SFFILM Westridge Grant

Overview

The SFFILM Westridge Grant was a biannual development grant for US-based independent narrative feature filmmakers at the screenwriting stage. A partnership between SFFILM and the Westridge Foundation, the program ran for six cycles from Spring 2018 through Fall 2020, awarding $100,000 per cycle across 4 to 5 selected projects. Individual grants ranged from $20,000 to $25,000. The program distributed $600,000 in total development funding over its three-year run.

The grant is no longer active. SFFILM lists it as a previous program, and the final cycle was completed in Fall 2020. Filmmakers seeking current SFFILM narrative development support should review the Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship and the SFFILM Rainin Grant, both of which remain active as of 2026.

What It Funded

The Westridge Grant funded the screenwriting and development phase of independent narrative feature films. Specifically, it supported:

• Screenwriting: Original feature-length screenplays at early draft through late revision stages
• Development and packaging: Building the producer, talent, and creative team attachments needed to attract production financing
• Social issue storytelling: Projects whose stories focused on significant social issues and questions of contemporary American life

The grant required that stories take place primarily in the United States. This geographic restriction was a defining feature of the program and reflected the Westridge Foundation's specific mandate.

Development funding of this type addresses a structural gap in the independent film ecosystem. The distance between a compelling idea and a production-ready package is often unbridgeable without dedicated development capital. Commercial development deals are rarely available for the kinds of socially engaged independent films the Westridge Grant supported, making grant-based development funding one of the few viable paths for these projects.

Grant Structure and Benefits

Each cycle awarded $100,000 total, distributed across 4 to 5 projects. Individual grants were $20,000 to $25,000. Beyond the cash award, recipients received:

• SFFILM Makers access: Enrollment in SFFILM's comprehensive artist development program, which includes professional mentorship, industry connections, and creative feedback
• One-week Bay Area retreat: Grantees spent a week in the Bay Area attending a programmed retreat focused on honing craft, strengthening scripts, and making connections with other filmmakers and industry professionals
• Ongoing mentorship: Support and counsel from SFFILM staff, Westridge Foundation staff, and a dedicated mentor assigned to each project
• Development infrastructure: Access to SFFILM's network of advisors, industry contacts, and development resources

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship/residency: US-based filmmakers
• Project type: Narrative feature films (not documentaries)
• Stage: Screenwriting or development and packaging phase
• Story requirement: Stories focused on significant social issues, set primarily in the United States
• Format: Feature-length projects

History and Cycles

The Westridge Grant launched in late 2017 under a three-year partnership between SFFILM and the Westridge Foundation. The program was designed to address the imbalance between grants available to fiction filmmakers versus documentarians. At the time of its launch, narrative feature development grants were rare in the US independent film ecosystem, with most grant programs targeting documentary work.

Cycle Schedule

The grant ran twice annually for six total cycles:

1. Spring 2018 (inaugural cycle): 5 grants of $20,000 each
2. Fall 2018
3. Spring 2019
4. Fall 2019
5. Spring 2020: 5 grants of $20,000 each
6. Fall 2020 (final cycle): 6 grants of $20,000 each

SFFILM and the Westridge Foundation announced that the sixth edition would be the last, concluding the three-year partnership.

Notable Recipients

The Westridge Grant supported a range of filmmakers who went on to significant industry recognition:

• Channing Godfrey Peoples (Spring 2018): Received $20,000 for Miss Juneteenth in the development category. The film was released in 2020 to critical acclaim and won the Texas Independent Film Award. Peoples was a first-time feature director when she received the grant.
• Bing Liu (Fall 2020): Received $20,000 for Chinks, his second feature after the Academy Award-nominated documentary Minding the Gap. The Westridge Grant supported his transition into narrative filmmaking.
• Andrew Thomas Huang (Spring 2020): Received $20,000 for Tiger Girl, a coming-of-age fantasy set in 1966 Los Angeles. Huang had previously directed short films and music videos for Bjork.
• Phillip Youmans (Fall 2020): Received funding for Magnolia Bloom, a project about Black community organizers in late-1960s New Orleans. Youmans directed Burning Cane (2019), which won the Founders Prize at Tribeca.
• Keisha Rae Witherspoon (Fall 2020): Received funding for Untitled Opa-Locka Project, a meditative story about a young card shark from inner-city Miami.

Why the Program Ended

The Westridge Grant concluded at the end of its three-year partnership term in Fall 2020. SFFILM and the Westridge Foundation did not announce a renewal or direct successor program. The conclusion coincided with the broader disruption to independent film funding during the COVID-19 pandemic, though the three-year term had been the planned duration from the program's launch.

Current Alternatives for Narrative Filmmakers

Filmmakers who would have been eligible for the Westridge Grant should consider these active alternatives:

• SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship: $35,000 cash grants for narrative features centered on scientific or technological themes. Open to US-based and international filmmakers.
• SFFILM Rainin Grant: SFFILM's ongoing narrative and documentary grant program.
• SFFILM Documentary Film Fund: For documentary filmmakers at various stages.
• Film Independent's Sloan Grant: For narrative features with science or technology themes, administered through Film Independent rather than SFFILM.
• Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab: Development support for narrative feature screenplays, open to international filmmakers.

Who Would Have Applied

US-based independent narrative feature film directors and writer-directors at the development or late script stage with projects addressing significant social issues set in the United States. The grant was particularly valuable for filmmakers who lacked institutional backing and needed dedicated time and resources to develop their scripts to production-ready quality. The program's social issue focus meant it attracted projects engaging with race, class, immigration, gender, economic inequality, and other substantive topics in American life.

See Also

For SFFILM's current active grant programs, see the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship, SFFILM Rainin Grant, and SFFILM Documentary Film Fund entries. For building a production plan once development is complete, use the Production Schedule Calculator. For understanding how development grants fit into a broader financing strategy, see Film Grants and the Development Pathway.