PWIFT Palmer Enfield Grant for First-Time Female Directors

This grant honors the legacy of Palmer Enfield, a founding PWIFT board member and accomplished local director who championed equality and justice for women in media. By providing funding the grant aims to break down barriers and support women pursuing directing as a career.

Grant Overview:
The First-Time Female Director Grant aims to empower emerging female directors by providing financial support to help bring their creative vision to life. Eligible projects include narrative films, documentaries, sizzle reels, spec commercial reels, experimental media works, TV pilots, TV series, and short films.

Eligible applicants must identify as female, have a clear intent to pursue directing as a career, and be based in the Greater Philadelphia area (includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania).

To download the grant checklist and application please go to pwift.org\grants

Awards & Prizes

Up to $5000

The recipient of the PWIFT Palmer Enfield Grant for First-Time Female Directors will be announced in April 2026

Rules & Terms

PLEASE download the "Preparation checklist" and "Application" PDFs for your submission via our website (pwift.org).

Eligibility Criteria:
-Applicant identifies as female.
-Applicant has not previously directed a feature-length film or equivalent major project.
-Applicant must demonstrate intent to pursue directing as a career.
-Project types: narrative film, documentary, sizzle reel, spec commercial reel, experimental film, TV pilot, TV series, and short film.

We do not fund female directors who have directed an aired commercial program, a feature-length film or equivalent major project before, who are not based in the Greater Philadelphia area, or have no clear intent to pursue directing as a career.

There is no entry fee associated with applying to the fund.

Deadline to apply is Friday, February 28, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.

For more information, please visit our website at pwift.org

Good luck to all, and thank you for sharing your work with us.

CERTIFICATION OF ENTRANT: I, the contact person for the project submitted with this application, agree to the following:

I have read, understood, and completed all eligibility requirements for which I would like this project to be considered.

* To the best of my knowledge, all of the statements in this application are true.
* By submitting my film to this festival, I am giving consent to allow PWIFT to screen your media submission if selected.