Grant Programs

• The McKnight Artist Fellowships for Screenwriters
• The McKnight Artist Fellowships for Filmmakers
• The Fresh Filmmakers Production Grant
• MNTV Short Film Showcase

Upcoming Events

Get Ready For IFP MN Summer Camp 2012!

IFP MN Workshops for Kids & Teens

Jun 11 - 12:00 pm - Aug 3 - 12:00 pm
2012 "Incredibly Fun Party"

IFP MN's Annual Summer Gala

Jul 26 - 6:00 pm - Jul 27 - 12:00 am

Recent News

McKnight Artist Fellowships for Screenwriters

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Deadline: January 31, 2012

Please note that the Eligibility Requirements have changed this year. See the new list below.

To download a PDF of these guidelines, click here.

ATTEND A "HOW-TO-APPLY" SESSION OR WEBINAR

WHO: Mid-career screenwriters in Minnesota. Are you “mid-career?” See Eligibility Requirements below. Please read the new requirements carefully; applicants who were eligible in previous years may not be eligible.

WHAT: Two $25,000 Fellowships for Minnesota screenwriters. The Fellowships honor the professional and artistic accomplishments of Minnesota artists writing for the screen as demonstrated by one completed feature-length screenplay. Fellows are selected by industry professionals from outside the state of Minnesota. Jurors will evaluate and rate the following aspects of each screenplay: originality of ideas, uniqueness of writer's voice, skillful story structure, talent with creating dialogue, and talent with character development.

WHEN: Deadline for submission: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 4:00pm. Fellowships are awarded in June 2012.

WHERE: All written application materials, including your screenplay, must be E-MAILED to IFP at grants@ifpmn.org.

WHY: To support excellence in screenwriting in Minnesota.

HOW: After determining your eligibility to apply, complete the online application cover sheet and submit the required written materials and screenplay by e-mail.

For questions about the Fellowships or the application process, contact Lu Lippold, Director of Funding Programs at IFP MN, 651-644-1912 x106, llippold@ifpmn.org.

Why have the eligibility requirements changed?

The McKnight Foundation’s goal for the Artist Fellowships is to reward mid-career artists. The new eligibility guidelines, listed below, indicate a more advanced level of career accomplishment than in previous years. This reflects the program's intent to award artists who meet a national standard of excellence.

Eligibility Requirements

THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS HAVE CHANGED. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

Proof of mid-career status.

Applicants must have at least five years of professional experience.

Professional experience is defined as writing for the screen, outside of a school curriculum, with consistent intent to advance in the profession of screenwriting. You must indicate on your resume that you have been writing for the screen for at least five years.

In addition, you must provide documentation for one of the following criteria:

i.     You have had a feature-length, narrative screenplay OR a one- or two-hour dramatic television script produced or optioned for production by a person or a company with at least one produced feature film or television credit. Provide a copy of the option agreement or production details.

ii.     You have worked professionally as a writer for major network television or cable, excluding public access and non-fiction television, OR have been hired to write or re-write a feature-length narrative by a person or a company with at least one produced feature film or television credit. Provide documentation (option agreement, contracts, etc.).

iii.     You are a member of the Writer’s Guild of America.

iv.     You have had a play fully produced by a professional theater at the time of application. (“Fully produced” is defined as a production for which the author and primary artists (actors, director, creative collaborators) were compensated, and which received at least three public performances. University, college, secondary school, amateur, and Equity showcase/waiver productions are NOT considered full productions.) Provide production details.

v.     You have received recognition from national (outside of Minnesota) screenwriting competitions. Quarter-finalist, semi-finalist, and finalist status recipients are eligible. Provide documentation of awards received.

vi.     You have been a Finalist or Fellow in a previous McKnight Screenwriting Fellowships competition.

vii.    You have completed at least two professional staged readings (not table reads) of feature-length scripts. Provide documentation of location, actors, sponsors, and director.

*** Please note that two of the eligibility criteria from previous years have been eliminated. You may NOT qualify on the basis of three feature-length, narrative screenplays copyrighted or registered with the Writers Guild of America, and you may NOT qualify with a screenwriting degree or a film production degree with a screenwriting major.

2. Writers who were full-time or part-time students pursuing a degree in an undergraduate screenwriting or film program at any time in the past three years are not eligible. *** THIS IS A NEW CRITERION.

3. The Fellowship program is open only to individuals and to writing partnerships of no more than two. If a writing partnership applies, both writers must fulfill all the requirements of individual applicants. Organizations and companies are not eligible to apply.

