ScreenCraft Film Fund

Overview

The ScreenCraft Film Fund is a competitive grant program that awards up to $30,000 in total funding across 1 to 4 selected projects per cycle. Run by ScreenCraft, a Los Angeles-based company established in 2012, the fund accepts submissions from writers and filmmakers worldwide. Previous winners have screened at Cannes, Sundance, SXSW, and other major festivals.

The fund evaluates projects at any stage from treatments to fully packaged productions seeking finishing funds. Unlike ScreenCraft's screenplay competitions, which judge scripts alone, the Film Fund reviews the full project: script or treatment, cover letter, and any supplementary materials including budgets, sizzle reels, or series bibles. The jury consists of ScreenCraft executives who determine both the selection and the grant amount per project.

What It Funds

The Film Fund awards production grants to narrative features, narrative shorts, TV pilot series scripts, documentaries, and unscripted projects. Grant amounts vary up to a maximum of $30,000 USD per project. When multiple projects are selected, the jury distributes the total grant pool based on each project's merit and scale.

Funds may be disbursed in installments subject to conditions set by ScreenCraft. Grant funding is conditional upon the selected recipient going into production on the project within 12 months of the award date.

Accepted formats include:

• Narrative: Features, series, shorts, and podcasts
• Documentaries: Features, series, shorts, and podcasts
• Unscripted: Features and series

What Winners Receive

Beyond the cash grant, selected recipients get:

• Acceptance into the ScreenCraft Writer Development Program, which provides creative development support and personalized guidance
• A guaranteed meeting with an industry professional
• Invitation to a ScreenCraft workshop

Entry Fees and Deadlines

The Film Fund opens on October 1, 2025, for the next competition season. Entry fees start at $45 for early deadlines and go up to $59.99 for standard applications. Submissions over 120 pages incur a $1 per page overage fee. All application fees are non-refundable. Submissions are accepted electronically only, via the ScreenCraft Film Fund page or through Coverfly.

Substitutions of corrected pages or new drafts are allowed for a limited time with a $6 reentry fee through Coverfly.

Eligibility

• All writers at least 18 years of age are eligible
• Open to applicants worldwide; submitted material must be in English (occasional dialogue in other languages is acceptable with subtitle translation)
• Material submitted to other competitions or contests is eligible
• Projects must be owned and submitted by the writer or owner
• No restrictions on when the material was written
• Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer/director or the work is in the public domain
• All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF

Submission Requirements

Applicants submit:

• A Script or Treatment: For narrative submissions, a screenplay in industry-standard formatting as a PDF. For documentaries, a treatment with optional links to video footage (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.). For unscripted, a treatment highlighting exclusive access to IP or public figures, with optional video links.
• A Cover Letter: 1 to 2 pages expressing the applicant's creative vision, professional experience, production status, and intended use of funding.
• Optional Supplementary Materials: A PDF with additional information such as a series bible, line-item budget, links to footage, or a sizzle reel.

How the Jury Evaluates

The jury reviews the primary document (script or treatment) and the cover letter as the core submission. Additional materials are reviewed as needed. Grant amounts are determined by the jury based on the scale and merit of each project. There is no guaranteed minimum grant amount; the jury has full discretion over distribution.

ScreenCraft's Broader Program Ecosystem

ScreenCraft runs multiple programs simultaneously, including genre-specific screenplay competitions (horror, comedy, drama, sci-fi, action, family, animation), the Film Fund, and various fellowship programs. Filmmakers should review the full ScreenCraft programs calendar to identify whether other programs align with their project. Entry fees across ScreenCraft programs range from approximately $40 to $150.

Past Recipients and Notable Films

ScreenCraft Film Fund winners have gone on to premiere at Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, and other major festivals. Specific recipients and the films they made with grant money:

• Nuhash Humayun - Moshari (2022) - 2022 Film Fund finalist. Won the SXSW Grand Jury Award. First Oscar-qualifying film from Bangladesh. Screened at 20+ festivals. Humayun signed with Anonymous Content and CAA.

• Nardeep Khurmi - Land of Gold (2022) - Fall 2021 recipient (Diversity Initiative). World premiere at Tribeca 2022. Streaming on HBO Max. A feature about a Punjabi trucker and an undocumented Mexican-American girl.

• Kiara C. Jones - A Woman on the Outside (2022) - Spring 2021 recipient. Premiered at SXSW 2022. Won Best Documentary Feature at American Black Film Festival. Broadcast on PBS America ReFramed. Documents mass incarceration in Philadelphia.

• Erin Granat and Machete Bang Bang - Moon Manor (2022) - Spring 2020 recipient. Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Distributed by Good Deed Entertainment. Acquired by Showtime. First original score by Coldplay's Dream Team.

What Makes a Competitive Application

1. Open to filmmakers worldwide - No geographic restrictions. Submitted material must be in English.
2. All formats accepted - Narrative features, shorts, TV pilots, documentaries, unscripted projects, and podcasts are eligible.
3. Full project review - Unlike ScreenCraft's screenplay competitions, the Film Fund reviews the script or treatment, cover letter, and supplementary materials including budgets and sizzle reels.
4. Production within 12 months - Grant funding is conditional on going into production within 12 months of the award date.
5. Entry fee required - Fees start at $45 for early deadlines and go up to $59.99 for standard applications. Submissions over 120 pages incur a $1 per page overage fee.
6. Jury discretion on amounts - There is no guaranteed minimum grant amount. The jury distributes the total pool based on project scale and merit.

Who Should Apply

Writers and filmmakers at any career stage with a project ready for production funding. The fund accepts projects from treatments to fully packaged productions, making it accessible to filmmakers who are early in development as well as those seeking finishing funds. International applicants are welcome as long as the submission is in English. The program is best suited for filmmakers who have a clear vision, a concrete plan for how the grant money will be used, and the ability to go into production within 12 months of receiving the award.

See Also

For building a production budget and schedule, use the Production Schedule Calculator. For short film production specifically, the Shot List Generator supports pre-production planning. For an overview of independent film financing strategies, see Documentary Financing: Building Your Stack.