Adella Ladjevardi, Cinereach Grants Manager, will be on a panel tonight at IFP’s Industry Connect event. The panel is called: Funding Your Film: Strategies, New and Traditional and will feature a range of funders and filmmakers talking about “how to raise money to make and distribute your film.” It will look at “traditional models – grants, fiscal sponsorship through non-profits, equity investment – and new Web 3.0 strategies such as crowdsourcing, building fans, and other trans-media strategies that can help filmmakers of all levels make the best decisions for their projects from start to finish.”

The event is at 7pm (new time) at The New School, 65 West 11th Street, 5th Fl. (Wollman Hall).

If you plan to go, or even if you can’t make it, the below is from a hand-out Cinereach will bring tonight, featuring quick tips on our application process. All the same info is featured on our site, but this handout is a good entry point.

Advice for Grant Applicants

First Things First

Have a film you think Cinereach should support? Great! Check out these tips and tricks to possibly increase your chances of receiving support and make the application process a breeze – both for you and for us!

First off – check out our website to make sure your film is a good fit for Cinereach. While we support a diverse range of films, taking a look at the previously funded films and our current guidelines will give you a sense of our taste.

Funding Priorities (from the web site)

Each year Cinereach grants over $500,000 to well-crafted feature-length nonfiction and fiction films that depict underrepresented perspectives, resonate across international boundaries, and spark dialogue.

Grants range from $5,000 – $50,000 and are awarded to 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.

Cinereach’s ethos favors good storytelling over didacticism and complexity over duality. We support films that demonstrate creativity, visual artistry and take a character-based approach.

Through cinematic artistry and storytelling, Cinereach supported films:

-Provide insight and spark dialogue
-Challenge prejudice and advance human rights
-Discover humanity and hope
-Foster global community

How to Apply

The application process is outlined on the Cinereach web site.

As you will see when you visit the web site, all applicants are required to submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) via an online form as a first step. Deadlines for submitting your LOI are posted and updated on our site a few months before a grant cycle.

We strongly encourage submission of sample work with letters of inquiry. Sample work can include one or more of the following: previously completed film(s), a trailer or clip reel for your current project, or a rough-cut of your current project. If you’re a first time feature filmmaker show us a short – or photographs. Anything that you feel might convey your visual artistry and vision to us.

You may submit an online link in your letter or inquiry (please remember to include your username and password, if applicable) or you may send us a DVD.

Getting Your Questions Answered

If you have questions after reviewing the above referenced pages, check out our FAQ page. It’s made up of questions we’ve received in the past (get it? Frequently Asked Questions) so make sure you give that a good read. (hint: calling us with a question on the FAQ wastes our time and yours.)

Fiscal Sponsorship

You do not need a fiscal sponsor in place in order to submit a letter of inquiry. Should your project move to the next stage in the application process, we would work with you to secure a fiscal sponsor at that time. To learn more about fiscal sponsorship, please visit the Resources page on our website.

Helpful Stats

The Cinereach grant program has become increasingly competitive, and only a small fraction of applicants are invited to submit a full proposal.

On average, less than 10% of all projects that submit letters of inquiry will be invited to submit a full proposal. In our most recent grant cycle, we received 900 letters of inquiry and invited 77 full proposals. Of those 77 films, approximately 10 or 12 will receive a Cinereach grant.

Dos & Don’ts

Do Read all instructions and guidelines on the Cinereach website very carefully.

Don’t Call or email Cinereach staff asking a question that is already answered on the FAQ page.

Do Let us know if you checked the website but couldn’t find the answer you were looking for – that means we need to update!

Don’t Waste time by going into a lot of depth about the history and social context of an issue relevant to your film without talking about your story and your main characters.

Do Try to adhere to the submission deadline for each grant cycle and be aware of notification dates.

Don’t Call or email Cinereach staff on or after the deadline requesting an extension to submit your application late.

Do Spell check. If English isn’t your first language, ask someone else to proofread it. If you’re applying from halfway around the world we’ll very likely cut you some slack.

Don’t Submit a letter of inquiry that demonstrates carelessness and/or an inability to express ideas clearly or succinctly.

Do Demonstrate that your story is character-driven by introducing us to your characters/subjects and describing the arcs their stories follow in the synopsis section of your LOI.

If you don’t have key subjects/characters in mind or know the type of arc their stories might take, don’t worry! Show us you know how to make a film, and tell tell us as much as you can about what you’re hoping for and how you’re planning to capture it.

Finally, Don’t give up if you don’t receive support this cycle! The next one is only a few months away.

** The next deadline to submit a letter of inquiry for the Summer 2010 grant cycle is June 1^st!