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Kiera Faber, Obscurer.
Grant Basics
Production grants of up to $30,000 for all stages of production, supporting early career film, video and digital production directors.
The expansion to all stages of production, including pre-production costs as eligible, is new for this program round.
Artist Development grants of up to $7,000, supporting early career film, video and digital production directors.
Please note: this is the first time that the Foundation has offered the Artist Development Grant.
Production Grant
The production grant provides funds to early career filmmakers to support specific projects, both short and full-length, for all stages of production, including pre-production, production and post-production costs. The awards of up to $30,000 do not require matching funds.
Artist Development Grant
The artist development grant provides funds to early career filmmakers to engage in self-designed mentorship with experienced directors and further their filmmaking craft and/or professional skills while working on a specific film, video or digital production project. The awards of up to $7,000 do not require matching funds.
Program Timeline
Online application opens
Applications must be submitted using Submittable, our online application platform, at https://jeromefdn.submittable.com/
Webinar with program staff
RSVP for the live event at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BmBG5PZ8QdmvhhffdwwNlQ or watch a recording on-demand on the Jerome Foundation website following the live event.
Q&A Session with Program Staff
Ask any questions you have about the application. Use this link to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89831468273?pwd=REo3WEpqNUFtT01VZWxkVGxFbW50dz09
Q&A Session with Program Staff
Ask any questions you have about the application. Use this link to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89831468273?pwd=REo3WEpqNUFtT01VZWxkVGxFbW50dz09
Q&A Session with Program Staff
Ask any questions you have about the application. Use this link to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89831468273?pwd=REo3WEpqNUFtT01VZWxkVGxFbW50dz09
Deadline for applications
Late applications are not accepted.
Notification of grant status
Staff will not have status updates on the application in advance of this date.
Funds will be paid to filmmakers
Please note: only costs incurred after the grant is awarded and a grant contract is signed will be supported.
All individual applicants or all members applying as part of a co-directing team must meet all eligibility requirements listed below.
Residents of Minnesota for one year at time of application
Residency is determined by applicants having filed their most recent federal taxes as a resident of Minnesota and will file in Minnesota in 2021; and have either a Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
Please note however that if an applicant filed federal taxes for 2020 (or 2019 if the COVID exception applies) as a MN resident but plans to relocate to New York City before October 2021, they should apply in the New York City program. Please note that the New York City program has a different structure and requirements than the Minnesota program.
Film Directors* who are currently creating new original work
* Film Directors are those who conceive and create new original work. Jerome does not fund artists who solely perform or develop/produce the work of others (e.g., actors, editors, cinematographers, screenwriters and producers who are not also film directors).
Film Directors must have directed one completed film, video or digital production project over which they have creative control.
Filmmakers must have at least one work on their resume/CV that has been supported by a presenting organization (e.g., film festival or screening series) or funder (for a project grant from either a foundation or a federal, state or local arts agency). Work that has been screened only on an online screening platform is eligible as long as there has been a competitive selection process. Work that has been screened publicly only through a filmmaker’s own platforms or through un-curated, “sign up” or “first come first served” formats is not eligible. Commercial or industrial work over which the filmmaker does not have creative control cannot be considered as evidence of eligibility and cannot be the focus of a grant project.
Artists early in their career
° Early career artists are, in general, typically in their 2nd to 10th year of creative practice, post-degree-granting program (if applicable). This spectrum is framed by film directors with some track record of creating and presenting full work (not beginning, first-time directors), and who are NOT at a point in their careers where they receive consistent development and production opportunities and significant recognition, awards, and acclaim (not mid-career or established film directors).
Artists beyond 10 years in the field who wish to discuss eligibility—based on circumstances (whether personal or geographic) or on specific creative practice considerations (i.e., the scale of work and/or extended creative cycles necessary to complete a single work)—should contact Jerome program staff before April 1, 2021 to discuss eligibility in advance of submitting an application.
Creating bold, innovative and risk-taking~ new work that explores and/or challenges conventional artistic forms
~ Innovation and risk-taking are Jerome Foundation values that reflect our interest in supporting artists from diverse backgrounds and experiences who are expanding or deepening ways of working, asking questions, and inspiring new ways of imagining.
What projects and activities are eligible?
Pre-production, including:
Production, including:
Post-production expenses, including:
Distribution expenses, including:
Opportunities to engage in self-designed mentorships with experienced directors and/or artistic, technical or business skill development activities while working on a specific new film, video or digital production work in the genres of animation, documentary, experimental or narrative, or a combination of these forms.
This program seeks to advance the creative practice and/or career development of early career filmmakers. Applicants must have a solid grounding in filmmaking and clearly identify the skills they are pursuing, the strategy for achieving their mentorship goals and the film project that these skills will support. All stages of production are eligible, but the proposed skill development activities should tie directly to the stage of production for the project.
Artist Development, including:
Xiaolu Wang, The Subversive Sirens.
Applications must be submitted no later than Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 4 pm Central. Late applications will not be accepted.
Eleanor Savage has been with Jerome Foundation since 2007. She is active in the philanthropic and arts community as an agitator for equitable practice and involved with the national organization, Grantmakers in the Arts, as the Co-Chair of the Support for Individual Artists Committee. She is a media artist, an activist and has instigated many community-focused/artist-centered events in the Twin Cities: Naked Stages; Forbidden Fruit Radio; Vulva Riot; and Dyke Night at the Walker Art Center. She was previously the Associate Director of Event and Media Production at the Walker Art Center for sixteen years.
Eleanor's life-long commitment is promoting human rights as a guiding force and working actively as a white, gender-queer butch against racism and all the other intersecting oppressions.
Andrea Brown joined the Jerome Foundation in 2016. She came to the Jerome Foundation after five years at the Walker Art Center, where she was Associate Director of Strategic Marketing, and prior to that Associate Director of Digital Marketing and Marketing Manager. She worked in the New York office of the American Academy in Berlin before taking a 7-year detour into software at Marketing Bridge/Gage Marketing where she was Lead Account Supervisor.
Andrea has a B.A. in American Studies from Smith College.
