The Academy's FilmWatch, FilmCraft and Film Scholars grants programs are on hold and will not be awarded for the 2022 cycle due to budget adjustments resulting from the COVID pandemic. We look forward to resuming these grants programs in the near future.
FilmCraft grants support high-quality educational programs that identify and empower future filmmakers from nontraditional backgrounds. Targeted programs include those that encourage an appreciation of film as both a vocation and an art form, and those that provide direct, hands-on opportunities for participants to gain the filmmaking skills they need to tell their stories.
Proposals must be submitted through the Academy’s online application system by January 15, 2021.
Grants awarded during this funding cycle are for programs that will be initiated and completed between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022. All applicants will be notified (via e-mail) of their proposal status in March 2021. Funds will be distributed in March 2021.
All application requirements are contained within the online application.
Through the Grants program, the Academy seeks to:
- Promote diversity
- Bridge the opportunity divide
- Attract and engage broad new audiences for theatrical motion pictures
- Provide a platform for underrepresented artists, the full range of film genres, and a variety of viewpoints and approaches
- Encourage filmmaking as a vocation
- Illuminate less visible aspects of filmmaking and the film industry through scholarly research, presentations and discussions
Please keep these principles in mind as you proceed through the application process, as we direct our support toward organizations and programs that are aligned with these principles.
Programs we consider include, but are not limited to:
- Craft workshops, in which participants are trained in practical areas of filmmaking. Particular emphasis is placed on animation, casting, cinematography, costume design, editing, hairstyling, makeup, music, production design, set decoration, sound, visual effects, marketing and distribution.
- Artist-in-residence, visiting artist and seminar/conference programs, in which visiting film professionals work closely with participants in master classes or one-on-one sessions. Programs in which visiting artists participate only in post-screening Q&As or general audience presentations are not eligible.
- Training and bridge programs, in which participants are trained for and then placed in film industry jobs. Mentoring programs are eligible. Professional development programs that serve underrepresented populations will be considered.
FilmCraft grants do not fund:
- The development, production or completion of films, except in training or classroom settings
- Programs focusing on any aspect of television or nontheatrical media
- Programs targeting children less than12 years of age
- Activities related to the completion of a doctoral dissertation or any other endeavor for academic advancement
- Administrative, overhead or permanent staffing expenses
- Parties, receptions or similar events
- Capital expenses
- More than 50 percent of a program’s cost
- Individuals or for-profit companies or organizations
- Programs at any one institution for more than three consecutive years
Grants are available to registered nonprofit organizations worldwide. They must be used to support a specific program or program component
Applying organizations must:
- Have nonprofit, tax-exempt status at the time of application
- Apply directly on its own behalf (fiscal sponsors for U.S.-based organizations are not allowed)
- Have a three-year history of film-specific programs
- Submit complete, punctual final reports for all Academy grants received, and maintain an excellent submission record (see below for details)
Due to the popularity of the program, organizations will be limited to one grant application per cycle. Keep in mind that only 20-25% of applicants receive funding. Parent and subsidiary organizations are considered a single entity.
The Academy requires that all organizations that receive grants properly acknowledge their Academy funding. Failure to do so will have a negative impact on their future consideration.
If there are appropriate venues or opportunities to acknowledge the Academy’s financial support of your program, the Academy requires that the acknowledgments be made. These venues and opportunities include:
- Prominent placement of the Academy’s name (“Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences”) and logo in ads and other promotional materials
- A press release announcing the Academy’s grant, and mention of the grant in subsequent press releases or articles about the funded program
- Display of Academy banners at the program (available for loan from the Academy)
- Projection of the Academy trailer or on-screen slide at screenings or other events
- Verbal acknowledgment to audiences and assembled guests
Please note: All grants are awarded with the understanding that the Academy has discretion over the type and degree of recognition it receives from the grant recipient.
A final report is required from all organizations that receive an Academy FilmCraft grant. Reapplying organizations whose current programs will not be complete before new proposals are due also must submit an interim report.
Final reports are due after the program has been completed. Interim reports are due on the same date as new proposals.