4. The applicant(s) must be the sole creator(s) of the screenplay. The screenplay must be copyrighted or registered with the WGA under the name(s) of the writer(s).

5. The screenplay may not be an adaptation of any previously written, performed, or filmed work by another artist.

6.The screenplay may not have been submitted to the Fellowship more than three times previously, under any title.

7. Applicants must be current Minnesota residents who have resided in the state continuously for a minimum of one full year before the application deadline. Applicants may be required to provide documentation in addition to a driver's license if residency is in question.

8. Fellows must remain in residence in Minnesota during the Fellowship year, or forfeit the award.

9. The Fellowship allows only one application (for a single screenplay) per individual per year.

10. Fellows may not attend school full-time during the Fellowship year.

11. Screenplays associated with a degree-granting program are not eligible.

12. Employees of IFP MN and The McKnight Foundation are not eligible to apply, nor are Fellowship staff from any McKnight Artist Fellowship program, nor staff and board of The McKnight Foundation, as well as immediate family members of foundation arts program staff.

13. Artists may apply to only one McKnight Artist Fellowship program per year in any discipline (i.e., Screenwriter or Filmmaker or Playwright, etc.).

14. Fellows may not submit the same screenplay that won the award previously.

15. Fellowship recipients in any McKnight discipline may not apply again to the program until four years after receiving the award. The 2008 Fellows are eligible to apply to the 2012 program. The 2009 Fellows are eligible in 2013, etc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPLICATION MATERIALS

To apply for the Fellowship, here’s what you need to do.

Complete the online Application Cover Sheet and submit the following documents as e-mail attachments.

Application Cover Sheet: Fill out this online form.

PDF of one feature-length, narrative screenplay, per format criteria (see Screenplay Format section below).

Writing Résumé: Maximum two pages; must reflect at least five years of writing experience.

Artist’s Statement: Maximum one page, describing your artistic vision and what you would do with your Fellowship year.

You may submit the following documents via e-mail, fax, or U.S. mail:

1. Photocopy of Copyright or WGA Registration Receipt for Submitted Screenplay

2. Professional Accomplishment Documentation for which you are submitting your “Proof of Mid-Career Status,” defined above.

3. Property Release Form: Download the Property Release Form (PDF). You must submit this form to verify that you give permission for IFP MN to distribute your script to the Fellowship judges.

4. Photocopy of MN Driver's License or MN-Issued Picture ID: If you applied last year and have not moved from your address at that time, you do not need to re-send your driver’s license.

Screenplay Format

Required page length range is 90 pages minimum to 130 pages maximum.
Screenplay must use Courier 12 pt. with standard screenplay spacing and margins.
No illustrations or photographs on the inside pages or the cover page of the screenplay.
Screenplay must be written in the English language.
You must submit your screenplay as a PDF file.
- The title page should NOT contain your name or contact information. It should contain the title and nothing else.
- The name of the PDF should be the title of your screenplay.
- Send it with your other written materials as an e-mail attachment to grants@ifpmn.org.

NOTE: If you are unable to send all the attachments in a single e-mail, you may send two separate e-mails. Please do not “zip” your files.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Important Dates and Mailing Address

Completed applications must be received at the IFP Minnesota Center for Media Arts no later than 4:00 PM on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. This is an in-office deadline.

E-mail your completed application documents (resume, screenplay, artist’s statement, etc.) to:

grants@ifpmn.org

If you can’t email your your supporting documentation (WGA registration, etc.), you may fax or mail them to Lu Lippold at:

Fax #651-644-5708

McKnight Screenwriting Fellowship
IFP Minnesota
2446 University Avenue West
St. Paul, MN 55114

“ How to Apply” Info Sessions

Free "How to Apply" workshops will be offered in December to answer questions about the application process and the Fellowship program. Both screenwriters and filmmakers are welcome to attend either session.

TWIN CITIES
IFP MN Center for Media Arts
2446 University Ave. West
St. Paul

Thursday, December 8, NOON
OR
Wednesday, December 14, 6:00 PM

ROCHESTER
Rochester Art Center
40 Civic Center Drive Southeast

Friday, December 2
5:00 PM “How to Apply”
7:00 PM Cinema Lounge

WEBINAR

Tuesday, December 20, NOON. Check IFPMN website for information on how to log in.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IF YOU DON’T QUALIFY, DON’T DESPAIR! HERE ARE SOME SCREENWRITING COMPETITIONS WHERE YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR SCRIPT:

The Nicholl Fellowships

The Austin Screenplay and Teleplay Competition

American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

Slamdance Screenwriting and Teleplay Competition

Final Draft’s Big Break International Screenwriting Contest