If you are into video production, this is a great funding opportunity for you to take advantage of. Black People Media (BPM) is opening up an opportunity for USA film producers and directors to receive up to $50,000 in production funding for nonfiction short films and documentaries created by people of color. Eligible projects may be in the pre-production, production, or post-production stage. In addition to BPM’s funding, projects will also receive an invitation to participate in PitchBLACK.
BPM’s Open Call is a chance to celebrate the complexity of the Black experience through story. BPM looks forward to receiving proposals on a range of stories told in a variety of styles, platforms, and perspectives that are underway.
This year’s Open Call is for feature-length documentaries and shorts (nonfiction or scripted) that are currently in pre-production, production, or post-production and intended for public media distribution. Selected projects will receive production funding to advance the work. There are no limits on the subject area. However, BPM encourages work that will promote discourse and engage audiences around a critical social issue.
Projects selected for funding will receive a BPM funding contract. The contract is not a grant but a licensing agreement in which BPM is granted exclusive or shared domestic public television distribution rights as well as the exclusive or shared right to package, schedule, and promote the program through public broadcasting.
What is PitchBLACK?
PitchBLACK is a dynamic forum where invited filmmakers pitch for production funding ranging from $50,000 to $100,000. PitchBLACK will be held in New York City at the end of April 2023. Filmmaking teams of up to 2 people will pitch live to a panel of three judges, which will award one short film and one feature film proposal. The forum includes an audience of media professionals, funders, and industry stakeholders who will join the event in person and virtually. After receiving the invitation, the filmmakers will have 2 weeks to rsvp. Filmmakers joining from outside of NY will receive a travel stipend. Each filmmaking team will be required to attend at least two virtual pitch training sessions with BPM staff.
Eligibility:
–The applicant must (a) be the project’s producer or director, (b) be a US citizen, (c) have a minimum of three years professional producing and/or directing experience, or have a senior producer attached to the project;
–Key creative personnel (producer, director, writer, or editor) must include a person of color;
–The proposed content must be either a short (one-off or limited series) or feature-length documentary for public media distribution;
–The project must be completed within 18 months of receiving the award;
–The applicant must hold artistic, budgetary, and editorial control, and must own the copyright of the proposed project;
Projects or production entities that are foreign-based, owned, or controlled are NOT eligible. Neither are industrial, promotional or student films.
Contact Information:
Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source’s website listed below for updates/changes/addendums/conferences/Lois.
For more information please contact funding@blackpublicmedia.org.