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The CrossCurrents Doc Fund provides one successful applicant per year with a grant of $10,000 CDN, which could reflect up to 100 per cent of the project’s production budget.

Applications are now open, with a final deadline of December 2, 2015.

Please read the below guidelines before applying or visit The CrossCurrents Doc Fund for more information.

ELIGIBILITY

The fund seeks to support projects where its contribution provides for maximum impact, especially those that target broad audiences, reach across a range of communities, and encourage understanding and appreciation of unheard voices.

Applicants Must Be:
-35 years of age or under
-An emerging filmmaker from anywhere in the world (i.e. three or fewer professional directing credits)
-Note: Professional credits include any commercial (distributed theatrically, on broadcast, DVD or via viable/curated digital platforms like iTunes, Netflix, Hulu) or festival-run short, feature-length or series project (fiction or documentary) where you held the role as director.

Projects Must Be:
-Low-budget films (i.e. under $25,000 CDN)
-Short to mid-length works (i.e. five to 50 minutes)
-Primarily for release online or as web docs/interactive projects
-Majority owned by the applicant
-In development or production

We will Not Accept:
-Submissions from producers
-Film project proposals that are school, institute or university course work
-Projects at a rough cut stage or projects that will be finished by Hot Docs 2016
-Projects that already have a broadcaster attached

REQUIRED INFORMATION

Submissions for the Fund Will Include the Following Elements:
-Applicant bio, list of credits, links to previous work and education history
-Top line crew details
-Brief synopsis (maximum 500 words) and detailed film treatment (maximum 2000 words)
-Links to teaser, trailer, or scene selection
-Detailed project strategy, including audience goals, preliminary distribution and screening plans, as well as financing strategy (maximum 1000 words)
-Budget summary, including all confirmed and pending funding
-Eligibility statement including inspiration and challenges (maximum 1000 words), relationship with the subject matter of the project, and the fund’s impact on your project. (maximum 1000 words)

DECISION CRITERIA

Applications Will Be Evaluated Based on the Following Criteria:
-Overall adherence to the Fund’s aims, especially regarding the relationship of the filmmaker with the subject matter of the project
-Filmmakers must demonstrate how they are storytelling from within the underrepresented community, as opposed to looking in from the outside
-Strength, style and originality of the subject matter and the treatment
-An assessment of the grant’s total financial and professional impact on the project’s realization
-Vision and ability of the filmmaker
-Feasibility of the project with respect to its budget, financing, schedule and scope
-The film’s strategy to access meaningful audience engagement
-Illustration of a digital/online engagement and distribution strategy

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BENEFITS
The successful applicant will receive a grant of $10,000 CDN, which could reflect up to 100 per cent of the project’s production budget.

Eligible costs include standard industry production and post-production expenses.

Finishing costs (e.g. captioning, versioning, prints) are NOT eligible
Marketing, distribution and community engagement costs may be eligible as a portion of the grant (maximum 20 per cent). A detailed engagement and distribution strategy should be included with this request.

To inquire about exceptions, please contact smcarthur@hotdocs.ca before applying.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
In addition to the production grant, the successful recipient will be provided with a Hot Docs Fellowship, which includes travel, accommodation and accreditation to the annual Hot Docs Festival and enrolment in the documentary Channel Doc Accelerator program and mentorship initiatives.

FUND RECOGNITION
CrossCurrents Doc Fund support is to be acknowledged with a prominent logo on the end credits of the film as well as on publicity and all promotional materials related to the production. More specific credit requirements will be described in the Agreement.

Applications are now open, with a final deadline of December 2, 2015.

APPLY NOW

Applicants will be notified by the week of February 15, 2016.