FILM GRANT faq

WHO CAN APPLY?
The Flies Collective Film Grant is open to any filmmaker, with any project, at any stage. If you are in need of funding, you are eligible. The grant is not limited to a specific type of film or filmmaker, but is open to to all - both established filmmakers and new voices. Features, shorts, narrative, doc, hybrid, experimental and everything in between.

ARE STUDENT FILMS ELIGIBLE?
Yes. Any filmmaker, any project, any stage.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Filmmaking is expensive. But we also believe that stretching a small budget can yield the most exciting creative choices. For this reason, we expect the majority of submissions to be short films, docs and low-budget features. In short, we are looking for talented filmmakers with bold voices and passion projects that have a demonstrable need for funds.

I HAVE A COUPLE OF PROJECTS IN THE WORKS. CAN I APPLY FOR MORE THAN ONE PROJECT?
While we have allowed this in the past, as of last year we’re going to review only one project per submitter. So pick the one you feel most strongly about, or the one where your need for funds is the clearest and most demonstrable.

I’VE SUBMITTED MY PROJECT ONCE BEFORE. CAN I SUBMIT IT AGAIN?
You certainly can, but generally speaking, it’s unlikely a previously-submitted project will speak to us differently unless it’s evolved or developed in big ways.

HOW MUCH IS THE GRANT WORTH?
It tends to change slightly from year to year. Over the past five years, we’ve awarded over $120,000 in financial and other support to nineteen exceptional projects. In 2022, we will award funds either to one project or spread across several projects.

WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM ME?
The first step is filling out our online application via Submittable. The application asks for some preliminary information about you and your project, including budget, timeline, cast & crew, previous work, etc. We encourage you to share as much information as you can. If you have a rough cut, please share it. If you don’t, maybe a collection of scenes or select footage. If you’re still in pre-production, the more information you can provide, the better.

If selected, grant recipients will need to have a US-based fiscal sponsor in order to receive the grant funds. There are many organizations that do this for filmmakers, including The Gotham, Fractured Atlas, IDA, Film Independent, and many more. If you need help figuring this out, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we will help you as best we can.

CAN INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS APPLY?
Yes. We welcome projects from outside the United States. However, as noted above, you will need to have a US-based fiscal sponsor. There is some additional paperwork that you will have to fill out in order to obtain fiscal sponsorship as an international person or company, and in some cases (depending on the organization), it may mean you need to have a US-based collaborator.

Please note that all funding is subject to IRS withholdings, even if you are not a US citizen. We suggest you contact your fiscal sponsorship organization directly to inquire about any IRS requirements specific to your situation. 

SHOULD THE DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER SUBMIT THE APPLICATION?
This is really up to you. There will be some portions of the application that will require responses specifically from the director(s) but much of it can be completed by a producer or another collaborator on the filmmaking team.

WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR APPLICATIONS AND SELECTION?
This year, the application will be open June 1 (12:01am Eastern Time) to July 8 (11:59pm Eastern Time) 2022. Our review committee will review applications throughout July and August. If your project speaks to us, we will reach out in late August or early September with some additional questions and may ask for additional materials, if applicable.

Please know that we are a working company and we’re fitting all of our grant review and deliberation into our spare time, so please be patient if you haven’t heard from us. Our expectation is that Grantees will be notified of their selection in early October.

I KNOW YOU GUYS. SHOULD I REACH OUT AND LET YOU KNOW I’M SUBMITTING?
Sure! However, it won’t mean you’ll get special consideration. We know a lot of people, so we do our best to minimize any potential conflicts of interest in our review process. When submissions close, everyone on the review committee goes through every name and flags anyone they know personally. When the projects are then dispersed amongst the committee for review, we make sure no one is reviewing a project submitted by someone they know.

WHY ARE YOU FUNDING FILMS?
By supporting independent artists and their work, we feel we’re playing our small part in growing and strengthening the independent filmmaking community as a whole. Also, we see it as an opportunity to meet and invest in potential future collaborators. Some of the projects we’ve supported have gone on to screen at Sundance, Berlinale, New Directors/New Films, SXSW, Slamdance, San Sebastián, AFI, and a lot more, and several of our most recent feature films have come from filmmakers we were introduced to through our grant.

WHAT IS FLIES COLLECTIVE?
An independent film production company, a storytelling collaborative, a micro-budget funding body, a community. Est. 2012 in Brooklyn, NY. You can see some of our work here.

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION NOT LISTED HERE.
Send us an email at filmgrant@fliescollective.com and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

BUT SERIOUSLY, IS MY PROJECT ELIGIBLE?
Seriously, yes.