Women In Film Finishing Fund

Overview

The Women In Film (WIF) Finishing Fund is a grant program administered by Women In Film Los Angeles that awards cash and in-kind post-production services to films directed by women. Founded in 1985, the fund has distributed over $2 million in cash and in-kind services to 280 films from around the world. The program targets projects that have completed principal photography and have a rough cut assembled but need financial support to reach final delivery.

The fund awards between 8 and 15 grants annually, depending on the cycle. Grant amounts range from $1,000 to $25,000. The largest individual grants are four $25,000 Stella Artois grants, awarded to fiction and documentary films by women that use film to inspire social change. The general fund provides grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000. In-kind production services, including post-production accessibility assets like audio description and closed captioning, are also available to select grantees.

Past recipients have gone on to win Academy, Emmy, Sundance, Berlinale, and Peabody Awards. The 2020 cycle (the 34th annual) selected 9 grantees from 266 submissions originating from 21 countries. The 2019 cycle selected 9 grantees from 390 submissions from 22 countries. The 2018 cycle selected 16 grantees from 370 submissions from 22 countries.

The WIF website currently notes that the program's status is under review following COVID-19 disruptions. Applications are listed as "to be announced." Filmmakers should monitor the official WIF Finishing Fund page or subscribe to the WIF newsletter for updates on when the next cycle will open. Questions can be directed to the WIF Programs Team at programs@wif.org.

What It Covers

The fund provides two types of support: cash grants and in-kind services.

Cash Grants

Cash grants can be applied to any post-production expense, including editing, color grading, sound mixing, music licensing, and deliverable creation. The Stella Artois grants specifically target films with a social change focus, with particular consideration given to films with a water or social action theme.

In-Kind Services

In-kind services are provided through partnerships with post-production facilities. The Media Accessibility Initiative, initiated by Michele Spitz of Woman of Her Word and Point.360, provides audio description for blind and low-vision audiences and closed captioning for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.

Additional Benefits

• Grantees receive visibility through WIF's industry networks and promotional channels
• Funded films are tracked and promoted as WIF Finishing Fund recipients
• The fund's industry jury includes working women professionals who may become advocates for the projects they review

Eligibility

Director requirement: The film must be directed by a woman. The fund's criteria specify films "by, for, or about women," but the director must be a woman.

Production stage: The filmmaker must have completed at least 90% of principal photography and have a rough cut at the time of application. This is a finishing fund, not a development or production fund.

Format and genre: The fund accepts feature-length narrative films, documentaries, and short films in all genres, including narrative, documentary, educational, animated, and experimental.

Geographic scope: The fund is open to filmmakers worldwide. International applications are accepted and have been regularly selected. The 2020 cycle received submissions from 21 countries; the 2019 cycle from 22 countries.

Membership: You do not need to be a Women In Film member to apply.

Exclusions: Student projects are not eligible. Films that have already premiered publicly or secured wide distribution are generally not competitive.

How to Apply

When the application cycle is open, submissions are made through the WIF website. The application requires:

1. Rough cut or near-final cut of the film, submitted via secure online link
2. Post-production budget showing remaining costs and how the grant would be applied
3. Director's statement explaining the film's vision and why finishing funds are needed
4. Producer's statement detailing the production history and financial picture

The application fee, when the cycle is active, is approximately $80 for early bird submissions and $100 for regular deadline submissions. The fund has historically accepted applications through platforms including Screening Room.

Works-in-progress are viewed by a jury of women industry professionals who select the winning films. The jury evaluates the artistic quality of the work, the filmmaker's track record, and the feasibility of completing the film with the requested grant amount.

Program History

The WIF Finishing Fund was established in 1985, making it one of the longest-running grant programs specifically for women filmmakers in the United States. The program has operated continuously for over 35 years, though its current cycle status is under review.

Stella Artois began its partnership with WIF in 2017, providing four $25,000 grants per cycle for films addressing social change. Delta Air Lines is also listed as a program supporter.

Notable past recipients include:

• The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2018 grant), directed by Elle-Maija Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn, which premiered at TIFF
• Belly of the Beast (2020 grant), directed by Erika Cohn, a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director
• And She Could Be Next (2020 grant), directed by Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia, which aired on PBS
• Half the Picture (2017 grant), directed by Amy Adrion, which premiered at Sundance
• Nancy (2017 grant), directed by Christina Choe, which premiered at Sundance
• United Skates (2018 grant), directed by Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on HBO
• Freeheld (2007 grant), directed by Cynthia Wade, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short

Who Should Apply

Women directors whose films are in the final stages of post-production and need between $1,000 and $25,000 to reach completion. The fund is designed for independent productions that have exhausted their initial financing and need a final push to achieve picture lock, sound mix, color grade, or deliverable creation.

Filmmakers applying for the Stella Artois grant should have a film that explicitly addresses a social change theme. The general fund is open to all eligible genres and subjects.

Because the program requires a rough cut at the time of application, this fund is not appropriate for films still in production or development. Filmmakers earlier in the process should consider production grants or development labs instead.

Common Confusions

The fund is currently on hold. The WIF website states that the program's status is under review. Do not assume the fund is accepting applications based on historical cycle timing. Verify the current status on the official WIF page before planning around this funding source.

