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Completion Fund
The Frameline Completion Fund provides grants to emerging and established filmmakers. This program seeks to provide a much-needed source of financial contributions to artists who often struggle to secure funding to complete their works. Grants up to $5,000 are available for the completion of films that represent and reflect LGBTQ+ life in all its complexity and richness.
For over a quarter century, Frameline has awarded $642,500 to 182 projects (see all past recipients here) to help ensure that LGBTQ+ film/video projects are completed and viewed by wider audiences. Projects finished with assistance from the Frameline Completion Fund include Pariah, No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, Lingua Franca, North by Current, The Watermelon Woman, Call Her Ganda, Chavela, Appropriate Behavior, To Be Takei, Last Call at Maud’s, The New Black, 1985, Brother to Brother, Kumu Hina, The Cockettes, Vito, Freeheld, We Were Here, and The Brandon Teena Story.
Submissions are accepted for documentary, narrative, experimental, animated, or episodic projects about LGBTQ+ people and their communities. The Fund also seeks to bring new work to under-served audiences; with this in mind, we especially encourage applications by women, people of color, transgender people, intersex people, asexual people, non-binary people, disabled people, and other underrepresented people and communities.
Apply before October 27. The recipients of the 2023/2024 Frameline Completion Fund will be announced in February 2024.
Eligibility Requirements
- Grants are given ONLY for completion; therefore, projects must have 90% of production finished and be in the post-production phase or ready to begin post as soon as funding is in place.
- Projects in development, script development, pre-production, or production will NOT be considered.
- Grants will ONLY be given to projects about LGBTQ+ people and their communities.
- Grants are given to individuals with creative and financial control of the project. In the case of collaboration, a sole project director must be designated as the applicant.
- Grants will be given to projects in any film/video format, of any length, genre, or nationality.
- Student projects are eligible as long as the student maintains artistic and financial control of the project.
- International productions are accepted.
- Members of the staff and Board of Directors of Frameline are ineligible.
FAQs
How can I submit?
We utilize the Documentary Core Application with supplemental questions. More information about the application can be found here.
Can international projects apply?
Yes, we welcome and encourage international applicants, however the proposal must be submitted in English.
Is there an application fee to apply?
No, there is no application fee.
How much funding can I request?
The standard Completion Fund grant ranges from $1,000 to $5,000 although the jury can recommend a higher or lower amount.
What are you looking for in a work sample?
Please submit what you think best represents the style and content of the finished work. Samples can range from a 10-minute sample to a full-length rough cut. Please do not send raw, unedited footage or samples of previous work.
How are applications reviewed?
Frameline’s Programming team will review all applications and work samples and will select semi-finalists to recommend to an independent jury. The jury of media professionals will convene to collectively select the grant recipients. The names of the panelists will remain confidential until after the awards are announced.
Who makes up the jury?
Jury members are industry professionals, including filmmakers, curators, critics, and academics. Past jurors have included Elegence Bratton (filmmaker, THE INSPECTION), Tina Takemoto (Dean of Humanities and Sciences at California College of Arts San Francisco), Lex Sloan (Roxie Theater Executive Director and filmmaker), and Stefano Gonzalez (film producer and Transgress Studios LLC founder and CEO).
When can I expect to hear a status update on my application?
Applicants will be notified of their status 14 – 16 weeks after the fund closes. Please note that we will not be able to provide additional information about the status of your application before this time.
If my project is not selected, can you provide feedback?
Unfortunately, due to the high number of submissions the Frameline Completion Fund does not provide critiques, screening notes, or individual reviews of any films not chosen for finishing fund grants.
If my project is not selected, can I reapply next year?
We do not recommend re-submitting the same film for consideration unless significant changes to the project have been made.
If I receive a grant from the Frameline Completion Fund, what can the funds be used for?
Grant funds may be used for any post-production costs including closed captioning and audio descriptions, editing, special effects and graphics, music licensing, and photo licensing.
For more information or additional questions about the Completion Fund, please email programming@frameline.org.
Stay Updated
We're excited to keep you in the loop on all things Frameline (with no spam - ever!)