A career toolbox for independent filmmakers. Browse by job function (e.g. producer) or category (e.g. fellowships & labs). Whether you need funding, career support, or creative inspiration, there’s an organization that’s willing to help. I’m bookmarking resources on a regular basis, so please feel free to email me suggestions.
| EXPLORE THE TOOLBOX |
| 1. Indie Film Roles |
| 2. Funding & Finance |
| 3. Fellowships & Labs |
| 4. Inspiration & Learning |
| 5. Tools for Projects |
INDIE FILM ROLES
Producers
- Producers Guild of America (PGA)
- Production Guild of Great Britain
- Producers Union
- Dear Producer: Reports & surveys
- Marché du Film/Cannes Producers Network
- National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP)
- Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)
Directors
- Directors Guild of America (DGA)
- Alliance of Women Directors (AWD)
- Black Women Directors
- Indian Film & Television Director’s Association (IFTDA)
- Chicana Directors Directors Initiative: Directory of Latinx directors & cinematographers
Cinematographers
- American Society of Cinematographers (ASC)
- British Society of Cinematographers (BSC)
- International Collective of Female Cinematographers (ICFC)
- Cinematographers XX: Women cinematographers (emerging & established)
- Illuminatrix: Women cinematographers based in the UK and working internationally
- Indian Women Cinematographer Collective (IWCC)
- Roger A. Deakins Website: Check out the forums
Screenwriters
- Writers Guild of America (WGA)
- Registration: U.S. Copyright Office
- Final Draft: Screenwriting software
- Lauri’s List of Screenwriting Fellowships, Labs, and Contests
- The Black List
- International Screenwriters’ Association (ISA)
- ScreenCraft: Useful advice in the blog
- Script Magazine
- The Script Lab
- The Showrunner’s Corner: Practical guides from John Wells Productions
Composers
- American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP)
- Sum of All Music
- Alliance for Women Film Composers (AWFC)
- Your Music, Your Future
Animators
- Women in Animation (WIA)
- Black N’ Animated
- Asians in Animation (AIA)
- Asian Queens in Animation
- LatinX in Animation (LXiA)
- Rise Up Animation (RUA)
- Annecy Festival
- CARTOON
- View Conference
- BRIC Foundation
Crew
- International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
- ARRAY Crew: Database of underrepresented below-the-line film & TV crew
- Handy Foundation Crew Database: BIPOC crew members
- Access Reelworld: Canadian BIPOC creatives, crews, production staff, and executives
- Women in Media Crew List
- BIPOC Doc Editors Database
- A-Doc Crew Database: Asian American crew
- Kareen Schmeer Film Editing Fellows Database: Editors & Assistant Editors
- Crew United
Independent Filmmakers
- Free the Work: Underrepresented filmmakers
- CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)
- Black Public Media: Supports film & TV about the Black experience
- Black Film Space: Filmmakers of African descent
- Latino Filmmakers Network
- FILMingle: Networking forum
- Shooting People
- AXS Lab: Disabled creatives
- Breaking Through The Lens (BTTL): Supporting directors of underrepresented genders
Women Filmmakers
- Women in Film & TV (WIFT): Find your local chapter
- Women in Film (WIF): LA chapter of WIFT
- Women in Film and TV (WFTV): Women working in creative media in the UK
- Women Make Movies (WMM)
- Women in Media
- Women and Hollywood
- Film Fatales: Excellent virtual panels with resources
- Divas with Disabilities: Black and brown women with visible disabilities
- GreenLightWomen: Women filmmakers over 40
- Birds’ Eye View: Women & non-binary filmmakers
- Women in VR/AR: Professional group on Facebook
Documentary Filmmakers
- International Documentary Association (IDA)
- Chicken & Egg Pictures: Women nonfiction filmmakers
- A-Doc: Asian American Documentary Network
- Brown Girls Doc Mafia
- Color Congress
- Doc Edge Industry Programme
- Alliance of Documentary Editors
- The D-Word
- MIT Open Documentary Lab
- FWD-DOC: Documentary filmmakers with disabilities
FUNDING & FINANCE OPPORTUNITIES
Financing Forums
- Marché du Film at Cannes
- Film Independent Fast Track: Intensive film finance market for producer-director teams
- International Financing Forum (IFF): Feature film co-financing/co-production event at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)
- Sundance Catalyst Forum: Connects indie filmmakers to investors
- Film London Production Finance Market (PFM)
- Sunny Side of the Doc Global Pitch: To facilitate the international financing and co-production of projects focusing on women’s voices
- Séries Mania Forum: Co-Pro Pitching Sessions: TV series projects seeking international financing
- Durban FilmMart (DFM) Finance & Pitch Forum: African filmmakers
- IFFR CineMart: International co-production
- Tokyo Gap-Financing Market: Producers with Asian feature film projects attending TIFFCOM
- European Work in Progress (EWIP) Cologne
- AIFF Partners Co-Production/Co-Financing Market: Feature films & TV projects
- Berlinale Co-Production Market
- Venice Production Bridge