The $25,000 grants are specifically Stella Artois grants. Not every grant recipient receives $25,000. The general fund grants range from $1,000 to $20,000. The four $25,000 Stella Artois grants are awarded to films with a social change focus, not to all recipients.

Student projects are not eligible. The fund explicitly excludes student work. Films must be independent productions, not academic projects.

You do not need to be a WIF member to apply. Membership in Women In Film is not a requirement for application. The fund is open to all eligible women filmmakers regardless of membership status.

The fund accepts short films, not just features. While the program is often described in the context of feature films, it also accepts short films in narrative, documentary, animated, and experimental categories.

Past Recipients

The WIF Finishing Fund has distributed over $2 million in cash and in-kind services to 280 films from around the world since 1985. Past recipients have gone on to win Academy, Emmy, Sundance, Berlinale, and Peabody Awards. Named past recipients and their outcomes:

• Cynthia Wade - Freeheld (2007 grant) - The 39-minute documentary short about Laurel Hester's fight to transfer her pension to her domestic partner Stacie Andree. The WIF grant was, per Wade, "a vote of confidence" at a critical post-production moment. Freeheld won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2008 and the Special Jury Prize at Sundance. A narrative feature adaptation starring Julianne Moore and Ellen Page was released in 2015.

• Freida Mock - *Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision* - WIF Finishing Fund grant, went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
• Elle-Maija Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn - The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2018 grant) - Premiered at TIFF. The film was widely acclaimed for its depiction of Indigenous women's friendship and trauma.
• Erika Cohn - Belly of the Beast (2020 grant) - Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director. The documentary examined forced sterilizations in California's women's prisons.
• Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia - And She Could Be Next (2020 grant) - Aired on PBS. The documentary series followed women of color running for political office.
• Amy Adrion - Half the Picture (2017 grant) - Premiered at Sundance. The documentary examined the systemic discrimination against women directors in Hollywood.
• Christina Choe - Nancy (2017 grant) - Premiered at Sundance. The narrative feature starred Andrea Riseborough and Ann Magnuson.
• Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler - United Skates (2018 grant) - Won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on HBO. The documentary chronicled the roller skate culture in Black communities.
• Maryam Keshavarz - *Circumstance* - WIF Finishing Fund success story, won the Sundance Audience Award.

The 2020 cycle (34th annual) selected 9 grantees from 266 submissions from 21 countries. The 2019 cycle selected 9 from 390 submissions from 22 countries. The 2018 cycle selected 16 from 370 submissions from 22 countries. The fund's international reach is a defining feature: submissions regularly come from 20+ countries per cycle.

What Made Winning Applications Stand Out

The WIF Finishing Fund is a finishing fund, so the jury evaluates a rough cut, not a script or a pitch. The jury of women industry professionals evaluates:

• Artistic quality of the work-in-progress. The rough cut is the primary evaluation material. Films that demonstrate a developed directorial voice and a coherent cut score better than films that look like assembled footage. The jury is viewing near-final work, so the cut should be close to the film's intended form.
• The filmmaker's track record. The jury considers the director's prior work. Filmmakers with a demonstrated track record (Cynthia Wade, Erika Cohn, Christina Choe) are stronger than first-time directors, though the fund does not exclude first-time filmmakers.
• Feasibility of completing the film with the requested grant. The post-production budget must show that the requested grant will close the gap to final delivery. Applications that request $25,000 but show $100,000 in remaining costs are less competitive than applications where the grant meaningfully closes the gap.
• For Stella Artois grants: social change focus. The four $25,000 Stella Artois grants are awarded to fiction and documentary films by women that use film to inspire social change, with particular consideration for films with a water or social action theme. Films that explicitly address a social change theme are eligible for the larger grant; films without that focus are considered for the general fund ($1,000 to $20,000).
• Rough cut at application time. The filmmaker must have completed at least 90% of principal photography and have a rough cut at the time of application. This is a hard requirement, not a preference. Films still in production or development are ineligible.

Renewal Requirements

The WIF Finishing Fund is a one-time, non-renewable grant per film. There is no renewal process:

• One grant per film. A film that receives a WIF Finishing Fund grant cannot receive a second grant for the same film. The grant is paid once and applied to the post-production expenses outlined in the application.
• A filmmaker can apply again with a different film. The fund does not bar past recipients from applying with a new project in a subsequent cycle. However, each application is for a specific film at the rough-cut stage, so a filmmaker must have a new eligible film to apply again.
• Stella Artois grants are not additive. A film that receives a $25,000 Stella Artois grant does not also receive a general fund grant. The four Stella Artois grants and the general fund grants are separate pools.
• In-kind services are tied to the grant cycle. The Media Accessibility Initiative (audio description and closed captioning) is provided to select grantees as in-kind services, tied to the specific film and the specific grant cycle. The services do not renew or extend to subsequent projects.

Important: The fund is currently on hold. The WIF website states that the program's status is under review following COVID-19 disruptions. Applications are listed as "to be announced." Filmmakers should verify the current status at womeninfilm.org/programs/film-finishing-fund before planning around this funding source.

See Also

For post-production planning, use the Post-Production Timeline Calculator. To estimate remaining post-production costs, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator. For understanding distribution strategy after completion, see Distribution Deals Explained. For other funding opportunities for women filmmakers, browse the full Film Scholarships Directory.