025 grant cycle had an application window from April 10 to June 30, 2025. The deadline was May 31, 2025, per the published grant guidelines, with a subsequent extension to June 30, 2025. Applicants should check the NYWIFT WFPF page for the next cycle's dates.

Application requirements:

• A detailed budget and assessment from an approved film preservation lab. The WFPF encourages applicants to contact wfpf@nywift.org with any application submission questions as early as possible, before the application is submitted.
• For applicants with preservation budgets higher than the $10,000 grant amount: all funding must be in place within one year of the date of acceptance before any WFPF funds are released. Listing additional secured funding strengthens the application. If the applicant has applied for funding elsewhere that is pending a decision, this information should be provided.

Review process: A panel of professional filmmakers, film historians, preservationists, curators, and educators reviews all applications. Selections are announced the following spring.

The MoMA Partnership

The WFPF is administered in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Selected preservation projects benefit from the institutional expertise and conservation infrastructure of one of the world's leading film archives. The MoMA relationship provides:

• Access to archival-grade preservation facilities and expertise
• Institutional credibility for the preserved work
• Potential exhibition opportunities at MoMA and partner institutions
• Long-term archival storage for preserved materials

2025 Grant Recipients

The 2025 WFPF grants supported eight films by women filmmakers whose work spans experimental, documentary, narrative, and performance-based practices. The 2025 awards were made during the fund's 30th anniversary year. A complete list of recipients from 1996 to 2025 is available on the WFPF Recipients page on the NYWIFT website.

Why Film Preservation Matters for Living Filmmakers

For filmmakers currently in production, the Women's Film Preservation Fund is a reminder that the long-term survival of their own work requires active planning. The preservation challenges faced by films from earlier decades are now beginning to affect works made in the digital era as well:

• Digital files stored on hard drives without multiple redundant backups deteriorate over time
• File formats become unreadable as technology changes
• Original camera materials left in non-climate-controlled storage degrade within years
• LTO tape backups require periodic migration to newer tape generations

Filmmakers who have earlier work shot on film that is deteriorating should consider applying to the WFPF before the materials become unrecoverable. The fund's requirement that films be originally shot on film means that many works from the pre-digital era are eligible, but the window for preservation narrows as film stock degrades.

Who Should Apply

Women filmmakers whose earlier work exists on deteriorating physical film elements, or custodians and estates holding films made by women that are at risk of loss, who need financial support to fund preservation and digitization work. Not-for-profit organizations (film archives, educational institutions, media arts centers) holding films made by women are also eligible. Applicants should have a preservation plan and a budget assessment from an approved film preservation lab before applying.

See Also

For broader support programs from NYWIFT, see the NYWIFT Fund for Women Filmmakers listing. For the NYWIFT Fiscal Sponsorship Program, see its separate listing. For understanding post-production and delivery standards, see the Post-Production Timeline Calculator.