The Stowe Story Labs $50,000 Short Film Production Grant, developed in partnership with the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, and working with partners including ARRI, the Galway Film Fleadh, Seed&Spark, the Sidewalk Film Festival, Portrait, and WeShort, will award a Stowe administered grant of $50,000 to support the development of a 10-minute short film. Executive Producer Liz Cardenas will be available to work with the winning writer or writing team on all aspects of the production and sign-off on requests for disbursement of funds.

This competitively awarded grant presents a life-changing opportunity for a screenwriter or production team to make a well-financed 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).

Judges include Oscar-winning filmmakers Tom Berkeley and Ross White (AN IRISH GOODBYE), Creative Producer Alex Boden (SENSE8, CLOUD ATLAS, TOKYO VICE) and more internationally-recognized filmmakers.

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

Awards & Prizes

A $50,000 curated grant to support the production of a 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 also will manage the grant with the filmmakers

- Option to receive festival submission support, advice, and post-festival run distribution on groundbreaking short film distribution platform WeShort

- Option to consult with Seed&Spark on crowdfunding, pitching, and distribution

- Option to receive discounted ARRI camera package

- Festival fee submission waiver and automatic admission to the 2025 or 2026 Sidewalk Film Festival (based on needs/value to the project)

- Festival fee submission waiver to enter the 2025 Galway Film Fleadh

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

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.