Call for Applications: Impact Kickstart Program 2023 (US)

Now in its sixth year, the Impact Kickstart program has helped underrepresented filmmakers create strategic goals for impact and specific plans to engage future partners, funders, and audiences in meaningful ways.

Impact Kickstart was created to fill a gap in support for the impact campaigns of underrepresented filmmakers, including directors who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC), undocumented, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and female directors with a majority female and/or underrepresented film team.

Two films will be selected for Impact Kickstart in 2023. Each selected filmmaker will receive an Impact Kickstart from Working Films that includes the planning, facilitation and reporting out from a day-long strategy summit with potential partners and key collaborators. This summit will leave filmmakers well positioned to carry out an impact campaign with a clear strategy, goals, partners and a report that can be used for engaging supporters.

Funding Information

• Impact Kickstart recipients will also receive impact campaign funding of $60,000 and 1:1 Mentorship support.

Eligibility Criteria

• Film directors must identify as an underrepresented artist. They define “underrepresented” as directors who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC), undocumented, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and female directors with a majority female and/or underrepresented film team.
• Applicants must be 18 years of age.
• This opportunity is open to filmmakers with feature length documentaries in late production, post-production, or recently completed (within the last two years) that address issues of social or environmental justice.
• Films may feature stories from anywhere in the world, but the applicant must be living in the United States and planning an impact campaign to be carried out in the U.S.
• Filmmakers must be prepared for the preparation, planning, and implementation of the impact strategy summit to take place between early 2024. This does not mean that your film must be complete in this time period, but that you are willing to engage in impact campaign strategy development.
• Only one proposal per applicant will be accepted.

Selection Criteria

• The selection for Impact Kickstart will based on:
  • The catalytic potential of the story to address important and current social issues.
  • The strength of the story.
  • The clarity of the film’s vision and goals towards its impact.
  • The strength of the film team’s ideas or plans to engage organizations and other allies working on issues connected to your project (current partners and/or prospective partners).
  • The film team’s personal connection to the story and/or the level of accountability to and consent from the people and communities featured in the film.
  • The film team’s demonstrative skills and/or potential of the applicant to implement plans for impact.

For more information, visit Working Films.