How to Apply

You can either apply online or fill out a paper form and fax or mail it in to us (links to both are at the bottom of the page). If you apply on-line, you still must mail, fax or email in the required attachments.

The application must be done by the director of the film. The director must be a resident of Texas and have lived in the state at least one year prior to the first date of travel to the festival or event (for example, if the festival begins on January 18, 2009, and the director is traveling there opening night, he or she must have lived in Texas as of January 18, 2008). If there is a co-director, at least one of the directors must be a Texas resident.

Filmmakers must submit the following BEFORE travel occurs:

1. A completed online application form
2. Proof of Texas residency (drivers' license, government-issued ID, utility bill with Texas address)
3. Official acceptance letter from festival/event
4. Brief project synopsis & director biography

To receive the grant funds, filmmaker must submit:

1. Proof of travel (receipt for airfare, rail travel, receipts for gas to out-of-state event, etc.)
   

Although these grants are funded out of the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund, they will not restrict a recipients' eligibility for the regular TFPF cycle. For example, if a filmmaker has received a maximum of two TFPF grants for a project, they are still eligible to apply for a travel grant through this program.

Required Attachments:

Proof of residency (Required BEFORE travel occurs)
The director must be a resident of Texas and have lived in the state at least one year prior to the first date of travel to the festival or event. A “resident” means someone who has continuously lived in the state of Texas for one full year. If, for example, you maintained a residence here, but lived in Virginia for most of the year, or if your permanent residence is in Texas but you go to an out-of-state school, you do not qualify. Acceptable forms of proof are a Texas driver’s license, a voter registration card or other government issued ID or a utility bill in your name with your Texas address.

Official Acceptance Letter (Required BEFORE travel occurs)
You must submit proof that your project will screen or participate in the festival or event. A print-out of an email from an official of the festival or event is acceptable. A press release from the festival or event that lists your film or project is also acceptable.

Project Synopsis and Director Biography (Required BEFORE travel occurs)
You probably had to write this up to even submit to the festival or event, so you should have no problem with this. Just a paragraph for each will be fine.

Proof of Travel (Required)
This can be submitted before or after travel occurs, but must be submitted before grant funds will be released. This can be an airline or rail receipt or, if you drive to the event, a receipt for the hotel stay, or a gas receipt (and, yes, we will check the location of the gas station to make sure it's out of state).

The travel expenditure does not have to equal $500 or $1000 (it can even be a free frequent-flyer flight, for example) because we know that all other kinds of costs are incurred with festival travel (lodging, food, late night runs to Kinko’s to make business cards, etc.) and we don’t want to see all those receipts. We just need some kind of proof that the filmmaker did in fact travel to the festival/event. We have restricted the grants to those amounts to ensure that the funds can be spread to as many filmmakers as possible each fiscal year.

What Happens After I Apply?
If the festival or event you are traveling to is on the "pre-approved" list, all you need to do is submit your proof of travel and we will disburse the grant funds to you. If the festival or event is inside the U.S., you will receive $500, if the festival or event is outside the U.S., you will receive $1000. It is likely you will need to fill out a W-9 form to receive the grant funds and we will get in touch with you if it is necessary.

If the festival or event is not on the "pre-approved" list, we will wait until the end of the fiscal year (Aug. 31) to evaluate the applications we received. If any of the $10,000 earmarked for the program is left over, a subcommittee of AFS board members and local film professionals will decide whether or not any of the applications are eligible for after-the-fact reimbursement. The subcommittee will evaluate the quality and importance of the festivals or events themselves, not the quality of the projects. If any of the applications are deemed eligible, the funds will be disbursed according to the regular guidelines - $500 for a festival or event inside the US, $1000 for one outside the US.

The subcommittee will also determine if any of the projects will be put on the "pre-approved" list for the next fiscal year, and if adjustments will be made to the grant amounts or procedures.

Fill out and submit the online application.