As a small nonprofit organization, our application fees help us offset the cost of running our (Egg)celerator Lab open call, including paying our external reviewers. While this is an important revenue stream for us, we do not want the fee to deter talented documentary filmmakers from submitting an application.  

For the 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab open call, we are offering three fee payment options: $35, $20, or $0. You will be able to select which fee to pay when completing your application.

The fee is payable by credit or debit card. You will receive a receipt by email upon payment.

A fiscal sponsor is a 501(c)(3) organization that shares its tax-exempt status with individual filmmakers, meaning that you are able to accept charitable grants. In exchange for this service, they may take a percentage of the incoming funds.

Applicants do not need to have a fiscal sponsor in order to apply. However, they must have one in order to receive a grant. You do not need to have a fiscal sponsor secured at the time of the application. 

A few examples of 501(c)3 organizations that offer fiscal sponsorships to filmmakers:

• • Artspire
  • BronxNet
  • The Center for Independent Documentary
  • The Film Collaborative
  • FIND
  • Fractured Atlas
  • The Independent Filmmaker Project
  • International Documentary Association
  • The Redford Center
  • San Francisco Film Society
  • UnionDocs
  • Women Make Movies

Each application must upload their current budget. Our system will accept PDF and Excel formats. Best practices: 

• Your budget should address the following film production costs: crew salaries, equipment, travel and housing expenses, post-production, office and admin costs, music, and legal fees. We should be able to follow your budget in tandem with your narrative material.
• Include a line item for directors’ and producers’ salaries; it is key for filmmakers to factor in their own payment in the budget.
• Provide budget notes for any areas that may be viewed as out of the ordinary or which require further explanation.
• If you don’t already have a budget and would like some guidance on how to create one, we recommend the Introduction to Documentary Budgeting article.

To apply for a grant, you must submit a current work sample. Second-time directors must submit a prior work sample of the first feature-length film they directed. First-time directors can submit an optional short nonfiction film as a prior work sample or a film in which the applicant played a prominent role. Please see the FAQ for complete details about work samples, but, in summary, every application requires a:

• Current project sample (7-20 minutes) of the project with which you’re applying;
• Prior work sample (no length limit) of a film that the applicant either previously directed or in which they played a prominent role. This is optional for first-time directors and mandatory for second-time directors. Please see the FAQ for details on how this requirement affects first-time directors.

All work samples must be in English or have accurate English subtitles on screen.

We recommend you go through the application questions well in advance of the deadline to prepare your answers, review the length requirements, and gather the requested links and documents.

• Download the application questions. We recommend you complete your answers on the Word document before adding the information to the online application platform. 
• Start an application. You will be emailed a log-in and password once you’ve completed this form.
• Continue your application for the 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab. You can only access this portal once you’ve received a log-in and password.