Applications open for The Miller/Packan Film Fund

Objectives

• They believe in a more perfect world. The Miller/Packan Documentary Film Fund provides grants to feature-length non-fiction projects that address social issues and inspire others.
• The planet is wonderfully diverse. They support film as an instrument for change, delivering greater knowledge, compassion and awareness. Listening and understanding bring them together.

Categories

• At the highest level, the Fund’s subject categories are Education, the Environment and Civics.
• They back a variety of styles that drive a film’s narrative. This might include character-driven storytelling, a fact-based exposé or an informational point-of-view upon a controversial subject.
• They look for quality filmmaking comprised of inspiring characters, a fascinating story, a strong visual style, tight editing and generally high production values.
• They seek projects that open their eyes through a strong premise, critical thinking, detailed analysis and competing views.
• They like investigations into the cost structures of their social institutions, such as healthcare and education. They appreciate the celebration of public heroes and find inspiration through their stories. They favor topics that bring their global community together.
• Your success in winning a grant will depend upon how well your film matches up with their mission and the strength of your proposal.

Funding Information

• Each year, grants totaling $200,000 are awarded to between eight and twelve filmmakers.
• The Fund supports filmmaking in advanced development (up to $15,000), production and post-production stages (up to $25,000).

Ineligible Activities

• They do not fund outreach or audience engagement activities. Nor do they fund expenses related to fund-raising, distribution, publicity or marketing.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must be the producer and/or director and at least 18 years of age.
• The film must be feature length of no less than 70 minutes.
• The film addresses a social issue of recognized significance.
• The film is commercially viable and capable of reaching a large audience.
• International projects must be a topic with global audience appeal, extending beyond the film’s location.
• The project must have IRS 501(c)(3) status or a Fiscal Sponsor.
• Non-English language films are eligible but must have English subtitles.
• Student films are ineligible
• Completed films are ineligible.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Political Agenda: Many important topics (e.g. Climate Change) cannot avoid being political. However, they are not interested in films with a political agenda. They avoid film ideas which are overtly political.
• Preaching to the Choir: Many of today’s issues already have advocates and people working for change. A film that revisits a popular issue, with a sympathetic audience in mind, is not something they wish to support.
• Topic Fatigue: As you might expect, of the 100s of submissions they receive, many proposals concern common or trending topics. They avoid films on issues which have already been fully covered and for which there is nothing new to offer.

Application Requirements

• Things they look for:
  • An Effective Logline: A logline is a brief (1-2 sentences) summary of a film that states the central conflict, a synopsis of the plot, and an emotional hook. A good logline will provoke the viewer’s curiosity. (Here’s a great article on crafting loglines.)
  • A Good Read: A great doc film is like a good book. Watching one quickly transports you to another place. You will want to recommend it to friends. It is timeless, entertaining  and informative.
  • Rising Stakes: Like any good film, an engaging premise and story will include conflict and suspense. The rising stakes grabs and holds your attention throughout.
  • Agents for Change: While they appreciate raising of awareness of an issue, they also look for an actionable message. What actions can they as a society take to further their humanity.
  • Educational: What have they learned from your film? This is not to exclude topics within the ‘humanities’ such as art and music. In addition to a good or inspiring story, what is your film demonstrating or teaching them?
  • Raising Awareness: There are many topics and issues within their society. They look for films with a fresh, attention-getting point-of-view on an issue with broad appeal, and leaves the audience with a sense of enlightenment.
  • Conflict: Some films are served well by including opposing viewpoints. Rather than just presenting a problem, this type of conflict can be engaging and offer a balanced view on a topic.
  • Story and Character: They look for films that really have a sense of story and character development. Having said that, there are also some wonderful films (e.g. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) that are as much about an event as anything else.

For more information, visit The Rogovy Foundation.