Eligibility
Questionnaire

• Did (or will) you file your US federal taxes as a resident of New York City in 2020? 2021? 2022?

Jerome does not require citizenship, but does require residency and a social security number or ITIN number for tax purposes.

COVID-related temporary relocation: If you filed your federal taxes for 2019 as a New York City resident and have spent most of 2020 away from New York City because of COVID-related circumstances (whether economic or medical), but plan to re-establish residency in New York City or Minnesota before July 1, 2021, you may apply to the appropriate program.

Because the Foundation funds artists who are residents of Minnesota as well as New York City, artists who were residents of the state of Minnesota in 2020 who have moved or who move to Minnesota before July 1, 2021, are eligible for the program. New York City artists who plan to relocate to Minnesota before July 1, 2021, should apply in the Minnesota program. Please note, the Minnesota grant requirements are different than those of the New York City program.

Current New York City artists who plan to relocate to Minnesota before July 1, 2021, should apply in the Minnesota program.

• If you have chosen to pursue formal education in any degree-granting program, arts- related or non-arts related (e.g., BA, BFA, MA, MFA), have you completed your coursework and graduated (or terminated your enrollment), if applicable?
• If you have chosen to pursue a PhD, have you completed all course requirements except your dissertation?

Formal training in degree-granting programs is neither expected nor required, but applicants who do seek such training cannot be enrolled in a degree program, with the exception of doctoral candidates who have finished all coursework and are working on their dissertations.

• Are you generating and creating entirely new work (rather than solely interpreting, translating, performing, developing/producing the work of others) as a director?
• Do you have at least 2 work samples of completed (versus rough cuts or works-in-progress) works that you have conceived and generated as a director?
• Do you have at least 1 completed work listed on your 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). This includes work that has been featured in online screening platforms as long as there is a competitive selection process.

As a reminder, the Foundation defines generative artists as those who conceive and create new original work and does not fund artists who solely interpret or perform or develop/ produce the work of others. Jerome does not fund actors, editors, cinematographers, screenwriters and producers who are not also film directors.

The Foundation supports new original artistic work that has been created and developed by the artist from concept to completion and is not a remount, revival or interpretation of previously existing material.

The following are not eligible to apply:

• artists enrolled as a full-time student in a degree-granting education program or plan to enter a degree program during the grant period
• artists whose primary goals and practice are to interpret the works of others
• artists whose primary goals and practice have been and will be as actors, cinematographers, editors, screenwriters, critics, producers or scholars
• artists working in other artistic disciplines who want to make film or video versions of their work, such as choreographers or composers, who do not also have a history as a director of new original film or video work
• arts administrators
• producers
• managers
• artist representatives/agents
• current Jerome grantees who are not up-to-date and compliant on reporting requirements
• filmmakers who have already received a Jerome production grant support for a project and are looking for additional support for that same project
• an applicant appearing on more than one application
• full-time tenured faculty at any college, university or institution of higher learning
• filmmakers who have completed, released and have in distribution more than two feature-length films (running time of 50+ minutes or more). As a general rule, completion, release and distribution of two feature films will be an indication that a filmmaker may be too far advanced to qualify for Jerome early-career support.  Artists who have completed/released two features should talk to Jerome staff to discuss eligibility more fully before submitting an application.

• Is generating such new work your primary career goal for the future?
• Do you have between 2 to 10 years of experience as a film/video director of animation, documentary, experimental, and/or narrative films/videos/digital production, excluding:
  • any time in a degree-granting program;
  • as a director creating industrial / educational / commercial work-for-hire over which you did not have final creative control
  • time focused on shooting, editing or producing the work of other filmmakers;
  • or time away from working as an artist due to personal circumstances–e.g., having children, caring for family members, long-term illness, etc.).

• Do you have at least 1 work on your resume/CV that has been completed and publicly screened/delivered? Work that has 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 your own platforms or through un-curated, “sign up” or “first come first served” formats is not eligible.
• Do you have work samples of at least two completed and publicly presented work (i.e., beyond drafts, rough cuts, works in progress, etc.)? Ideally one of these works is recent, preferably within the last 3 years though older work may be considered. Work created and presented while in a degree-granting program is not eligible for meeting this requirement.

