The Documentary Film program supports creative documentary films in the Arab region. The program welcomes submissions by Arab directors 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.
The Documentary Film 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.
WHO CAN APPLY
The Documentary Film grant program is open to applications from Arab directors and producers living in the Arab region or 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.
A director who already has an open grant from AFAC (regardless of whether the contract is in their name or the producer’s name).
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 2021 and another one in 2022, you will only be eligible to re-apply in 2025.
Film producers who have an open grant 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.
If a grantee has received two grants for the same film project, they cannot apply for post-production.
WHAT DOES THE GRANT COVER
AFAC grants are intended for project production, including research and development phases. They may cover project-related expenses, including but not limited to materials, space or equipment rentals, and fees for artistic and technical labor and collaboration.
A director and producer fee of not more than 30% of the total grant amount is also an allowable expense. If you are hesitant about how this works, you can always contact us with questions before submitting your final budget.
Given the high demand for production support, AFAC cannot guarantee that all selected grantees will receive their requested amounts in full. We encourage applicants to diversify their sources of funding whenever possible.
AFAC does not offer mobility grants, but travel expenses that are part of a project’s implementation and/or research may be covered by the grant.
AFAC will not provide support retroactively to projects that have already been completed.
For projects that have already started, we cover only expenses occurring after the agreement's signature date.
AFAC launches two open calls every year for its different grant programs. The first is open to applications for Creative and Critical Writings, Documentary Film, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts grants. The second call is open to applications for Cinema, Music, Documentary Photography and Training & Regional Events grants. Each applicant (individual or institution) can only submit one application during each open call.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications are only accepted through the online forms available here.
Applications submitted via regular mail or email will not be considered.
Applicants will receive a confirmation email once their application has been successfully submitted.
Please make sure your application is complete with all the requested supporting materials before submitting it. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
We encourage you to read the full application form before applying.
You are required to submit supporting material and samples for the project you are applying for. Supporting documents are essential to help the reader and juror committees understand your artistic approach as well as the overall feasibility of your project.
We will not consider applications without this material and will not contact you about any missing documents or samples. If you are in doubt about what documents to include, please reach out to us before submitting your application. We are happy to help guide you through this process.
When the call for applications is closed, our grants management team will review all received applications to make sure they are complete and adhere to our guidelines. Applications that do not meet our eligibility criteria or that are missing required materials will be disqualified.
The grants management team will send all eligible applications to an independent committee of readers, who will evaluate them according to our evaluation criteria to arrive at a first selection. The latter will then be sent to an independent jury committee, which will evaluate them according to the same criteria. The jury committee then meets to discuss the applications and reach a final selection decision. You can find more information about our selection process here.
Announcement
We announce selected projects on our website and social media platforms with a statement from the jury committee.
Applicants will also receive an email before the announcement informing them whether or not their application was selected for a grant.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Grant Agreement
Upon selection, our grants management team will draft an agreement to be signed between AFAC and each grantee.
We expect projects to be completed within a maximum of two years from the signature of the grant agreement and any extension should be requested and approved in writing.
If you are not granted the requested amount in full, you will be asked to submit an updated budget.
The grants management team is available to help answer any questions and guide you through this process.
Reporting
Grantee reports are a routine part of our grant-making process and help us know more about your project while also learning how to improve our grantmaking process. You will be expected to report on the project’s overall progress as well as on its expenditures through narrative and financial reports.
You will be informed of the types of reports and documents you must submit and can always contact us with questions.
Payment conditions and 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.
AFAC acknowledgment
AFAC does not own any material or moral rights arising from the supported projects.
While grantees are contractually required to indicate AFAC’s support in their project communication, we consider them as natural partners in our pursuit of sustainability for the Arab cultural scene. Your endorsement and mention of AFAC in media, festivals, platforms, and other avenues help shed light on the importance of our work in supporting arts and culture and allow us to continue assisting future generations of artists.
Grantees are required to use the AFAC logo and complete title (The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture) according to our guidelines in all their project publications and deliverables (trailers, films, books, CDs, posters, etc.), as well as to indicate AFAC’s support in any press releases, interviews, or outreach materials. We will provide you with these guidelines with the grant agreement.
Grantees are also required to provide AFAC with print or digital copies of the final product and/or invitations to the final output events, as well as any related media. We might use media from supported projects in our noncommercial print and digital publications.
We may also get in touch with you about screening your films on our platforms or at our events.
