Early in July, Artless Media founder and ATLFF alumnus Russell Sheaffer (MASCULINITY/FEMININITY, ON SURGERY, it's so easy (the mechanism of power)) sent Atlanta Film Society a quick message: "I'm not 100% sure what we need to do, but we need to do something. We'd love to provide some sort of small grant for folks working on projects that are aggressively investigating social inequalities. Honestly, I don't even know where to start with all this. Is this something that ATL Film Society would help jump onto?  How do we get resources in the hands of folks who are making important work in your neck of the woods?"

The answer is The Magnifying Glass: micro-grants for socially progressive filmmaking. 

The political climate in the U.S. and the violence that has proliferated at a seemingly non-stop rate demand that we engage in real, tangible ways. The stories of those who face these injustices need to be told, and they need to be told now.  

Together with the New Orleans Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival, Indie Memphis, and The Center for Documentary Research and Practice at Indiana University, ATLFS seeks to foster work happening right now that can be made expediently, is micro-budgeted, and aggressively investigates the social injustices that are happening to local communities in the South and Midwest. Two (2) selected Georgia proposals will receive a $500 grant, and one (1) selected Georgia proposal will receive a $1,000 grant.

Ideal projects will run 2-5 minutes in length and require no more than $2,500 in total budget. Submissions are now open and will close August 31, 2016. Get all of the details here.

If you would like to get involved, do. Share our call for proposals, reach out to filmmaker friends in the South and Midwest, and speak up.  If you’re able, consider pitching in to help us get micro-grants out to the folks making work that deeply matters now.

Artless Media has provided matching funds to get this grant rolling fast, but we absolutely need your help to get as many micro-grants to as many filmmakers in as many states as possible.  Please reach out to us at info@artlessmedia.com for information on how to make a tax-deductible donation to this project.

The Process & Fine Print:

Prospective filmmakers should submit a one-page treatment, an expected total budget for their project, a description of intention for funds awarded, key crew bios, a prior sample work no more than 5 minutes in length, and an outreach strategy.

Preference will apply to filmmakers who are invested in documenting oppressed communities of which they are a part. While all involved organizations champion creative allyship, these grants seek to support the lenses of those who know injustice firsthand and are able to quickly bring awareness to specific injustices within these communities.

Applications are currently being accepted for short films about or made by individuals living or working in Georgia or Louisiana. 

Project proposals must be submitted by 11:59pm EST on August 31, 2016.

To be eligible for the The Magnifying Glass, your project must be completed by early October 2016.

Submitters will be notified of their project's submission status the week of September 5, 2016.