- Göteborg Film Fund
Pitch Opportunities & Markets
- Gotham Week Project Market: Narrative & documentary
- Latino Media Market: Organized by the NALIP
- 37ºSouth Market: Melbourne International Film Festival market for producers & creators with pitch opportunities
- Berlinale Talents: Talent development program at EFM/Berlinale
- Birmingham Film & TV Market: UK filmmakers
- Film Bazaar: India and South Asia filmmakers
- Asian Contents & Film Market: Held at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)
- Asian Project Market
- Asia TV Forum & Market Labs & Pitches
- New Orleans Film Society: South Pitch: Southern US filmmakers
- FilmarketHub Virtual Pitch Events: Screenwriters & emerging production teams
- ATX TV Festival: The Pitch Competition: Aspiring TV writers
- Athena Film Festival Works-In-Progress Program: Women filmmakers
- MEDIMED: The Euro-Mediterranean Film Market: European & Arab documentary producers
- Cairo Film Connection: Arab filmmakers
- IDFA Forum: Documentary projects
Independent
- Women Make Media (WMM) Funding List: Superb resource—funds from around the world (and not just for women)
- SFFILM Fellowships & Grants: Documentary & narrative
- The Black List Grants, Fellowships & Commissions: Funding for screenwriters & playwrights
- Roy W. Dean Film Grants: Micro-budget features, documentaries, web series, and short films
Narrative
- Sloan Science in Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship: Stories related to science and/or technology
Documentary
- The Film Collaborative (TFC) Funding List: Tons of ideas for funding sources
- Catapult Film Fund
- IDFA Bertha Fund
- Sandbox Fund/Sundance Institute Documentary Fund: U.S. and international nonfiction projects, with a focus on feature-length documentary projects
- The Whickers: Film & TV Funding Award: Emerging directors from around the world
- ITVS Funding Awards: Documentaries to air on public television
- IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund
- AXS Film Fund: Creators of color in documentary filmmaking or nonfiction new media who identify as having a disability
- LEF New England: Moving Image Fund: New England filmmakers
- Southern Documentary Fund: Filmmaking Grants: Southern US filmmakers
- Redford Center Grants: Documentary features or series about environmental issues & solutions
- Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film
- The Gotham Documentary Development Initiative
- Diane Weyermann Fellowship: Cinematic, feature-length documentaries (60 minutes or longer)
- Impact Kickstart: Impact campaign funding & support for underrepresented documentary directors
- CrossCurrents International Doc Fund: Filmmakers from underrepresented and marginalized communities
- Chicken & Egg Pictures Research & Development Grant: Women & non-binary documentary filmmakers
Women & Non-Binary
- NYWIFT Grants for Women Filmmakers
- Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant: Women, non-binary, and transgender
- Reel Sisters Micro Budget Film Fellowship: Women of color working on a web series
- Wavelength Productions WAVE Grant: Emerging female and non-binary filmmakers of color
BIPOC
- Firelight Media Funds: Documentary filmmakers of color
- Black Public Media Funding
- Black Creators Forum Fellowship & Grants
LGBTQ+
Latinx
- Show Me the Fund
- LALIFF Inclusion Fellowship: Indigenous Latino & Afro/Black Latino
Asian Diaspora & AAPI
- Asian CineVision Fiscal Sponsorship
- Peng Zhao and Cherry Chen Fund for AAPI Voices
- Tasveer Film Fund: South Asian filmmakers
Indigenous
Students
Global
- Hubert Bals Fund (HBF): Dedicated to supporting filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe
- World Cinema Fund: Works to develop and support cinema in regions with a weak film infrastructure
Europe
- Aide aux cinémas du monde: Funding for international co-productions with France
UK
- BFI Network Funding Finder: Short film funding and feature treatment funding for fiction live action, animation or immersive projects
- BFI Funding Programs: Funding programs for UK film & TV development and production, which includes international co-productions and completion funding
- BFI Funding & Support for International Activity: Promoting international engagement and collaboration with UK filmmakers
Aotearoa New Zealand
NYC
Arab
African & African Diaspora
- KOSINIMA Grants: Black femme filmmakers
- Black Film Space Funding Programs
FELLOWSHIPS & LABS
Mentorship Opportunities
- Sidetime Film Mentors: Established industry people; some mentors donate their fee to charity
- Women in Animation (WIA) Mentor Circles
- Black Boy Writes/Black Girl Writes Mentorship
- ViacomCBS Writers Mentoring Program
Independent
- Sundance Labs, Fellowships, Grants & Programs
- Film Independent Programs
- IF/Then Programs
- Future of Film Incubator
Producers
- Marché du Film/Cannes Producers Network
- PGA Create: Documentary & Scripted Labs: Underrepresented emerging & mid-career U.S. producers
- New Orleans Film Society: Southern Producers Lab
Directors
- The Gotham Labs: First-time documentary & fiction feature directors; TV series creators
