APPLICATION GUIDELINES:

• Updated: the two annual application periods are as follows —
• Spring 2020 Funding Cycle opening February 1, with a Spring Early Deadline of February 29, and a final deadline of April 30.
• Grants will range in size from $5,000 to $30,000 per project. Grant amount will be determined by the jury consisting of executives from ScreenCraft and BondIt.
• Recipients will be announced within 12 weeks of the final deadline of each cycle.
• Applications are accepted via electronic submission only.
• Application fee for each project is $49 before the early deadline of each cycle, and then $59 until the regular deadline of each cycle. Student price (with an active high school or university email address) is $39 before the early deadlines, then $49 until the regular deadlines of each cycle.
• Application must include a screenplay and a project vision statement from the writer or director. You are welcome to include any and all relevant links to prior work in the cover letter.
• There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.
• Applications must be received on or before the deadlines and application fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission.
• All application fees are non-refundable
• All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).
• Material must be submitted by the author or owner of the material. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s). All writers must be credited on title page.
• Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material are not allowed. Please proofread your script very carefully before submitting.
• Contact info may be included on the cover page of the screenplay, however it is not required.
• Recipient(s) of each funding cycle will be announced and notified approximately 6 weeks after the application deadline.
• Grant funding is conditional upon selected recipient going into production on selected project within twelve (12) months of when the grant was awarded.

ELIGIBILITY:

• We welcome international applicants. All persons from anywhere in the world are eligible; however the material submitted must be in English.
• If an applicant is younger than 18 years old, a verifiable parental consent form must also be submitted with application.
• All material submitted to other competitions or contests are eligible for this production grant program.
• There are no requirements as to when the material was written.
• Screenplay must be owned and submitted by the writer or owner.
• Material should be submitted in standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin.
• We have no preferences regarding title page content. Title and name of writer would suffice.
• Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or director or the work is in the public domain.
• Screenplays must be in generally accepted industry-standard formatting as a PDF file. Any popular software may be used for formatting, such as Final Draft, WriterDuet, Celtx or Fade In.
• Documentaries (shorts, series and features) will be considered and instead of a screenplay, a PDF letter or presentation about the project will be accepted, which may also include hyperlinks to video footage (YouTube, Vimeo, etc).
• All material must be submitted electronically as a PDF or it will not be eligible.

The winners will be chosen two times per year based on the following criteria: (i) originality; (ii) story structure; (iii) characterization; (iv) visual inventiveness; and (v) overall viability for world-class film festivals and/or online distribution. The winners and top finalists may be contacted by interested industry representatives, such as managers, agents or producers. Entrants may be required to submit further information to assist in the judges’ verification of eligibility. Any entrant may be deemed ineligible at the sole discretion of ScreenCraft. The selected winner(s) will be notified by e-mail 4-6 weeks after the trimester deadline. Finalists may be required to sign and return within seven (7) business days of receipt a notarized Affidavit of Eligibility and a Release and Indemnification and proof of valid passport and any other documents that ScreenCraft or any other partner may require before receiving funding payment. Failure to respond to the initial notification within ten (10) days or return of notification will result in disqualification. We reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.

COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP

ScreenCraft and BondIt will request an executive producer credit and participation in the project per terms to be agreed upon at time of the award of the production funds. Writer credit and director and producer credit will remain with the original filmmaking team. All ownership and rights to the material submitted to this grant program remains with the original rights holders until and unless other agreements are made. Should your project be awarded funding, you are not obligated to accept it until and unless other agreements are made.

PUBLICITY

Except where prohibited by law, participation in this program constitutes each entrant’s consent to ScreenCraft and its agents’ and sponsor’s use of entrants’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of a entrants’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

REFUND POLICY

All application fees are non-refundable.

ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE

By applying for this production grant, each participant agrees to release and hold harmless ScreenCraft, BondIt, Buffalo 8 Productions, Red Ampersand LLC, ScreenCraft.org, its subsidiary, parent and affiliated companies, contributors, Sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising or promoting this ScreenCraft Film Fund and Grant Program and Promotion, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s Entry, participation in the Promotion and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless all related parties including BondIt, ScreenCraft, ScreenCraft.org and its Sponsor, agents and employees from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) relating to an entrant’s participation in the Program and/or entrant’s use or misuse of awarded grant. Employees of ScreenCraft, Buffalo 8, BondIt and their immediate families are ineligible to participate in this contest. Any such submission will be immediately disqualified. This grant program is void where restricted by any Federal, State or Local law. Recipients’ eligibility will be verified before the grant is awarded and the winner may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility. By entering the contest, you authorize us to use any trusted third-party online and cloud-based services and databases for hosting, managing and/or transmitting your submission file(s).