The Footcandle Film Society provides film screening and educational opportunities to residents of Catawba County, North Carolina. The society holds an annual film festival to showcase local, national & international filmmakers and partners with local schools and nonprofit groups for special events and film screenings.  The Footcandle Film Society strives to provide exposure to these films and foster discussion about the film’s content, messages, and use of technical skills.

The Footcandle Film Society, through the Filmmaker Grant Program, provides financial support to projects that help to further the use of film as a story-telling medium and have a majority of their production work take place in North Carolina.  The grant money is intended to help a filmmaker move towards their goal of completing their project so that it can be submitted to national film festivals or secure a distribution arrangement.

We provide development funding, up to $10,000, to filmmakers who have a project where they are ready to start work, have secured proper rights and access, and are either in the midst or ready to start fundraising to help support critical production.

The 2024 grant applications must be completed by May 30, 2024, and the award recipients will be notified no later than August 30 2024.  The award(s) will be publicly presented at the 2024 Footcandle Film Festival during the weekend of September 27-29.

The film must have at least 51% of its production work completed in the state of North Carolina.  The applicant must be able to demonstrate how more than half of the production (writing, filming, editing, post-production) work is being conducted within North Carolina.

The application can only apply to single film projects, not a series.  The film may be of any length (short or feature-length) and of any type (live-action, documentary, or animated).

Applicants should preferably have previous film or television production experience in a principal role (director, co- director, producer, co-producer) as demonstrated by submitting previously completed work sample(s). Applicants who have not yet produced or directed their own work should demonstrate that they will be working with an experienced filmmaker in a principal role.

Applicants must be 18-years of age or older. The Footcandle Filmmaker Grant cannot be used with student films.

Applicants must own the copyright of their production, and have artistic, budgetary and editorial control over their project.  The film project covered by this application cannot be a "work for hire"; the project must be one initiated by the applicant where they have complete control of the film.

The film project should be forecasted to be completed within two (2) years of receiving the grant money (September 29th, 2026).

The grant money would be provided in either the form of reimbursement of already incurred expenses or as money to address an upcoming portion of production expenses.  Proof of incurred expenses, either past or upcoming, must be provided by the grant recipient in order to receive their funds.

The final grant recipient must be able to provide either a Tax ID or Social Security Number in order to receive the funds.

The film covered by this grant application must not further hate speech or any negative stereotypes.

The grant committee may opt to contact the filmmaker directly in order to ask questions or request further information.

Any grant recipients should list the Footcandle Film Society and feature the film society's logo as a supporter in the closing credits of the final film.

We ask that you provide work samples of any prior work and, if applicable, footage for the current project if work has already begun. We prefer that you submit work samples via an online video hosting service such as Vimeo or YouTube, however we do accept clearly labeled materials by mail.

You are welcome to submit video clips, trailers, test footage, storyboards, script pages, or any other elements that may help the grant committee better understand your experience or the progress being made on this particular project.  Please include any links to online material below, along with a description of the material and how it applies to the project covered in this application.  If you are submitting links to online media, please ensure that any passwords we may need to view the work is included with the information for that link.

If you wish to submit more links than the four spaces provided below, please include those links in one of the "Information" sections below.

If you are wishing to send any material by mail (DVD, BluRay, or printed material), you can mail that information to:

Footcandle Film Society
Attn: Grant Program
Post Office 9123
Hickory, NC  28603

Please ensure that any mailed materials are received by June 30th 2023.  Any DVDs/BluRays submitted may not be returned to the applicant.

When you have reviewed and completed the application, please click the "Submit" button below.

The 2024 grant application process will close on May 30, 2024.

The grant committee may opt to contact the filmmaker directly in order to ask questions or request further information between your submission and the notification date.

Award recipients will be notified no later than August 30, 2024.

The award(s) will be publicly presented at the 2024 Footcandle Film Festival the weekend of September 27-29.

Thank you for your application and for your involvement with film production in North Carolina!