The Film + Video grant is a competitive grant program intended to support the development, production, and distribution of documentary films or series that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways.
Donor Name: Humanities Montana
State: Montana
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 07/19/2024
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The Film + Video program supports the development, production, and distribution of documentary films or series that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Projects must be grounded in humanities scholarship and incorporate an approach that is thoughtful, balanced, and analytical; proposals must demonstrate the potential to attract a broad general audience.
Humanities Montana’s Film + Video grants offer multiyear support or one-time-only funding for major projects in film and video. Film and television projects may be standalone documentaries or series of programs. Major projects are those requiring multiple stages of research and development, production, and post-production and which generally require a script and a year or more to complete. Projects may also include supplementary components such as discussion programs and public screenings.
Humanities Montana-funded projects must:

focus on clearly defined humanities theme(s)
build on sound humanities scholarship
deepen public understanding of significant humanities questions
approach a subject analytically, presenting a variety of perspectives
involve humanities scholars (academic, professional, or expert) in all aspects of the project
employ appealing and accessible formats that will actively engage the general public in learning
demonstrate support and involvement of communities and cultures represented in project content and activities or specifically address why they are not involved (e.g., projects that involve Native American communities or cultures must include letters of support from participating scholars, researchers, program participants from that specific community outlining their involvement.)

Funding Categories 

Stage One: Research and script development award (up to $8,000) enable media producers to collaborate with scholars to develop humanities content and other program elements. Awards must result in a script or detailed treatment, which is required to progress to Stage Two funding. Applicants must submit an example of previous work

Prior to applying for Stage One, you should have:

assessed the major humanities scholarship related to the subject
identified humanities themes
assembled a group of humanities scholars to serve as advisers, and other experts if applicable
consulted with the humanities scholars to identity the project’s interpretive ideas
formed a media team to see the project through its development period

Stage Two: Production awards (up to $10,000), including principal photography, source material acquisition, and rights clearance, result in a rough cut of film /video or equivalent (required to progress to Stage Three funding). Applicants must submit a completed script or detailed narrative treatment

Prior to applying for Stage Two, you should have:

completed all required components of Stage One
conducted extensive research on your subject, including archival work and preliminary interviews
drafted the script or detailed treatment(s)

Stage Three: Post-production awards (up to $10,000) support completion of product and public distribution. Applicants must submit a rough cut of the project

Prior to applying for Stage Three, you should have:

completed all required components of Stage One and Stage Two
designed your plans for distribution, outreach, and partnerships.

Period of Performance
12 months
Eligible Activities

Stage One awards may support activities such as:

meetings with scholars
preliminary interviews preparation of program treatments or scripts
production of a work-in-progress or trailer
creation of partnerships for outreach activities and public engagement
archival and other scholarly research to further development of script and humanities themes

Stage Two awards may support activities such as:

archival research and rights clearances
meetings with scholars
additional script development
production (including filming, recording, and editing) and distribution

Stage Three awards may support activities such as:

development of related resources that explore the humanities content and themes central to the project (e.g., websites and curriculum materials)
post-production
outreach and public engagement.

Eligibility Criteria 

To be eligible to apply, your organization must be established in the United States or its jurisdictions as one of the following organization types:

a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
an accredited institution of higher education (public or nonprofit)
a state or local government or one of their agencies
a federally recognized Native American Tribal government

If your organization is eligible, you are encouraged to partner with independent producers and other skilled professionals to carry out programmatic activities. Under this arrangement, the applicant organization submits the application on behalf of the partnership(s). Applicant organizations must not function solely as fiscal agents or fiscal sponsors but must make substantive contributions to the success of the project. If Humanities Montana makes an award, the applicant organization is considered the recipient of record and assumes all programmatic, financial, and legal responsibilities associated with the award, including adherence to, and compliance with, federal regulations and the terms and conditions of the award.

In addition, Film + Video Grants must:

involve appropriate media professionals
appeal to a broad audience
demonstrate a plan for statewide, regional, or national audience involvement and of secondary non-broadcast distribution and long-term utilization
include a 1:1 cost-share of in-kind or other funds
include public programming such as discussions, lectures, screenings
include outreach/publicity and evaluation plans where appropriate.

For more information, visit  Humanities Montana.