This is not a first-time filmmaker opportunity. Eligible filmmakers have generated at least one new work that has been publicly screened or funded. Panels need to assess a body of work to evaluate your artistic development over time.

Filmmakers who have been directing films for more than 10 years (excluding any time spent in a degree-granting program) are generally not eligible, even if they feel under-recognized. Filmmakers beyond 10 years in the field who wish to discuss eligibility—based on personal or on specific creative practice considerations (i.e., the scale of work and/or extended creative timeline necessary to complete a single work)—should contact Lann Briel before April 1, 2021 to discuss eligibility in advance of submitting an application.

Age is not a factor in determining eligibility or career status.

• Have you yet to receive major prizes, awards or consistent institutional support for multiple projects in any field—either as a generator of new work or as an interpreter of the work of others?

• Have you been generating and creating new work for less than 10 years?

Directors will be considered beyond early career and ineligible if they have:

• Received consistent significant financial support for their artistic work from foundations and/or federal, state or local arts agencies for multiple different projects.
• Completed, released and have in distribution more than two feature-length films (running time of 50+ minutes or more) and are receiving consistent production opportunities. (As a general rule, completion, release and distribution of two feature films will be an indication that a filmmaker may be too far advanced to qualify for Jerome early-career support. Filmmakers who have completed/released two features should talk to Jerome staff to discuss eligibility more fully before submitting an application.)
• Garnered significant regional or national prizes or awards in recognition or support of the creation and/or public presentation and/or distribution of multiple different works, including but not limited to:
  • National film festival award (from grand jury or audience)
  • Award from the Directors Guild of America
  • Receipt of an Oscar or a National Emmy Award
  • Regional awards, such as New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellowship (NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Digital/Electronic Arts), New York State Council of Arts Film Grant, Regional Emmy Award, etc.
  • National merit awards, such as Sundance Juried Awards, National Film Awards, United States Artist Award, Creative Capital Award, Princess Grace Statue Award, Guggenheim, etc.
  • Commercial distribution including but not limited to online distribution such as Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, etc.

Receipt of any one of these grants and awards does not make an artist ineligible—it is the receipt of multiple grants and awards for multiple projects that, taken as a whole, move an artist to mid-career or beyond.

• Achieved significant commercial success.
• Received recognition in the form of awards, commissions, residencies or funding opportunities that are specifically categorized as mid-career.
• Received awards or prizes based on or in recognition of significant cumulative career achievement (including but not limited to the Director’s Guild of America, Independent Spirit Awards-Bonnie Award, American Film Institute Award or the MacArthur Fellowship).
• Have a full-time tenured faculty position (or the equivalent).

Recognizing that different funders may define “mid-career” in different ways, artists who have received mid-career awards but believe they should still be considered by Jerome should contact Lann Briel before April 1, 2021, in advance of submitting an application.

Producers, editors or those in other development or technical roles with substantial recognition and lengthy careers supporting the films of others will also generally be considered ineligible. Artists who want to discuss eligibility should contact Lann Briel before April 1, 2021, in advance of submitting an application.

Mid-career or established artists from other fields will not be considered early career based on a recent shift to filmmaking. For example, a composer with a substantial career in music who is now moving into filmmaking will not be considered an early career film/video/digital production director for the purposes of this grant.

• Are you currently (at the time of application) working on a new project?
• Will you go into the production phase prior to April 13, 2023?

Applicants are urged to think carefully about their schedules before applying. The production grant is awarded to a director only once per project.

• Does your work push beyond conventional mainstream aesthetics and strive to be bold, innovative and risk taking or to deepen or expand traditions?

Innovation and risk-taking are Jerome Foundation values that reflect our interest in supporting artists from diverse backgrounds and experiences who are deepening and expanding ways of working, asking questions, and inspiring new ways of imagining.

• If you are working within a specific artistic tradition, does your work expand or challenge, not merely preserve, that tradition?

• If you are a past or current grantee in the Film, Video and Digital Production Grant and/or the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, are you up-to-date and have completed the grant or are compliant on all reporting requirements?