The Jewish Film Institute (JFI) Completion Grants support independent film and media projects that probe nuanced and surprising corners of Jewish life, history, culture, and identity. Grants provide critical resources for filmmakers to accelerate the final stages of their films.

Launched in 2020 to mark JFI’s 40th anniversary and to address the growing need for Jewish film funding nationally and internationally, the Grants advocate for films that challenge stereotypes and conventions, spark impactful conversations about Jewish life, and innovate storytelling forms. To date, JFI has distributed more than $420,000 to 33 films.

To see the films JFI has supported in the past, please visit: https://jfi.org/for-filmmakers/completion-grants/supported-projects.

Awards & Prizes

In 2025, JFI will award Completion Grants to groundbreaking films that offer fresh, nuanced, and thought-provoking explorations of Jewish themes. Projects with potential to entertain and engage, turn conversation into action, and reframe understanding of Jewish cultures and identities are competitive. Films can be fiction, documentary, or animated, in short, feature-length, episodic, or web series formats. Individual grants range from $5,000-$35,000.

Rules & Terms

• Applicants do not need to be Jewish, but projects must reflect thoughtful consideration of Jewish history, life, culture, or identity.

• Grants are given only for completion. To be competitive, projects must be in post-production with a strong rough or fine cut. Projects in development, script-development, pre-production, production, or early post-production will not be considered.

• Applicant must hold artistic, budgetary, and editorial control and maintain copyright of the proposed project. Grants are given only to filmmakers with creative and financial control of their projects.

• Sample work must be in English or subtitled in English.

• In case of collaboration, a sole project director must be designated as the applicant.

• Applicants must be at least 18 years old.

• Student, educational, and promotional projects are not eligible for consideration.

For complete details on criteria for applying and questions asked on Film Freeway's custom form, please download the application information document at https://jfi.org/for-filmmakers/completion-grants/2025-completion-grant-applications.

Please contact us at jfifilmmakers@jfi.org if you need an alternative submission method or the application fee creates a barrier to applying.

NOTE: Though there is a 2000-character limit on Film Freeway's Custom Form. We recommend creating your text in a separate document and cutting and pasting into Film Freeway. You cannot save your application in process and Film Freeway will not send you a copy of your proposal. You will get a confirmation email when your application is successful. Please be succinct and understand that since this is a completion grant, your sample work is the most critical part of your application.
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  • Elan Golod

    JFI have been extremely supportive throughout the grant application process. We are very honored to be one of their grantees but regardless of the monetary award, it has been a great relationship we hope to continue cultivating in the future.

    September 2023
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