Currently 5 active film and video grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in the US. 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 Oregon Media Arts Fellowship, run by the Portland Art Museum's Center for an Untold Tomorrow with the Oregon Arts Commission, gives Oregon media artists money to create or complete new work. Eligible work is artist-driven moving image, sound, digital or time-based media: narrative, documentary and experimental film, animation, video art, artist-made television, audio and podcasts, immersive and interactive media, web-based and digital work, AR, VR and mixed reality, and emerging forms. Review criteria include sustained professional achievement and potential future contribution to the field. ELIGIBILITY: artists aged 18 or over who have lived in Oregon for at least one year as their fixed, permanent principal home, not enrolled in a creative degree programme, and who have not received a Media Arts Fellowship or any Oregon Arts Commission fellowship in the previous five years; one application per year, joint applications split a single award. DEADLINE: 15 November 2026 (no time stated; late applications are not guaranteed processing).
Small project grants for socially engaged art; the 2027 cycle covers film/video and theater projects, a fit for experimental film and video work with a social edge. Two-step process: mail in an application request form first, then submit the full proposal via the portal. ELIGIBILITY: US residents with a Social Security number, or US-based nonprofits and fiscally sponsored projects. TIMELINE: request forms accepted 14 September through 20 November 2026 (postmark by 25 November); completed proposals due 16 December 2026, 5pm EST.
Annual screenwriting fellowship from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) administered through The Black List, awarding $20,000 each to three writers to revise a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a compelling way. Submission and selection happen on The Black List platform; applicants should review program eligibility and any associated hosting/submission fees on blcklst.com before applying. Strong fit for narrative writers using fiction to dramatise climate, ecology, energy, or environmental-justice themes (rather than documentary). 2027 CYCLE: submissions are open until 4 December 2026 and are capped at a maximum of 500, so early entry is advised. All accepted submissions receive a free script evaluation and one free month of script hosting on the platform. Fellows also receive consultation with NRDC's Rewrite the Future team, which works to transform the onscreen portrayal of climate change beyond dystopia and apocalypse toward solutions, plus six months of mentorship from an established screenwriter; past mentors include Lucia Aniello, Dustin Lance Black, Roxane Gay, Nick Kroll and Daniel Scheinert.
One-off film grant awarding a single filmmaker $4,500 to support an independent narrative project in 2026. Application is free to submit. Centerpiece of the application is a production book built on the IMGN platform: script breakdown, schedule, coverage, and pre-visualization for the project (tutorials are provided inside the application). Eligibility: US-based filmmakers in the 50 states plus DC, aged 18 and older. If the project is already completed before funds are disbursed, the grant is paid as a reimbursement upon submission of a final cut of the film. Winner announced and funds disbursed by end of January 2027.
Field of Vision is a filmmaker-driven documentary unit that creates and commissions original short-form and feature nonfiction visual journalism. It funds and commissions filmmakers, often as assignments, and supports projects in development and production (it does not acquire finished films). SUPPORT: commissioning fees and production funding; specific amounts are not published publicly. ELIGIBILITY: filmmakers of all experience levels, within and outside the United States. APPLICATIONS are accepted on a rolling basis, with no fixed funding cycles or deadlines. Submit via the Field of Vision submissions page.