Black Cinema Collective (BCC) celebrates and explores radical imaginaries of African and Afro-diasporic cinema. 

With a Black global lens, Black Cinema Collective (BCC) has foregrounded intersectional histories and topical stories of African and Afro-diasporic cultures by supporting films from local and global artists, activists, documentarians, and organizers. Since 2019, our screenings and artist talks have explored radical cinematic imaginaries within contemporary art, music, performance and poetry practices, working with filmmakers from the US, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. This has been possible through our determined efforts and robust partnerships to support Black+Brown artists, and now we want to deepen our support for your work! 

This is BCC’s second microgrant and will be juried this year by award-winning film artists; documentary filmmaker Ania Freer, composer, intermedia artist and performer Chari Clogovac-Smith, and actor and film producer, Zainab Jah!

Review full 2024 BCC FILMMAKER MICROGRANT Info via our website  

KEY DATES:

The application period lasts for 5 weeks. 

Applications Open:  Monday, April 29, 2024

Application Workshop: Monday, May 6, 2024 at 12:30 pm PST

Application Deadlines:  

EARLY FREE APPLICATIONS: April 29th -  Monday May 27th, 2024,  11:59PM PST 

CLOSING WEEK with $15 SUBMISSION FEE:  May 28th - June 2nd, 2024, 11:59 pm PST

There will be no extensions for this call.

Public Awards Announcement:  Tuesday, September 24, 2024
 

GRANT AWARDS:

BCC Microgrants are project-based and will distribute $15,000 in funding to two (2) filmmakers as follows:

• (2) $7,500 awards each (Solo Filmmaker or Filmmaker Collaborative)
• (2) 6-month subscriptions to MUBI
• (2) opportunities for bi-coastal screenings with Northwest Film Forum and New York African Film Festival.This is subject to anticipated film completion by Feb 2025 (Must provide 3- 4 month minimum notice to be included in May -June 2025 screening schedules at each film space).
   

QUICK  OVERVIEW & GUILDLINES

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
 

•  Have a film project that is currently in or will be in the post-production stage at the time of submission.
• Reflect the work, stories, and communities Black Cinema Collective serves. Black identifying, Afro-Descendant applicants of all genders and marginalized groups  including differently-abled, non-binary, non-gender conforming, queer, trans, straight peoples are encouraged to apply. 
• Active, emerging, or prior experience in filmmaking, with demonstrated interest in Black cinema studies, Afro-Diasporic stories, film criticism, and production.
• Applicants must be 18 years or older
• Must be a US resident or currently reside in the US. We define U.S. residents to include U.S. citizens living in the U.S., U.S. green card holders living in the U.S., and those living in the U.S. with valid work authorization from the USCIS (such as O-1 and H-1 visa holders), and able to provide a W9 form for award funds. 
• Matriculated students in certificate or degree studies are not eligible to apply
• Current contractors, team, and staff members of Black Cinema Collective (BCC), MUBI, NY African FF and NWFF are not eligible to apply.

APPLICATION ITEMS

To facilitate an accessible process for applicants, we've kept the process as simple as possible. To be considered, applicants must submit an application in full via the NWFF Submittable Account by Sunday, June 2nd 2024 at 11:59 pm PST and must include:

1. an artist statement (500 words max -OR- link to a video file with no password, 3 mins max)
2. a synopsis of your film (300 words max)
3. details about the stage of film project and how a post-production grant will serve your project (400 words max)
4. a CV/filmography (1 page max) 
5. 1-2 work samples (one required, one optional)

• (REQUIRED) - A work sample of your current project. It must be a video submission of up to 5 mins,  no larger than 800 MB upload).  Film reels are not eligible. 
• (OPTIONAL) - The second (optional) work sample may be submitted. This can be up to 3 film stills/images, a related project clip, or, a film reel.  (NB: a film reel is only eligible as your second optional work sample).  Optional videos should be no longer than 2 mins and shared via link. 

SUBMITTABLE CRITERIA

The 2024 Black Cinema Collective Filmmaker Microgrant is being hosted by Northwest Film Forum Submittable.

• You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials in order to submit these forms.
• You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
• If you need to make changes to your form, please withdraw your submission and resubmit.
• Our platform works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Please make sure you are using a supported browser, and that the files are valid file types. 
• You can find the acceptable file types under the "Choose File" button on the application.