AFS Grants

The 2025 AFS Grant for Feature Films is now open for submissions via Submittable and will close on May 21, 2025, at 5:59 PM CT. 

The AFS Grant for Short Films will open in the summer of 2025.

The AFS Grant awards funds annually to Texas-based filmmakers working in any style or genre. Filmmakers who live in the state of Texas are encouraged to apply for up to $15,000 in cash for any phase of production, and a development grant is also available for mid-career artists. The AFS Grant aims to ensure that promising Texas artists have access to funding opportunities right here in their home state.

Since its inception in 1996, the AFS Grant has awarded more than $2.8 million in cash grants and more than $340,000 in-kind goods and services to 550+ Texas filmmakers to date, creating life-changing opportunities for artists, many from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the film industry and working outside large industry centers. In addition to grants for development, production, and post-production, we provide cash stipends to Texas filmmakers traveling to prestigious film festivals through its AFS Travel Grant program.

2025 APPLICATION UPDATES

• Submittable: This year, applications to the AFS Grant will be sent through Submittable. If you don’t already have a Submittable account, please create one before beginning your application.
• Smaller Essay Modules: In the application, instead of submitting a 2-page project description, we’ve broken apart this section into smaller essay modules. It is the same amount of overall content, it’s just organized in a way that we hope is more approachable.
• Accepting More Materials: We are now accepting pitch decks and lookbooks as optional materials in your grant application.

If you have any questions regarding the grant, please email us at filmmakersupport@austinfilm.org

Check out past grant recipients here.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Before you begin your application, it is very important that you review all eligibility and required materials in our 2025 AFS Grant for Feature Films Application Instructions.

There is one application to apply for either the AFS Grant for Features in Development or the AFS Grant for Features in Production, which includes any of the following stages of production: pre-production, production, or post-production. The development grant application is open to filmmakers with an established body of work. Filmmakers are restricted to submitting one application per grant cycle.

Please note: We have added an eligibility quiz to the application form that will help ensure that you meet the grant qualifications before applying. We recommend that you create an account on Submittable and take the eligibility quiz for your specific application before you start assembling your materials. You are still expected to familiarize yourself with the application requirements.

The AFS Grant for Feature Films closes on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 5:59 PM CT.