TFPF Workshops: An Insider's Perspective
By Mike Fleming
The deadline for Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund applications is rapidly approaching and it was with that in mind that I recently attended a TFPF Workshop with Austin Culp, Austin Film Society's Interim Artist Services Manager, at the AFS offices.
During the past few weeks Culp and Ryan Long, AFS Programs and Operations Manager, have been traveling all over the state to give workshops just like this one. The final result of these workshops will be something like two hundred separate applications, most of them arriving on the June 1 deadline date. In the past it has been quite a lot to sort through, which is why this year TFPF is switching to mostly online applications, a whole new wrinkle in the sorting process.
Since this is the first year that applications are entirely digital, the online application itself represents a respectable portion of the presentation, but it is by no means the meat and potatoes of the workshop.
One of the first things I learned about the TFPF program (because it was the first thing asked) is that there are no typical projects that are more likely to get funding than others. Many different types of films are accepted into the program, such as The Vulture Project, Zero Charisma and Far Marfa. According to Culp, the variation in the alumni roster can also be attributed to the varied group of TFPF reviewers.
Every year, candidates for funding go through three rounds of review by about 20 first-round reviewers. In the final rounds of review the applications are typically sent to three working filmmakers or film professionals who are not from Texas and have different backgrounds in filmmaking. This ensures that every year the films that apply for funding are scrutinized on different terms, which ultimately translates to a different crop of funded films every year. According to Culp, "Plenty of good films have applied for funding before and not gotten it. If a film doesn't get funding it doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad one."
Which, back in the workshop, brought us to one of the next big points of the presentation: The goal of the TFPF program is ultimately to help fund films that will be completed. However, relying solely on TFPF funding is not recommended.
"The ideal project will have more than one source of funding. We want to help filmmakers but we also don't want to be your only funder," Culp said. Setting up a fundraising plan outside of the TFPF program is a good investment and puts less pressure on the people that are looking at potential candidates.
"The last thing that a reviewer wants to happen is for a film to not get completed because we pass on it," he added. Which is part of the reason why AFS has other options for funding in addition to the Texas Filmmakers' Production' Fund.
The Texas Filmmakers' Travel Grant is an easily accessible source of revenue for filmmakers whose film has been accepted into any of 44 eligible festivals and events like Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, Toronto and Los Angeles Film Festival. Each year AFS sets aside $10,000 from the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund to help get these filmmakers to festivals once they've exhausted their finances just getting their films finished.
Another option for noncommercial projects that Austin Culp touched on during the workshop was the Fiscal Sponsorship program. Films that qualify for Fiscal Sponsorship can use AFS's 501 (c)(3) status to apply for grants from government granting agencies and foundations that typically only provide funding for nonprofit organizations. Projects that receive Fiscal Sponsorship are also eligible to solicit tax-deductible donations from private individuals and businesses, which is a nice added incentive for giving considering that every penny counts when creating a budget.
In the end the workshop was helpful even for me, the AFS insider. I left with a healthy dose of both intimidation for the process and newfound respect for everyone who puts in all the hard work to get their films finished, funded and seen.
Mike Fleming is the Artist Services Apprentice at the Austin Film Society.
[Photo credit: Former Artist Services Manager Bryan Poyser dealing with TFPF applications before the process went digital. Used courtesy of Austin Film Society.]