TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund Entry Rules and Regulations

In 2010, the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund will provide up to $140,000 in support of compelling narrative filmmaking that explores scientific, mathematical, and technological themes and storylines, or that features a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, innovator or mathematician.

Project Eligibility

In order to qualify for the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund, entrants must comply with all of the following rules and eligibility regulations. Failure to comply with these rules will render a submission ineligible.

  • Projects should creatively address the role of science and technology in everyday lives, and/or depict the lives of scientists, engineers, innovators and mathematicians in new, but still accurate, ways.
  • Projects must be fiction motion pictures with an intended length of at least 70 minutes.
  • Short films, student films, and documentary projects are NOT eligible for submission.
  • Projects may be of any narrative genre, except for science-fiction or fantasy.
  • Projects should be in either the development stage (to apply for Development Funds), advanced production or post-production stages (to apply for Finishing Funds) or completed after January 1, 2009 (to apply for Distribution Funds). Projects must not have already secured any form of distribution.
  • Projects may only apply for one category of support.  Please refer to the guidelines below to determine which type of support is most suitable.
  • Foreign language projects are eligible, but must be subtitled and suitable for an American audience.
  • Submitted screenplays must be registered with the WGA or copyright office (see www.wgawregistry.org or www.copyright.gov/register/performing.html)
  • Applicants are not required to have an agent or be a guild member.
  • Applicants must be at least 18-years old.
  • Previous award recipients from Sloan Foundation film school or film festival programs are encouraged to apply for the support of the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund.

Online Application

All applicants must complete the online application form found at http://dashboard.tribecafilminstitute.org/. You may choose to preview the application, but in order to start a new application, you must register. If an applicant has previously submitted application for any TFI program via our system, they may already have a login. Please contact TFI staff if you experience any difficulty accessing the online application.

Applicants should be sure that they are completing an application for the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund. Applicants must apply for one specific area of funding within the three categories offered (Development, Finishing Funds or Distribution), and they should be sure that they are completing the correct application for the desired category of support.

Applicants may save and return to their application until it is completed, but upon submission, applicants will no longer have the ability to edit their entered information. Online applications will not be considered complete until they have been officially submitted.

Within each required section of the application, further explanation is provided as to what information is expected. Please be sure to follow the guidelines pertaining to minimum and maximum amount of words allowed.

Sections of the online application include, but are not limited to:

  • Applicant & Crew - bios, pictures and contact information of applicant and any key team members
  • Logline, Synopsis, Estimated Length
  • Budget Amount & Budget Range - as can best be estimated
  • Project Status - complete history to date of the project
  • Artistic Statement
  • Timeline
  • Statement of Funding Request

Timeline:
The timeline should be a detailed breakdown of your project goals. Even if your project is in the earliest stage and you haven't laid out any specific development/production phases yet, submissions with a detailed timeline will be considered strongly as it indicates that you have clear goals for your project and a realistic sense of when these will be achieved. The timeline should go step by step through each phase, and also give an overview of what you plan on doing with the project during the grant year.

Statement of Funding Request:
The statement of funding request should serve as a summary of your overall project goals and how you plan on achieving them with a grant from Sloan. It should provide a detailed account of how much grant money your team is requesting, for what purpose, and how you specifically plan on allocating the grant money. It should also give some background on why you think your project is important and fits the criteria of the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund. To that effect, there should be an explanation of what scientific themes your project explores and how they are significant.

Budget Topsheet or Summary:
All applicants are required to upload a Budget Topsheet or Summary (.pdf or .doc), through the online application. We prefer that you upload copy of an actual or estimated production budget top-sheet. If there is no producer attached, applicants may upload a one page budget summary estimating the major phases of production as they understand it.

Work Sample:
When applicable, applicants are asked to provide a work sample on DVD in supplement to their online application. Basic information about the work sample to be provided should be entered into the online application. Please see the below sections about Submission Materials for further explanation of the work samples.

Upon clicking the "Submit" button, the application will be officially submitted and the applicant will no longer be able to edit the entered information. Upon submitting, the applicant will receive an Application Submission Confirmation email at their registered login address. This email will provide further instruction for next steps to be taken by the applicant.

Entry Fee

Applicants must pay an entry fee of $40 USD. They will have the option to pay this online via paypal, upon submitting their online application, or they may include a check with their submission materials, made out to "Tribeca Film Institute".

Projects that are ineligible for the support of the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund (due to violation of the project eligibility rules listed at the top of this page) will not have their entry fee refunded.

Submission Materials

In general, we ask that you provide any and all supporting materials and information that will help the Tribeca Film Institute and the award committee review your project completely.

Please read the material requirements for each specific category of funding carefully, as they are different.

In addition to completing an online application form, all submissions must provide the following materials:

  • A hardcopy of the completed online application. Upon submitting the application online, applicants will be able to download a PDF version of their application, to be printed out.
  • Signed release form. Upon submitting the application online, applicants will be able to download a PDF version of the release form, to be printed out. If a signed release form is not provided, the submission will be ineligible for consideration.

Projects can also provide any of the following materials, if available.

