Film/ADE Grant

The Audience Innovations Fund is a new program that promotes fresh strategies to grow audiences for independent film releases. They do this through awarding grants for bold experiments around distribution and marketing, and by providing educational resources for film teams to encourage a renewed focus on audiences. They will also release case studies and data publicly so that the field as a whole can learn from the successes and failures of grantees.

Long term goals are simply larger audiences for independent cinema as well as audiences that are more representative of the US population. In a challenging time for our field, their strategy is to offset the risk of testing new methodologies to strengthen the engagement with thought-provoking films in our culture. You can apply for a grant amount from $5,000 to $50,000. The amount you apply for should not exceed 50% of the overall marketing budget for the film or films.

They are currently focused on US theatrical and non-theatrical releases.

Requirements

To apply for a grant, you must:

• Be a for-profit or nonprofit organization or entity that can demonstrate previous experience distributing and marketing independent feature films.
• Include a specific film or film slate in your proposal.
  
• Be willing to share back available data around the proposal’s success.
• They prioritize entities who have demonstrated that they value diversity in race, gender, sexual orientation, and those with disabilities, as well as applicants who look to expand audiences from traditionally excluded communities.
• Streamer/studio owned entities and vertically integrated companies (those that fund, produce and distribute films) are not eligible.