Currently 16 active film and video grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the EU. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Fondazione Prada Film Fund is an annual initiative supporting independent cinema, with an annual endowment of EUR 1.5 million backing up to 14 feature film projects across development, production, and post-production. The Fund imposes NO restrictions on geography, theme, genre, or language and does not participate as a co-producer, guaranteeing complete artistic freedom to filmmakers. It supports both established authors and new talents, as well as research projects. SELECTION is based exclusively on quality, originality, vision, and the strength and reliability of the applicant structure; projects are evaluated by independent readers and external consultants, with final selection and grant amounts determined by a committee appointed by Fondazione Prada. ELIGIBILITY: applications may be submitted only by a production company involved in the project (the applicant company remains solely responsible for meeting all requirements); open worldwide. DEADLINES (2026 call opened 30 June 2026): projects in production 6 August 2026; projects in development and post-production 10 September 2026 (this card uses the earliest deadline). Post-production projects may submit a rough cut until 20 November 2026. Selected projects announced February 2027. Application documents are on the Fondazione Prada Film Fund page; questions to filmfund@fondazioneprada.org.
QueerCineMad (formerly LesGaiCineMad), organized by Fundacion Triangulo in Madrid, is a Goya- and Feroz-qualifying LGBTI+ film festival offering prizes up to EUR 2,500. International submissions close 15 August 2026 via Festhome or FilmFreeway (platform fees vary).
Fifth iteration of transmediale's Digital Art Residency, in cooperation with the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, awarded to one individual or collective working in digital art practices at the intersection of media arts, performance, sound and moving image. The two-month residency comes with an artist fee of CHF 2,000 per month, a CHF 15,000 production grant to develop a new work or continue an existing project (open to all formats, building on the residency research), and travel and accommodation for the festival and residency; the project must be completed by December 2027. The 2027 programme (transmediale's 40th anniversary, themed 'RFC 40' after the early-internet Request for Comments documents) seeks proposals offering alternatives to how we understand, respond to and shape our technological conditions, moving from critique to construction outside extractive logics. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must have Swiss nationality or permanent residence in Switzerland, be firmly established in the Swiss cultural scene, and meet Pro Helvetia's general requirements; duos and collectives welcome (fee and grant shared). Deadline: 28 August 2026, 23:59 CEST.
Eighth edition of RTM Pitch, IFFR's open call for Rotterdam film talent. Submit a plan for a film between 5 and 20 minutes long; a jury of film experts and IFFR programmers selects one filmmaker to receive EUR 25,000 to realise the film (with coaching and an IFFR 2028 premiere) and a runner-up to receive a EUR 5,000 development budget co-funded by QISSA. All filmmakers are welcome; this edition especially encourages genre films (horror, science fiction, thriller, fantasy) that use genre conventions for a distinctive personal vision. Submit a written film plan (story, setting, team, budget and financing, cinematography vision, with optional supporting material) or a video pitch of no more than three minutes (Vimeo or YouTube link) via the application form. Deadline: Sunday 30 August 2026, 23:59 CEST.
Cheries-Cheris, France's largest LGBTQIA+ film festival, screens at MK2 cinemas across Paris. Films must have an LGBTQIA+ theme or perspective. Regular deadline 31 August 2026 (USD 8 shorts / USD 20 features); late deadline 20 September 2026 at higher fees.
Berlinale Talents is the Berlin International Film Festival's talent-development program: a week of workshops, the Talents Lab and the Talent Project Market during the February 2027 Berlinale, plus access to the festival's industry network. ELIGIBILITY: international working film professionals with at least 1 feature, 2 shorts, or a widely screened or streamed series, across 15+ disciplines including directing, sound design, editing, production, cinematography and screenwriting. Participation itself is free; there is a EUR 15 application service fee (EUR 10 early bird before 19 August 2026) and travel and accommodation are not covered. Deadline 2 September 2026, 12:00 CEST. Apply via the Berlinale Talents portal.
Guardian Documentaries and arte.tv have opened a short documentary film fund on the theme 'Democracy at Stake in Europe', supporting the development and production of a character-led documentary short exploring threats, pressures and challenges facing democratic societies across Europe. The aim is to amplify personal stories that help audiences understand democracy in Europe today and to stimulate public debate; suggested areas of focus include press freedom, civic trust and democratic participation. AWARD: one project receives GBP 10,000 in production support; alongside the financial award, the selected filmmaker receives editorial and creative input from the partners, with distribution through Guardian and arte.tv platforms. The funding can be used for work linked to the film's development and production, such as research, filming and post-production, subject to the applicant's proposed budget and plan. ELIGIBILITY: open to European filmmakers aged 18 or over; the call is focused on a single short documentary and is intended for projects where individual experience and perspective are central to telling a wider story about democratic life in Europe. Deadline 14 September 2026.
La Résidence of the Festival de Cannes (part of Cinéma de Demain, formerly La Cinéfondation) invites 12 directors each year to write their screenplay in Paris. The programme provides a place of residence in the heart of Paris, a personalised programme accompanying the writing of their scripts, and a collective programme of forums with film industry professionals. The 12 directors from the two annual sessions present their projects at the CNC pavilion in Cannes, giving 10-minute presentations to an audience of professionals and a jury of three film industry personalities; the CNC then awards a EUR 5,000 grant to one director from each session, based on the project that most inspires the jury. The Cinef & Résidence offices serve as a hub where directors meet and schedule private meetings with potential producers. ELIGIBILITY: open to young filmmakers who have made one or several short films and no more than one feature film; candidates must NOT be residents or citizens of France. Selected filmmakers must stay at the Résidence in Paris for the full session. SESSIONS: two per year, each lasting four and a half months, the first running 15 March to 31 July and the second 1 October to 15 February. Artistic fields: film, writing, interdisciplinary. Deadline: 30 September 2026 at 16:00 UTC. Free to apply.
