Filmmakers Collaborative SF and Re-Present Media are collaborating to present the For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator, a six month intensive to support a diverse cohort of six local documentary filmmakers who are telling personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 22, 2023 @ 11:59PM PST
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
For Us, By Us will support a diverse cohort of six local documentary filmmakers who are telling personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area. The filmmakers will participate in workshops, receive mentoring, and be given stipends to strategically use for their films. The mentoring will be focused on a group setting, with additional individual mentoring with program directors as needed. The six month program will run from March-August 2023.
Our goal is to nurture stories that expand our understanding of those who live in our Bay Area communities, especially those who are marginalized that will benefit from seeing their perspectives realistically represented, validating their lived experiences and providing insight into how we can better understand each other and ourselves.
Filmmakers Collaborative SF is a nonprofit media organization with a mission to catalyze positive change through the power of filmmaking. Re-Present Media is an organization dedicated to advocating for personal storytelling from underrepresented communities in documentary film and nonfiction media. The launch of the For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator marks an exciting next step in our work to support diverse storytellers and strengthen the Bay Area’s filmmaker ecosystem.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE
The six month program includes:
- $1,750 stipend to be used in accordance with the filmmaker’s development plan that is created in the program.
- Three months of workshops (twice a month) led by a diverse group of working filmmakers and industry professionals covering story development, creative approach, fundraising, distribution, and other elements of the filmmaking journey.
- Three months of group mentoring sessions (twice a month) focused on the needs of the participants’ films, with additional individual mentoring with program directors as needed.
- Work in progress screening at the end of the program.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be an emerging to mid-career documentary filmmaker
- Live or work in the Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma Counties)
- Be working on a documentary project that centers a personal story within an underrepresented Bay Area community. The film can be a short or feature length documentary in pre-production with secured participants, production, or post-production.
- Be available to participate in the program’s activities. See tentative schedule.
APPLICATION
Application deadline: February 22, 2023 at 11:59pm PST
For more information and to apply: filmmakerscollaborative.org/for-us-by-us