Grants & Awards

Storytelling, complexity, creativity, visual artistry, character...

Cinereach supports feature-length nonfiction and fiction films that possess an independent spirit, depict underrepresented perspectives, and resonate across international boundaries. We favor story over message, character over agenda, complexity over duality.

Grants range from $5,000 – $50,000 and are awarded to feature-length films at any stage, including development, production and post-production. There are two letter of inquiry deadlines per year (Summer and Winter), after which a selection of applicants are invited to submit full proposals. The Cinereach grants committee meets twice a year to review the proposals. Each cycle, between five and 15 projects are selected to receive support.

Independent of our two yearly grant cycles, the Cinereach Award is a $5,000 prize presented annually to one completed film that exemplifies the Cinereach mission. Traditionally the winners have been selected in connection with the Human Rights Watch Film Festival via an internal nomination process.

Please note: the Cinereach Grants department is not currently accepting letters of inquiry seeking support for organizations, film distribution, or outreach. Emerging filmmakers seeking support for short films are invited to explore our Reach Film Fellowship.

Please see our How to Apply and Priorities & Guidelines pages for more information.