Film Funding Blog

First in a series of posts that will discuss the extensive process of putting together a grant application.

Part I:
Essentially, the only way to fund a short film from an American independent filmmaker�s perspective is either through grant money or your money.

The key to funding a short film is planning. Poor planning can break the project before it has even begun, while decisive and smart planning can jumpstart it. Therefore when applying for a grant, the application has two key parts: the script and the budget.

Ensure that the script is compelling and that the budget is error-proof and airtight. If anything is questionable at all in the budget, make sure to disclose an appropriate note.

In addition to the script and budget, other items to support your grant application include synopsis, style breakdown, biography and casting information. These topics will be covered in a subsequent post on the Film Funding Blog.

Contributed by Christina Chen,
UC Berkeley student

Photo by Mahalie