- TIFF Filmmaker Lab: Open to directors from around the world
- ViacomCBS Directing Initiative
- NBCU Launch TV Directors
- Disney Entertainment Directing Program
- Half Initiative Director Shadowing Program: Emerging and mid-career women, BIPOC, LGBTQ, non-binary, and minority directors
Screenwriters
- The Black List Labs & Programs
- Circle of Confusion Writers Discovery Fellowship
- Stowe Story Labs
- Athena Film Festival Writers Lab: Women screenwriters
- The Writers Lab: Women & non-binary screenwriters over 40
- NBCU Launch TV Writers
- Disney Entertainment Writing Program
- Paramount Writers Mentoring Program
- Humanitas New Voices Fellowship
- Women Write Now: Comedic screenwriting fellowship for Black women
- The Disruptors Fellowship: Emerging TV writers of color who identify as trans, and/or non-binary, disabled, or undocumented
- Mentorship Matters: Pairs emerging writers of color with working TV showrunners
Editors
- Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship: Documentary editors
Crew
Documentary
- Grierson DocLabs: UK documentary filmmakers
- DOC NYC x Video Consortium Storytelling Incubator: Filmmakers from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds
- CPH: LAB: European documentary filmmakers, storytellers and creative technologists (limited number of internationals)
Women
- Women in Film (WIF) Programs
- From Script to Pre-Production (FS2P)
- Athena Film Fest Works in Progress: Intensive pitch training & exposure for documentary films
- AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women
- The Black List x WIF Feature Residency: Women & underrepresented genders
- WFTV Mentoring Schemes: UK women filmmakers with some experience
BIPOC
- Firelight Media Programs: Documentary filmmakers of color
- LAUNCH: HBCU Fellowship Program: Dreamworks-sponsored program for animation careers
Latinx
- LALIFF Inclusion Fellowship
- Latino Lens Incubators
- Filmarket Calls: Script Contests & Pitch Opportunities
- NHMC Series Scriptwriters Program
Indigenous
- Indigenous Storytelling Fellowship
- Indigenous Filmmaker Fellowship
- Sundance Merata Mita Fellowship
- Sundance Full Circle Fellowship
- Sundance Native Filmmakers Lab
- IllumiNative Producers Program: Early & mid-career producers
- Native American Media Alliance (NAMA) Programs
AAPI
- CAPE Programs & Fellowships
- CAAM Fellowship: Asian American documentary filmmakers
- The Thousand Miles Project: Screenwriters—TV project proposals in any genre
Deaf, Disabled & Neurodivergent
- Inevitable Foundation Programs: Mid-career disabled screenwriters
- BBC Elevate: Mid-level TV production talent in the UK
Jewish
UK
- BAFTA Breakthrough UK: On- and off-screen talent
- ScreenSkills: UK residents
- Creative UK Support Programmes: UK film & TV creatives
- ScreenCraft Works International Mentoring Scheme: Underrepresented UK production & post-production talent
- Sara Putt Associates Trainee Scheme: UK residents
- Independent Film Trust (IFT) Mentoring: Underrepresented filmmakers
Aotearoa New Zealand
African & Southwest Asian
- EbonyLife Creative Academy (ECLA): Nigerian creatives
- Close Up Initiative: Documentary filmmakers from Southwest Asia and North Africa
- Durban Film Mart Institute (DFMI) Programs
INSPIRATION & LEARNING
Industry Directories
- IMDB Pro
- Cinando
- FilmFreeway: Film festival database
Industry News
AI
- AI in Hollywood: AI-related news, interviews with producers, coverage of new regulations & more
What to Watch
- Telescope Film: Search for international films & series that are currently streaming
- Women Make Film: Documentary on Criterion featuring international filmmakers
- Short of the Week
- Black Film Archive
- Old Films Revival Project
Education
- Online Film Industry Events: Many festivals put their tickets up on EventBrite
- Sundance Collab: Detailed workshops & classes by established filmmakers
- Studio Binder: YouTube tutorial videos on all aspects of the craft
- Every Frame a Painting: Brilliant YouTube series by Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou
- Team Deakins: Podcast interview series led by Roger Deakins & James Deakins
- Sideways: Critiques on film, TV & game scores
- Distribution Advocates: Panels & resources for independent filmmakers, particularly in documentary
- NYFA Video Playlists: Check out the 20/20 Series and Guest Speakers
- Distripedia: Distribution-related educational tools & resources, including case studies
- Distribution Playbook: A free resource designed for filmmakers, video creators, funders, and co-collaborators to take the lead in their distribution
Industry Reports
- Hollywood Diversity Report: Issued annually by UCLA
- IllumiNative Guides: Indigenous representation in entertainment
- CMSI Documentary & Independent Media Reports
- FWD-DOC Toolkit for Inclusion & Accessibility
TOOLS FOR PROJECTS
Labor Guides
- Showbiz Labor Guide: Searchable collection of scale rates for SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, DGA, WGA, Teamsters and more
- WGA Schedule of Minimums
- ADE Guide for Documentary Edit Schedules