Tasveer Film Fund

Tasveer is excited to launch the Tasveer Film Fund (TFF), the first-ever dedicated grant for South Asian filmmakers in the United States!

In its inaugural year, TFF will give out one grant of $5000 to a South Asian filmmaker in the US towards making a short film. Short script submissions will be accepted from May 11, 2020 to July 31, 2020. The script must be between 5 and 20 pages in length, and incorporate a social justice issue or theme in the story. The grantee will be announced during Tasveer Arts Festival in October 2020, and must complete their film in time for a premiere at the festival in 2021.

Terms
- In 2020, the fund will give out one (1) grant of $5000 to a South Asian American filmmaker with a short script ready to produce.

- Film Fund grantee’s film must incorporate a social justice issue/theme in the story, and include South Asian representation in the story as well as in the cast/crew.

- The grant will be announced beginning of October 2020 and disbursed by the end of October 2020.

- Grantee film must be fully produced and finished in time to screen at the festival in 2021. Consideration may be given to schedules affected due to the Covid19 crisis.

Grant Amount
$5,000

Submission/script requirements 
- Script must be between 5 and 20 pages in length, and must be written in standard script format.
- Remove all personal identifying information from the script PDF (including writer's name, contact info, etc). Only the script title must appear on the PDF.
- Scripts must be submitted in English, even if they might be shot in another language.
- Filmmakers must be based in the U.S. and with a U.S. bank account in order to receive funds.
- Filmmaker must be of South Asian descent.
- The script must incorporate a social justice theme a story, and be based in the South Asian American experience (set in North America).
- The script/story cannot be discriminatory against people of any background, ethnicity, religion, race, sexuality, or gender.
- Filmmakers must include an estimated top-sheet production budget and indicate what the funds will be used for.
- Only scripts submitted through the Film Fund’s portal on FilmFreeway will be considered.
- Submission fees are non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the submission.

Legal rules and requirements
- The completed film must include an “in association with Tasveer” in the opening and closing credits, along with the Tasveer logo.
- The grantee consents to Tasveer using their name, photo, script title, and any other relevant information for promotional purposes on their website and other publicity platforms.
- The film fund money must only be used towards the production budget of the short film, and cannot be re-assigned for any other purpose.
- Upon completion of production, the filmmaker must submit a cost report of how the funds were used.
- If the filmmaker has not used the funds or is unable to complete their film by May 2021, they agree to return the grant fund in its entirety to Tasveer. Consideration may be given to schedules affected due to the Covid19 crisis.
- In the case of grantee defaulting on using the funds, Tasveer reserves the right to re-grant the funds to the second choice filmmaker.