All reports must be submitted via separate online forms on the Academy’s website. They must include:
- A description of the program
- A discussion of how the program created a genuinely inclusive environment
- The number of participants/audience members, and their demographics
- The educational impact of the program
- A description of how the Academy grant increased the program’s effectiveness
- An analysis of the outcomes you were seeking, including why they were or were not achieved
- Any anecdotal evidence describing how individuals received your program
- Results or findings from research you undertook or participant/audience surveys you may have fielded
- A breakdown of how program was marketed, the kinds of outreach you did, and their effectiveness
- The way(s) in which the Academy grant was acknowledged
- A final budget breakdown
Through the Grants program, the Academy seeks to:
- Promote diversity
- Bridge the opportunity divide
- Attract and engage broad new audiences for theatrical motion pictures
- Provide a platform for underrepresented artists, the full range of film genres, and a variety of viewpoints and approaches
- Encourage filmmaking as a vocation
- Illuminate less visible aspects of filmmaking and the film industry through scholarly research, presentations and discussions
Please keep these principles in mind as you proceed through the application process, as we direct our support toward organizations and programs that are aligned with these principles.
Programs we consider include, but are not limited to:
- Craft workshops, in which participants are trained in practical areas of filmmaking. Particular emphasis is placed on animation, casting, cinematography, costume design, editing, hairstyling, makeup, music, production design, set decoration, sound, visual effects, marketing and distribution.
- Artist-in-residence, visiting artist and seminar/conference programs, in which visiting film professionals work closely with participants in master classes or one-on-one sessions. Programs in which visiting artists participate only in post-screening Q&As or general audience presentations are not eligible.
- Training and bridge programs, in which participants are trained for and then placed in film industry jobs. Mentoring programs are eligible. Professional development programs that serve underrepresented populations will be considered.
FilmCraft grants do not fund:
- The development, production or completion of films, except in training or classroom settings
- Programs focusing on any aspect of television or nontheatrical media
- Programs targeting children less than12 years of age
- Activities related to the completion of a doctoral dissertation or any other endeavor for academic advancement
- Administrative, overhead or permanent staffing expenses
- Parties, receptions or similar events
- Capital expenses
- More than 50 percent of a program’s cost
- Individuals or for-profit companies or organizations
- Programs at any one institution for more than three consecutive years
Grants are available to registered nonprofit organizations worldwide. They must be used to support a specific program or program component
Applying organizations must:
- Have nonprofit, tax-exempt status at the time of application
- Apply directly on its own behalf (fiscal sponsors for U.S.-based organizations are not allowed)
- Have a three-year history of film-specific programs
- Submit complete, punctual final reports for all Academy grants received, and maintain an excellent submission record (see below for details)
Due to the popularity of the program, organizations will be limited to one grant application per cycle. Keep in mind that only 20-25% of applicants receive funding. Parent and subsidiary organizations are considered a single entity.
The Academy requires that all organizations that receive grants properly acknowledge their Academy funding. Failure to do so will have a negative impact on their future consideration.
If there are appropriate venues or opportunities to acknowledge the Academy’s financial support of your program, the Academy requires that the acknowledgments be made. These venues and opportunities include:
- Prominent placement of the Academy’s name (“Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences”) and logo in ads and other promotional materials
- A press release announcing the Academy’s grant, and mention of the grant in subsequent press releases or articles about the funded program
- Display of Academy banners at the program (available for loan from the Academy)
- Projection of the Academy trailer or on-screen slide at screenings or other events
- Verbal acknowledgment to audiences and assembled guests
Please note: All grants are awarded with the understanding that the Academy has discretion over the type and degree of recognition it receives from the grant recipient.
A final report is required from all organizations that receive an Academy FilmCraft grant. Reapplying organizations whose current programs will not be complete before new proposals are due also must submit an interim report.
Final reports are due after the program has been completed. Interim reports are due on the same date as new proposals.
All reports must be submitted via separate online forms on the Academy’s website. They must include:
- A description of the program
- A discussion of how the program created a genuinely inclusive environment
- The number of participants/audience members, and their demographics
- The educational impact of the program
- A description of how the Academy grant increased the program’s effectiveness
- An analysis of the outcomes you were seeking, including why they were or were not achieved
- Any anecdotal evidence describing how individuals received your program
- Results or findings from research you undertook or participant/audience surveys you may have fielded
- A breakdown of how program was marketed, the kinds of outreach you did, and their effectiveness
- The way(s) in which the Academy grant was acknowledged
- A final budget breakdown