Overview  |  Eligibility  |  Application Guidelines | Apply Online

Deadlines
Spring 2009:

• LOI period opens January 28.
  
• LOI deadline is February 23.
  
• Finalists are invited to submit additional materials March 16.
  
• Additional materials deadline for finalists is April 3.
  
• Winner will be announced at San Francisco International Film Festival Golden Gate Awards May 6.
  

Fall 2009:

• LOI period opens July 20.
  
• LOI deadline is August 20.
  
• Finalists are invited to submit additional materials September 18.
  
• Additional materials deadline for finalists is October 9.
  
• Winner will be announced November 9.

How to Apply

• Submit a Letter of Inquiry on the SFFS Web site.
  
• If selected as a finalist, you will be asked to submit a full application; a link will be sent to an online form, and you will be asked to submit a work sample.

Work Sample
Finalists will be asked to submit a five-minute sample on DVD or as a link to a Web site of a work-in-progress or most recent representative work, or, if a writer, a treatment or ten pages of a current screenplay. Filmmakers who are requesting funds for postproduction must submit a five-minute sample of their work-in-progress.

Work samples and full application must be received by 5:00 pm on, or postmarked by April 3, 2009 for the Spring 2009 grant cycle to:
SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants
c/o San Francisco Film Society
39 Mesa Street, Suite 110
San Francisco, CA 94129

Review Panel
The Film Society will convene a panel to evaluate applications and award grants at its sole discretion.

Reporting Requirement
Grant recipients will be required to submit a progress report and a new work sample six months, and then again one year, from the date of the grant award.

Giving Back and Supporting Bay Area Film Culture
All grant recipients will be required to:

• Include acknowledgment of “San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation” in the credits of the final product. If a grant represents ten percent or more of project budget, credit will be above the line.
  
• Offer SFFS the first look at finished work and first right of refusal for potential premiere at the SFIFF or other SFFS exhibition venues in the Bay Area.

In addition, all grant recipients will be expected to support the San Francisco Film Society and KRF Filmmaking Grants program in one or more of the following ways:

• Write an article or participate in an interview about your work for one or more publications.
  
• Lead a workshop or professional development course in your area of expertise.
  
• Meet with filmmakers to discuss work.
  
• Show a work-in-progress or present your project at an appropriate forum.
  
• Participate in SFFS Golden Gate Awards prescreening activities.
  
• Mentor or otherwise assist filmmakers who participate after you in these programs.
  
• Participate in community outreach activities around the issues addressed by the film.
  

Learn more about the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.