Calling All Filmmakers: Applications are open for The Redford Center’s 2026 Grants Program. Learn More

Grants Application and Program Eligibility

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Now Accepting Applications: April 9 – May 14, 2026

Applications are now open for The 2026 Redford Center Grants Open Call! This marks our sixth cycle since 2016, supporting environmental filmmakers working on feature-length documentaries and docu-series that explore urgent, intersectional environmental stories.

Selected filmmakers will receive $40,000 in grant funding, along with yearlong support that includes mentorship, access to industry and environmental experts, a cohort-based fellowship experience, and an in-person convening focused on creative and professional development.

We welcome applications for projects at any stage of production. To be eligible, projects must have sample footage and must not yet be picture locked.

The application deadline is May 14, 2026.

Recipients will be notified and funds will be awarded by October 2026.

Start Your Application

  • Applicant Eligibility

    • Must be 18+ years of age.
    • Each project may have up to two applicants, one of whom must be the director.
    • At least one of the applying team members must reside primarily in the U.S. [Note: You do not need to be a U.S. citizen to apply.]
    • Previous filmmaking experience highly recommended.
    • Awardees will be expected to be available to participate in our professional development programming.

  • Project Eligibility

    • New and ongoing nonfiction feature films or docu-series that have sample footage and must not yet be picture locked.
    • Project story can take place anywhere in the world.
    • Must have clear impact goals and a developed idea for an impact campaign. Learn about our Impact Model, and the details of our impact objectives to see if your project aligns with our criteria.
    • The project must be about, or intersect with, an environmental issue and a proposed or activated solution.
  • 1 / 4

    Behind the scenes of 2022 Grantee film ‘Daughters of the Forest: Mycelium Chronicles’
  • 2 / 4

    Behind the scenes of 2024 Grantee film ‘In Earth We Trust’
  • 3 / 4

    Behind the scenes of 2024 Grantee film ‘This Was The Place’
  • 4 / 4

    Behind the scenes of 2022 Grantee film ‘Kay’

We encourage stories about:

  • Intersectional environmental issues and solutions for people and the planet. 
  • Leadership, progress, solutions, possibility, hope, and innovation that transform defeatist narratives around environmental crises.
  • Fresh viewpoints or filmmaking artistry that challenge the conventional boundaries of what an environmental story is expected to be.
  • An equitable, inclusive, and diverse environmental movement that centers underrepresented and historically excluded communities and voices.
  • Addressing systemic bias, discrimination, and injustice in environmental policy and their impacts on communities, individuals, and the earth.
  • Pathways to direct action, groundbreaking achievements, or measurable impact. 
  • Cultural practices that honor traditional and ancestral knowledge and wisdom.
  • Community power and civic engagement initiatives at the intersection of environmental justice and planetary health. 
  • Protecting and restoring land, water, biodiversity, and natural resources.

Accountability and Representation

Reflecting the core values of our organization, we seek to ensure accountability to and representation of the intersectionality of environmental advocates and artists, which includes Black, Indigenous, People of Color; Women; people with disabilities; immigrant and refugee communities; and LGBTQ+ communities, and all people whose lives are disproportionately impacted by environmental injustices.

  • Program Offerings

    This cohort-based program will support filmmakers and their environmental documentary film projects as they develop and refine their project’s impact goals. Fellows receive:

    • A $40,000 gift of financial support towards their project in the first year of the grants cycle.
    • An invitation to apply for a second round of funding to support ongoing production, post-production, or project’s impact goals in summer 2027.
    • One virtual convening with fellow cohort members and Redford Center advisors and staff.
    • One virtual presentation and workshop with industry experts.
    • Travel and lodging covered for up to two team members to attend The Redford Center Summit in Spring 2027 (U.S.-based) with exclusive participation in learning sessions and mentorship meetings with advisory board members, industry guests, and fellow artists.
    • Invitation to join The Redford Center’s fiscal sponsorship program.
    • Opportunities for continued support in the future as a Redford Center alum.

    In addition to providing a financial award, The Redford Center’s support involves helping build community around these projects, advising on the design of intentional impact strategies, and connecting filmmakers with additional opportunities, partnerships, funding, and strategic input that will lead them toward their ultimate impact goals.

Our Process

Our application takes recommendations from the Nonfiction Documentary Core Application, a collaborative effort to standardize application requirements to foster greater access and a more equitable and sustainable documentary field. 

Application deliverables will be reviewed for realistic progress towards short-term and long-term goals, and applicants will need to demonstrate measurable ways to track project impact. 



Please make sure to read our Terms and Conditions and our Frequently Asked Questions.

Questions? Contact us at grants@redfordcenter.org.