  • Option agreement, for optioned literary materials.
  • A statement in support of your project's scientific premise from a science advisor, if applicable.
  • Letters of intent and brief filmography/headshots for attached talent
  • Printed visual materials, such as look books or storyboards that might suggest the project's aesthetic approach.

For each category, applicants must also send the following materials:

Development Funds

If your project is in TREATMENT form, you must submit:

  • Two copies of the film's treatment, approximately 10 - 15 pages. The treatment must give a clear overview of what happens in your story, introduce all of the major characters and cover all of the major plot points. The treatment should not only describe what is happening in the story, but why it is happening and how it contributes to the overall plot. It should give a sense of exactly how each aspect of the story should be executed.

If available, projects in TREATMENT form should also submit:

  • One copy of 15-30 page sample of writer's previous work OR 15-30 pages from the proposed screenplay
  • If a director is attached, one DVD copy (formatted for NTSC; Regions 0 or 1) of the director's prior work should be submitted on DVD (e.g. short film, feature film, music video, commercial). Only ONE sample per director please.
  • Edited footage related to the project (e.g. trailer, teaser, etc.), submitted on DVD.

DVDs must be labeled with applicant tracking number, project title, running time and a short description (e.g. trailer).

If your project is in SCRIPT form, you must submit

  • Two copies of the project's complete screenplay, properly formatted to meet industry standards. In the interest of the environment, screenplays MUST be double-sided and secured with brass fasteners.

If available, projects in SCRIPT form should also submit:

  • If a director is attached, one DVD copy (formatted for NTSC; Regions 0 or 1) of the director's prior work should be submitted on DVD (e.g. short film, feature film, music video, commercial). Only ONE sample per director please.
  • Edited footage related to the project (e.g. trailer, teaser, etc.), submitted on DVD.

DVDs must be labeled with applicant tracking number, project title, running time and a short description (e.g. trailer).

Finishing Funds

  • Two DVD copies (formatted for NTSC; Regions 0 or 1) of any available edited footage from the project, minimum 30 min. (e.g. trailer, teaser, select scenes or rough-cut) should be submitted.

DVDs must be labeled with applicant tracking number, project title, running time and a short description (e.g. trailer).

Distribution funds

  • One copy of the sales and distribution strategy (limited to one page).
  • Two DVD copies of the completed film (formatted for NTSC; Regions 0 or 1) AND any other available edited footage (e.g. trailer, teaser, or "extras") should be submitted.

DVDs must be labeled with applicant tracking number, project title, running time and a short description (e.g. trailer).

Shipping Submission Materials

Submissions will not be considered complete until all of the mandatory materials are received, in supplement to the online application. Please refer to the materials listed above as you submit.

All submitted materials should be clearly labeled with the applicant tracking number (10-####-SLOAN) provided in their Application Submission Confirmation email.

All submitted materials must be postmarked by January 11th, 2010.

Submissions must be shipped pre-paid, including any duties or customs fees to:

Tribeca Film Institute
73 Spring Street, Suite #406
New York, NY 10012
Attn: TFI Sloan Fund
212.274.8080 ext. 22

The Tribeca Film Institute will make every effort to safe-guard the materials submitted; however TFI will not be responsible for lost or stolen Submissions. We recommend using a traceable shipping option as to ensure that materials are delivered.

Please note: Submission materials will not be returned.

Selection Process

A selection committee, guided by and including TFI staff, will evaluate all submissions. Approximately 12 projects will be selected as finalists for funding consideration by the award committee.

All applicants will be notified of their status via email no later than April 1, 2010.

We remind you that the statement of funding and the timeline will be needed to determine funding should your project be selected. They are a crucial component of the review process and should be as thorough as possible. The Award Committee will determine the actual amount awarded to Fund grantees.

Preference will be given to treatments, screenplays and films with little or no prior exposure within the industry and those which have not already participated in other markets, festivals, or funding programs (except for the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund and other Sloan funded programs).

  • If selected as grantee, the project team (writer, director, producer, as applicable) will be requested to be in attendance during the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.
  • Grantees must include the following wording in their completed film's opening or closing credits: "In association with the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund" (opening) or "Supported by the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund" (closing).

Ancillary Support for Grantees

In addition to project funding, filmmakers will receive ancillary support through TFI depending on level of experience and need. This will include:

  • Mentorship, especially for filmmakers at an early stage of their career.
  • Film industry networking to promote finished screenplays, films and works-in-progress through meetings, screenings and other events throughout the year and at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Where appropriate, TFI staff may suggest goals to advance the film's development, production or post-production, which may include re-writes; deadlines; one-on-one script development; strategies to promote and expose projects to key players from film financing or distribution; and guidance or assistance during the post-production process.

Projects that receive funding in one grant year will be able to re-apply for funding in the next, thereby building the feature film in stages, provided the recipient can demonstrate significant progress with the project since last applying.

Questions

Please visit our FAQ page for answers to some commonly asked questions.

If you still have questions regarding the entry process, please send an email to tfisloanfund@tribecafilminstitute.org or call 212.274.8080 ext 22.