The AFAC Documentary Program supports creative documentary films in the Arab region. The AFAC Documentary grant welcomes submissions of feature-length documentary film projects that are in development, production or post-production phases, as well as short and medium-length documentaries in production and post-production.

About the grant

The program provides annual grants up to USD 10,000 for development grants, up to USD 50,000 for production grants for feature-length films and USD 20,000 for short and medium-length documentaries, and up to USD 25,000 for post-production grants for feature-length films and USD 10,000 for short and medium-length documentaries.

AFAC reserves the right to distribute its resources for wider impact. Given the high demand for support, it is not guaranteed that potential grantees will be awarded the requested amounts in full. It is therefore encouraged that applicants diversify funding sources for the submitted project.

In the event that the grantee does not sign the grant contract within 60 days upon receipt thereof, the grant will be canceled. Projects must be completed within 2 years of signing the contract, during which grantees are expected to submit the necessary financial and narrative reports.

No grantee will be awarded more than two deadline extensions during the grant period; Such extensions should be justified by the grantee and approved by AFAC.

AFAC does not offer mobility grants. Travel costs can be covered by the AFAC grant only when they are part of the implementation of a project.

Eligible Expenses

AFAC only covers project-related expenses, including artist fees up to 30 percent of the total grant amount. Neither operating costs nor the purchasing of equipment can be covered by the grant.

Eligibilible candidates

The AFAC Documentary Program is open to applications from Arab directors and producers living in the Arab region or in the diaspora. A non-Arab producer can apply for a grant provided that the film director is Arab. It is highly recommended that film projects applying to the production and post-production grants have producers attached to them. Project applications are accepted irrespective of age, years of experience, country of residence, ethnicity, gender, or religion.

A film producer is eligible to apply with a maximum of two projects per category per cycle provided the two projects are not attached to the same director.

Ineligible candidates

AFAC will not consider applications submitted by:

• Members of the AFAC board of trustees, their business partners or family members.
• AFAC staff members, their business partners or family members.
• Members of the current year’s reader and juror committees.
• Applicants with a current open grant.
• Recipients of grants in two consecutive years will not be eligible to apply for the next two consecutive years. For example, if you received a grant in 2020 and another one in 2021, you will only be eligible to re-apply in 2024.
• If a film producer has an open grant, they can apply with another project. If they have two open grants, they are not eligible to apply before the completion of one of the projects.
• A director who already has an open grant from AFAC (regardless of whether the contract is in their name or in the producer’s name).
• Each director may only submit one application in the same category (development, production, post-production).
• If a director has an application that is in process, they cannot submit another application in another category until the result of the current application in process is announced.
• If a grantee has received two grants – one for development and one for production for the same film project – they cannot apply for post-production.

Place and duration

AFAC will not provide support retroactively to projects that have already been completed.

For projects that have already started, AFAC will cover the expenses starting from the signature of the contract, if the project is selected.

Projects may be implemented anywhere as long as the applicant fulfills the above-mentioned eligibility criteria. The project’s timeframe should not exceed 24 months.

How to apply

Applications are only accepted through our online forms available on our website. Applications submitted via regular mail or email will not be considered.

The applicant will receive a confirmation email once the online application has been submitted. Applicants are advised to follow up on the full completion and delivery of the requested material, as AFAC will not contact applicants if any part of their application is incomplete.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

To apply, please login with your username and password. Once logged in, visit the page of the program you are interested in applying for and click on “apply.”

If you don’t have an existing account, please create one, here.

The deadline to submit applications is April 6, 2023 at 5:00 pm (Beirut time — GMT+3).

Please note that we will not be able to respond to any inquiries communicated with us after April 5, 2023.

Application form previews:
AFAC Documentary Program - Application for development
AFAC Documentary Program - Application for production
AFAC Documentary Program - Application for post-production

Supporting Material

• For all projects, include a detailed budget.
• It is mandatory to submit supporting material/samples for the project you are applying with.
• Applications lacking in supporting material will not be considered for evaluation nor will the applicant be contacted to send the missing material.
• If the application is submitted by the producer, the application must also provide samples of the director’s previous works, if any.
• If applying for a post-production grant, applicants must submit a rough cut. For medium-length projects, the rough cut should be 10 minutes. For feature-length projects, the rough cut should be 25 minutes. A trailer can be sent along with the rough cut.
• If applying for a production grant, the applicant must submit a selection of edited scenes (not less than five minutes in length) from the submitted project. A trailer can be sent along with the edited scenes.
• If applying with a project that is partly or fully animated, the applicant must submit a mood board.
• Supporting files/samples for submitted projects and previous works smaller than 10 MB should be uploaded directly with the application.
• Supporting files/samples for submitted projects and previous works exceeding 10 MB should be included as links to files on file-sharing or hosting websites (such as Dropbox, Vimeo, YouTube…).
• For further inquiries regarding supporting material, contact AFAC grants management team.

Evaluation and selection process

Following the submission deadline, AFAC will conduct an administrative check to ensure that applications are complete and adhere to the guidelines. Only applications that pass the administrative check will be processed. An independent readers committee will then assess the submitted proposals and select the applications to be sent to the independent jurors committee. The jurors will assess the selected applications and choose the projects to be awarded grants. Please see the AFAC Evaluation Process document for more details.

An automatic email will be sent to the applicants whose projects do not pass the initial selection phase.

Grants announcement

The grant winners will be announced and published on the AFAC website and social media platforms after the jury meetings conclude. An automatic email will be sent to applicants whose projects are not selected to receive grants.

Grant contract

As soon as the grant awardees are announced, AFAC will draft a grant contract to be signed by the grantees. The contract will include start and end dates, grant amount, budget breakdown, financial requirements, payment schedule, general provisions, implementation and amendments, required reports and project results.

Payment Conditions & Schedule

For development grants, the grantee will receive 70% of the grant amount as a first payment. Once the project is completed and the grantee has submitted the deliverables, narrative and financial reports, the remaining 30% will be transferred.

For production grants, grantees will receive 25% of the grant amount as the first payment. When 80% of the first payment has been spent AND the shooting has started, the grantee must submit an interim narrative and financial report to AFAC. Once the report is approved, grantees will receive 60% of the grant total amount as a second payment.

With the submission of the final deliverables and reports, the remaining 15% of the grant total amount will be transferred and the grant will be closed.

For post-production grants, grantees will receive 50% of the grant amount as the first payment. Once the project is completed and the grantee has submitted the deliverables, narrative and financial reports, the remaining 50% will be transferred.

Grantees should provide AFAC with ten copies of the final outputs of the project, when applicable.