2026 BTTL GRANT APPLICATION

*** EXTENDED DEADLINE: OCTOBER 7TH (5:00 PM PST) ***

Welcome to the 2026 BTTL Action Grant Application. Please read the Guidelines and Procedures carefully before proceeding. You may save a draft of your application at any time and return later on, so don’t hesitate to get started.

This $10,000 Action Grant is open to Directors worldwide who identify as women or apart of the LGBTQIA+ community with a feature film in late-stage development (or a documentary in post-production). We are now accepting projects in the following categories: 

➤ LIVE ACTION

➤ NON-FICTION

➤ ANIMATION

➤ IMMERSIVE (including VR, AR, Mixed Reality, Hybrid) 

Applicants must demonstrate how the grant funding will allow you to advance in a critical area of development – be it casting, location scouting, hiring crew or shooting a scene. There are no limits, as long as the action taken moves the needle on your project. This is about finding films with strong artistic merit and a bold original vision, ready to go into production within a year. The Action Grant Finalists will become apart of our 2026 Cohort, receiving 1:1 mentorship, tailored introductions and and travel support to attend an Investor Showcase at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

Note:  In the case of non-fiction and immersive categories, we accept projects that have begun production and are seeking finishing funds.

NEW OFFERING: In this next cycle, one of the finalists will receive the SIMBELLE IMPACT AWARD –an additional $10,000 unrestricted grant awarded to the director – sponsored by Jury Member Lauren Melinda, founder of Simbelle Productions.

All applicants will receive FREE access to our 2025 Workshop Recordings and the option to join our new BTTL Membership Portal (launching December 2025), which will offer peer-to-peer networking, training workshops, industry roundtables, and invitations to our cocktail party at Sundance and Cannes. The Action Grant finalists will become apart of our 2026 Cohort, receiving additional 1:1 coaching, curated financier meetings, and travel support to attend at the Cannes Film Festival.

Please review the guidelines below to familiarize yourself with what is required.

Not yet ready to apply with a feature project? Become a BTTL Member and gain full access to our global community.

Our 2026 Official Jury

Each year, a selection of top industry professionals come together to form the Official Jury of Breaking Through The Lens. Our Jury serve as mentors and advisors to our finalist filmmakers.

our 2026 jury includes:

Jen Blake (Diversity Hire Ltd, Sundance Episodic Lab)
Mia Bays (Director, BFI Film Fund)
Thomas Pierce (The Brutalist, 3 x Oscar-winner)
Lauren Melinda (Simbelle Productions, Official BTTL Partner)
Steven Adams (Alta Global Media, Peabody Award-winner)
Nicolás Celis (Roma, 3 x Oscar-winner)
Amy Gardner (Finite Films & TV)
Kara Durrett (Pinky Promise)

Materials to Prepare for Upload:

• Top sheet budget for entire project, with €10,000 Grant expenditure lines clearly marked – equivalent local currency accepted – PDF or .XLSX files only

• Production Timeline: overview of your target production and completion dates.

• Visual Treatment: a creative document that illustrates the Director's vision. Essentially a visual blueprint for the movie (may include artistic references, characters, cinematography, locations) - PDF files only

• Full Script: in original language OR detailed beat sheet in the case of documentaries - PDF files only (if a Non-English language narrative film, please also upload the first 10-pages of the script in English).
  
  

Guidelines and Eligibility:

• Projects must have both a Director AND Producer attached – both must be 18 years or older.

• Projects are welcome from any country in the world.

• Project Director should identify as as a woman or part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

• Project Producer must have completed a feature-film (or documentary) that received distribution. Producer can identify as any gender.

• Lead Applicant can be either the Director OR the Producer.

• Top sheet budget can be submitted in your local currency (grant line items must equate to €10,000 Euros).

• Live Action, Non-Fiction, Hybrid and Immersive Projects are accepted, as long as they are in development or early pre-production with an intended length of 45 minutes or longer. In the case of Non-Fiction and Immersive, we accept project that have begun production and are seeking finishing funds.

• Your application must be written in English and have a strong finished script. If a non-English language film, we ask you to submit the first 10 pages of your script in English, along with the full script in its Native language. In the case of Documentaries, we ask for a detailed beat sheet.

• Applicants must own the copyright of their production, and have artistic, budgetary, and editorial control over their project.

• Applicants should have previous film or television production experience in a principal role (director, co-director, producer, co-producer) as demonstrated via previous work samples. Applicants who do not meet this criteria should demonstrate how they will be working with experienced filmmakers as key creative personnel.

• BTTL does not make grants to individuals. If selected, applicants must be able to accept grants through a production company or fiscal sponsor. Projects may apply without a company attached, but must confirm the designated organization in order to receive funding.

• Key Team Agreements (especially Director / Producer) must be in place in order to be accepted. If a member of your core team changes after you have been accepted, your project will be re-evaluated by the Jury in order to continue participating in the Cohort.
  
  

Procedure:

• Submission: BTTL accepts applications until 5 p.m. PST on the grant deadline. We highly recommend early submission to avoid technical difficulties. Please inform us immediately about platform-related issues so that we can reach out to Zealous for further assistance. We cannot offer extensions due to staff capacity and in fairness to other applicants.

• Review: Each application is reviewed through a rigorous process, including several rounds of review by our independent reading committee before entering the shortlist, where all projects are reviewed by the Jury. During this process, we may contact you with additional project questions.

• Notification: Applicants who are shortlisted will be notified directly via your registered email by the start of November. A video interview will then be conducted. The winning applicant will be announced at the Sundance Film Festival and will become a part of BTTL's 2026 cohort. We are unable to give individual project feedback, due to the volume of submissions.

• Grant Distribution: Upon acceptance of the Grant award, the applicant will be asked to submit a final budget for approval, and to sign a "Filmmaker Action Grant Agreement" between BTTL and the winner's designated company. The terms of this agreement will be presented for review at the shortlist phase. Within 30 days of signature on this agreement, Grant funds will be distributed to the winning applicant.
  
  

Why do we charge a fee?
As a small non-profit with a volunteer team, the application fee helps us power BTTL's mission. However, as filmmakers ourselves, we understand that these fees can add up. That's why we give every applicant FREE access to our 2025 Workshops + a discount code to join our year-round 2026 training. Applying for this Grant puts your project into consideration for our 2026 BTTL Cohort, which provides filmmakers the opportunity to pitch in front of leading investors and sales agents at the Cannes Film Festival. If selected, we will provide a travel grant to attend the festival, and you will gain private 1:1 coaching and industry mentorship. We guarantee that all application revenue goes directly towards running our program and the submission review process.

If you still have questions, kindly email us with "Grant Application + the full title of your project" in the subject line. We are a small team and will do our best to respond in a timely manner, with limited capacity to reply during peak application periods. Applicants needing application assistance to accommodate a disability may request support at any stage in the process. To request reasonable assistance or any inquiry, contact info@breakingthroughthelens.com.

Submissions Opening Date: May 26, 2025

Early Bird Deadline: June 17th, 2025
Regular Deadline (Extended): September 1st, 2025
EXTENDED FINAL DEADLINE: October 7th, 2025

Shortlist Notification: No later than November 5th, 2025

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