Entries open for AFAC: Documentary Film Grant Program

The program welcomes submissions by Arab directors of feature-length documentary film projects that are in development, production or post-production phases, as well as short and medium-length documentaries in production and post-production.

Funding Information

• The Documentary Film program provides annual grants up to USD 10,000 for development grants, up to USD 50,000 for production grants for feature-length films and USD 20,000 for short and medium-length documentaries, and up to USD 25,000 for post-production grants for feature-length films and USD 10,000 for short and medium-length documentaries.

Eligible Activities

• AFAC grants are intended for project production, including research and development phases. They may cover project-related expenses, including but not limited to materials, space or equipment rentals, and fees for artistic and technical labor and collaboration.
• A director and producer fee of not more than 30% of the total grant amount is also an allowable expense.
• Given the high demand for production support, AFAC cannot guarantee that all selected grantees will receive their requested amounts in full. They encourage applicants to diversify their sources of funding whenever possible.
• AFAC does not offer mobility grants, but travel expenses that are part of a project’s implementation and/or research may be covered by the grant.
• AFAC will not provide support retroactively to projects that have already been completed.
• For projects that have already started, they cover only expenses occurring after the agreement’s signature date.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Documentary Film grant program is open to applications from Arab directors and producers living in the Arab region or the diaspora. A non-Arab producer can apply for a grant provided that the film director is Arab. It is highly recommended that film projects applying to the production and post-production grants have producers attached to them.
• Project applications are accepted irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence, ethnicity, gender, or religion.
• A film producer is eligible to apply with a maximum of two projects per category per cycle, provided the two projects are not attached to the same director.

Ineligibility Criteria

• AFAC will not consider applications submitted by:
  • Members of the AFAC board of trustees, their business partners, or family members.
  • AFAC staff members, their business partners, or family members.
  • Members of the current year’s reader and juror committees.
  • Applicants with a current open grant.
  • A director who already has an open grant from AFAC (regardless of whether the contract is in their name or the producer’s name).
• Recipients of grants in two consecutive years will not be eligible to apply for the next two consecutive years. For example, if you received a grant in 2021 and another one in 2022, you will only be eligible to re-apply in 2025.
• Film producers who have an open grant can apply with another project. If they have two open grants, they are not eligible to apply before the completion of one of the projects.
• If a grantee has received two grants for the same film project, they cannot apply for post-production.

For more information, visit AFAC.