We are excited to open for submissions for our $50,000 Curated Short Film Production Grant Program. Stowe Story Labs 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. Please read on to learn more.

APPLY

Early Bird Deadline - September 15, 2025 by 11:59 PM PT: $65

Regular Deadline - November 15, 2025 by 11:59 PM PT: $75

Final Deadline - January 4, 2026 by 11:59 PM PT: $85

We were honored to receive the video to the right, sent to us by last year’s grant winner Ali Imran Zaidi. Ali won the grant with his script for his short film The Boy With the Dinosaur Head. Please take a few minutes to learn about Ali’s experience, and best of luck in the process if you choose to apply.

Video: Ali Imran Zaidi shares his Stowe Story Labs Short Film Grant experience. Read more about the project in Filmmaker Magazine.

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Benefits

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