Published: 09 May 2023 585 views
The AFAC’s Cinema program supports all kinds of fiction film projects. The Cinema program welcomes submissions of short and medium-length narrative films in production and post-production, as well as feature narratives that are in development, production, or post-production phases.
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC was founded in 2007 through the initiative of Arab cultural activists as an independent foundation to support individual artists, writers, researchers, intellectuals, as well as organizations from the Arab region working in the field of arts and culture. Since its launch, AFAC’s programs have steadily expanded to cover cinema, photography, visual and performing arts, creative and critical writings, music, documentary film, in addition to funding research, trainings and cultural events. Based in Beirut, AFAC works with artists and organizations all over the Arab region and the rest of the world.
The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture - AFAC was founded in 2007 through the initiative of Arab cultural activists as an independent foundation to support individual artists, writers, researchers, intellectuals, as well as organizations from the Arab region working in the field of arts and culture. Since its launch, AFAC’s programs have steadily expanded to cover cinema, photography, visual and performing arts, creative and critical writings, music, documentary film, in addition to funding research, trainings and cultural events. Based in Beirut, AFAC works with artists and organizations al... continue reading
Application Deadline | 04 Jul 2023 |
Country to study | |
Type | Contest |
Sponsor | Arab Fund for Arts & Culture (AFAC) |
Gender | Men and Women |
The program provides annual grants up to USD 10,000 for development grants, up to USD 50,000 for production grants for feature-length and USD 20,000 for short and medium-length, and up to USD 25,000 for post-production grants for feature-length, and USD 10,000 for short and medium-length films.
AFAC reserves the right to distribute its resources for wider impact. Given the high demand for support, it is not guaranteed that potential grantees will be awarded the requested amounts in full. It is therefore encouraged that applicants diversify funding sources for the submitted project.
The grant will be canceled if the grantee does not sign the grant contract within 60 days of receiving it.
Projects must be completed within two years of signing the contract, during which time grantees are expected to submit the necessary financial and narrative reports.
No grantee will be awarded more than two deadline extensions during the grant period. Such extensions should be justified by the grantee and approved by AFAC.
AFAC does not offer mobility grants. Travel expenses may be covered by the AFAC grant only as part of project implementation.
Eligible Expenses
AFAC only covers project-related expenses (including director’s and producer’s fees up to 30% of the total grant amount). The running operating costs or the purchase of equipment can not be covered by the grant.
The Cinema program is open to applications from Arab directors and producers living in the Arab region or the diaspora. A non-Arab producer can apply for a grant provided that the film director is Arab. It is highly recommended that film projects applying to the production and post-production grants have producers attached to them.
Project applications are accepted irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence, ethnicity, gender, or religion.
A film producer is eligible to apply with a maximum of two projects per category per cycle, provided the two projects are not attached to the same director.
Ineligible candidates
AFAC will not consider applications submitted by:
Place and duration
AFAC will not provide support retroactively to projects that have already been completed.
For projects that have already started, AFAC will cover the expenses starting from the signature of the contract, if the project is selected.
Projects may be implemented anywhere as long as the applicant fulfills the above-mentioned eligibility criteria. The project’s timeframe should not exceed 24 months.
Following the submission deadline, AFAC will conduct an administrative check to ensure that applications are complete and adhere to the guidelines. Only applications that pass the administrative check will be processed. An independent readers committee will then assess the submitted proposals and select the applications to be sent to the independent jurors' committee. The jurors will assess the selected applications and choose the projects to be awarded grants. Please see the AFAC Evaluation Process document for more details.
An automatic email will be sent to the applicants whose projects do not pass the initial selection phase.
Grants announcement
The grant winners will be announced and published on the AFAC website and social media platforms after the jury meetings conclude. An automatic email will be sent to applicants whose projects are not selected to receive grants.
Grant contract
As soon as the grant awardees are announced, AFAC will draft a grant contract to be signed by the grantees. The contract will include start and end dates, grant amount, budget breakdown, financial requirements, payment schedule, general provisions, implementation and amendments, required reports, and project results.
Payment Conditions & Schedule
For development grants, the grantee will receive 70% of the grant amount as a first payment. Once the project is completed and the grantee has submitted the deliverables, narrative and financial reports, the remaining 30% will be transferred.
For production grants, grantees will receive 25% of the grant amount as the first payment. When 80% of the first payment has been spent and the shooting has started, the grantee must submit an interim narrative and financial report to AFAC. Once the report is approved, grantees will receive 60% of the grant total amount as a second payment.
With the submission of the final deliverables and reports, the remaining 15% of the grant total amount will be transferred and the grant will be closed.
For post-production grants, grantees will receive 50% of the grant amount as the first payment. Once the project is completed and the grantee has submitted the deliverables, narrative and financial reports, the remaining 50% will be transferred.
Grantees should provide AFAC with a downloadable link to their final film.
Applications lacking supporting material will not be considered, nor will the applicant be contacted to send the missing material.
The submission of the below listed supporting material/samples for the project you are applying with is required:
Applications are only accepted through the online forms available. Applications submitted via regular mail or email will not be considered. The applicant will receive a confirmation email once the online application has been submitted. Applicants are advised to follow up on the full completion and delivery of the requested material, as AFAC will not contact applicants if any part of their application is incomplete. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The submission of the below listed supporting material/samples for the project you are applying with is required:
for more details visit: AFAC website.