Header photo: Stowe Story Labs alums and filmmakers Sonia Albert-Sobrino (left) and Miriam Albert-Sobrino (right), on set making short film The Unbearing, written by and starring Stowe's Katerina Eichenberger. The project recently won best international short film at FanCine de Lemos, and was made with Stowe Story Labs fiscal sponsorship. Photo by Daniel Cutts. 

The Stowe Story Labs $50,000 Curated Short Film Production Grant Program will award a grant of $50,000 to support the development, production, and distribution of a narrative short film with a total run time of approximately 10 minutes.

This competitively awarded grant presents a life-changing opportunity for a screenwriter or production team to make a well-financed narrative short film with mentorship throughout the process, including support on building a festival campaign and post-festival distribution program.

International applicants are welcome (scripts must be submitted in English).

To learn more about the competition, visit our website here: https://stowestorylabs.org/short-film-production-grant

Awards & Prizes

This is a $50,000 curated grant to support the production of a narrative short film with a total run time of approximately 10 minutes. Mentoring will be available to support the winning project through all aspects of its development and production, including:

• Development, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, and Festival Submission mentoring by Stowe alum and mentor Liz Cardenas (bio below), who will serve as lead mentor and as a producer on the project. Liz will also manage the grant with the filmmakers.

• Festival submission support, advice, and post-festival run distribution on groundbreaking short film distribution platform WeShort

• Consult with Seed&Spark on crowdfunding, pitching, and distribution

• Discounted ARRI camera package

• A meeting with Joe Jeffreys, Acquisitions Manager for HanWay Films for the finalists and winner

• Festival benefits, including Pittsburgh Shorts and Script Competition (2026 submission fee waiver for finalists and free entry for Pittsburgh Shorts and Script Film Competition for the produced film resulting from the winning script), Seattle International Film Festival (submission fee waiver for the winning project in the 2026 or 2027 festival), and The Free Speech Film Festival (submission fee waiver for the winning project in the 2026 or 2027 festival)

• Invitation to join the Portrait community, a networking platform connecting filmmakers, department heads, funders, distributors, and more

• A complimentary Film Fatales membership for qualifying filmmakers

• A project consultation from Pan Up Productions (if helpful). The Pan Up Productions team will be available to provide or facilitate services as needed for the winning filmmaker (services can include payroll, insurance, production strategy, cash flow management, deal memos and contracts, and more).

• Free access to Backstage's casting platform, including the ability to post casting and crew calls and search talent databases

Rules & Terms

Please read the Submission and Participation Agreement here: https://stowestorylabs.org/terms-conditions-short-film-competition. On the application you will be required to agree to the agreement before submitting your application.

When uploading a copy of your script, do not include your name anywhere in the script. Please register the script with the WGA, the US Copyright office, or, if an international applicant, the appropriate registration service in the country from which you are applying. You may include the registration number on the cover page of the submitted material. We do not accept later drafts as part of the application process.