Call for short films (1-10 minutes) involving human/AI hybrid creation, from the We Are Human Foundation in Paris. Three cash awards: Grand Prix EUR 5,000, Best Screenplay EUR 3,000, and an Ethics Award EUR 2,000. ELIGIBILITY: international, applicants 18+; films must have been completed after 1 June 2025 and involve human/AI hybrid creation; a mandatory Ethics Notebook accompanies each submission. No submission fee. Festival screening at Forum des images, Paris, on 24 November 2026. Apply via FilmFreeway; deadline 30 September 2026.
Work stipends for women film and video artists under the Berlin Senate's Kuenstlerinnenfoerderung (women artists' funding program). ELIGIBILITY: women film and video artists based in Berlin. Deadline 1 October 2026, 11:00 CEST, per the Senate's official deadline calendar. NOTE: research-sourced from the Senate deadline calendar; the stipend amount was not published there, so confirm details on the Senate funding pages before applying.
Medienboard's Immersive strand funds the development and production of immersive and innovative audiovisual content: virtual, augmented and mixed-reality experiences plus multi-platform and cross-media projects, and it also supports festival presentation of XR and innovative audiovisual work. This is the most directly creative-technology-facing German regional fund open to organisations. The applicant must be a developer or independent producer with a registered company seat in Berlin-Brandenburg or elsewhere in Germany, which rules out individual artists without a company; international partners can participate as co-producers but cannot lead. THE PROCESS IS GATED: applicants submit a one-page project summary roughly six weeks before the deadline, then must hold an application meeting with a funding executive about two weeks before the deadline, and only after that meeting is portal access granted. Plan backwards from the deadline accordingly. The 2026 rounds closed on 3 February, 28 April and 21 July 2026; the next live deadline is 27 October 2026, feeding the first committee of 2027 with decisions announced in week 5 of 2027, a decision lag of about three months. The DIGI.TALE sub-strand is restricted to students of Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF and DFFB.
The European Media Art Platform (EMAP/EMARE) is a network of leading European media-art organisations offering fully funded two-month production residencies for artists working with digital media, including media art, bio art and robotic art. Each residency provides a EUR 4,000 grant to the applying artist (including subsistence), a EUR 4,000 project budget, host-provided accommodation, travel covered according to EU ceilings, and access to technical facilities and media labs; a collaborating artist receives an additional EUR 2,000 (EUR 6,000 total for a duo). Residencies take place at one of 15 host institutions across Austria, France, Slovakia, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Germany and Poland. ELIGIBILITY: applicants must be EU residents or taxpayers in an EU member state, or residents/taxpayers of one of the eligible non-EU countries (Netherlands-based artists qualify). Undergraduate and Master's students are not eligible; PhD candidates and emerging artists of any age and academic background may apply. IMPORTANT: applicants must apply as a duo or collective, or propose a collaborative project, rather than as a purely solo applicant. The 2027 open call runs from 3 September 2026 to 6 November 2026 at 14:00 CET. Apply online at call.emare.eu. No application fee.
Visual Anthropology Center (VAC) in Belgrade invites filmmakers, visual anthropologists, artists, and researchers to apply for its residency programme. The residency specialises in visual anthropology but is also open to individual and collaborative projects in experimental ethnography, creative documentary film, and other artistic mediums. Residents may apply with a project aimed at a public showing, or use the time and space to reflect, research, or write without a specific outcome. WHAT IS PROVIDED: accommodation and studio space in central Belgrade; additional workspace and community connection through Community Center KROV (an independent creative hub hosting lectures, events, and exhibitions); project guidance and mentorship from film professionals, ethnomusicologists, producers, artists, curators, and anthropologists; connections to local cultural and academic institutions, archives, galleries, and exhibition spaces; access to camera equipment, translators for fieldwork or editing, fixers, and project-specific services or materials; opportunity to exhibit a final project as an exhibition, installation, screening, workshop, or lecture. Eligible projects may be promoted through VAC's platforms and partner networks, including the Vizantrop Film Festival, for regional and international visibility. ELIGIBILITY: filmmakers, visual anthropologists, artists, and researchers; individual and collaborative projects welcome. Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
The Basel House of Film, run by the Verein Filmhaus Basel und Umgebung, offers a three month residency for emerging artists working in film and television. Residents receive housing at the Filmhaus in the Basel old town plus a stipend to cover travel and living costs. There is no obligation to produce work, and residents can use the open schedule to write a script, prepare a film, draw storyboards, or edit. The facility includes a clubhouse, meeting room, office space, a small cinema with VR equipment, and an editing and grading suite. The program targets up and coming filmmakers, and both national and international applicants are welcome. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through the online form, followed by a CV, motivation letter, and portfolio sent to the residency email.
Pink Screens, Brussels' queer film festival run by Genres d'a cote, accepts international films completed 2024 or later that were not previously submitted. Submissions are free via the festival's own form on pinkscreens.org (the FilmFreeway route may charge). No exact deadline is published, but the call is in its late phase, so submit soon.
TranScreen, Europe's largest transgender film festival, held in Amsterdam, accepts screeners on a rolling basis for its next edition. Films about trans and gender-diverse lives, international, no fee stated.