By: Ella Henke
If you’re an aspiring screenwriter with a love of film or television, you may think writing a short film script isn’t for you, but the reality is that short films, aside from being an art form in their own right, act as powerful calling cards for emerging writers and filmmakers. Think of it as a way to build your portfolio so that you’re seen as more hireable in the eyes of the industry. A producer may not take the time to read an unsolicited script from an unknown writer, but they’re much more likely to watch a short film if it stumbles onto their feed.
So, how do you get a short film made? Financing, financing, financing. Getting financial backing as a first-time writer or director can be hard. That’s where film funds and grants come into the picture. Keep reading for a breakdown of the Top 5 Funds to look out for in 2025.
Slick Films (Oscar winners with their short film The Silent Child) are in the second year of their £10,000 Film Fund in association with the Bolton Film Festival. They’re passionate about finding the next generation of talent and they award additional prizes like the £3,000 grant for first-time filmmakers. Applications are now open.
Creative Capital is a huge funding body that opens each year. Their grants aren’t specific to film, but they award approximately 50 artists per cycle up to $50k to create “innovative work that pushes formal, conceptual, or social boundaries.” They recently announced their 2025 recipients which included 55 artists in visual arts, technology, performing arts, film/moving image, and literature, who were awarded a collective $2.45M. The open call for the 2026 Creative Capital grant cycle will be accepting applications in Spring 2025.
NewFest’s New Voices Filmmaker Grant is a partnership with Netflix to support emerging LGBTQ+ directors with $25,000 to create new work. They are accepting applications for their 2025 cycle until February 13th, 2025.
Screencraft’s long-established Film Fund offers up to $30,000 for a range of projects from treatments to standalone screenplays to fully packaged projects to those seeking finishing funds. Though they are still in the process of announcing the winners of their current fund, the fund typically runs twice per year and news of their next cycle can be expected a little later in the year.
You didn’t think we’d write a definitive list of Short Film Funds without including our own, did you? The Spring Season of the Shore Scripts Short Film Fund is now officially open, with our early deadline on February 28th. In addition to a $15,000 production grant, we’re offering $4,000 in finishing funds to get your short over the finish line. Further, our partnerships with ARRI Rental, Oscar-nominated producer Maria Gracia Turgeon, and Tribeca short film programmer Kimberley Browning elevate the films that come through our Fund through free camera equipment, mentorship, and film festival strategy.
Honorable Mentions
The below funds are currently closed for entry but we thought they were still worth a mention. You can always opt in for reminders on the website of any big fund, that way you won’t miss news of their next cycle.
NALIP’s Women of Colour Incubator is for directors who are people of color, from any multicultural background. Winners receive a $35,000 grant.
The FOFF Short Film Fund looks at short films directed by women or non-binary filmmakers.
Monkeypaw Productions’ No Drama Fund is a real highlight in the competition calendar. They look exclusively for writers with a unique perspective who have a passion for subgenres like futurism and magical surrealism. If you loved Get Out or Nope, you’ll want to opt in for reminders for this one.
Rising Voices presented by Indeed
In partnership with Hillman Grad and 271 Films, Indeed’s Rising Voices initiative aims to discover, invest in, and share stories created by BIPOC filmmakers around the theme of work. The program awards 10 filmmakers up to a $100k production budget to make a short film, which will premiere at a major US film festival.
What film grants do you look forward to opening each year? Did we miss any? Don’t forget to check out this season of our Short Film Fund before next month’s early deadline.
Ella is a lover of all things storytelling. When she’s not conducting market research at her part-time job as a movie theatre usher, she’s interning at Shore Scripts or hunched over Final Draft. So far, her scripts tell coming-of-age tales that are seemingly about very little but show seismic shifts in her character’s growing worlds. You can find her at ellahenke.com.
