Berkeley Film Foundation

7 days until the deadline! 🎥 This is the last call to submit your film project to the 2026 Documentary Grant Program. If you are a filmmaker living or working in the East Bay, you may be eligible for one of the documentary grants we are offering in our 2026 cycle. Applications close Monday April 13 at 11:59p.

Before submitting, please take time to review the application guidelines to ensure your application is complete. The guidelines include information about eligibility, grant awards, and details about the application process for students and professionals.

We look forward to reviewing your work! ✨

Tonight! Please join us for our next double-feature screening at The New Parkway of Theo Rigby's "Si Pudiera Quedarme/If I Could Stay" and student grant award winner Alfredo Torres' "Jardines". These beautiful films examine the daily struggle of people caught between worlds, awaiting legalization in the United States.

Screening starts at 6:30p. TICKETS can be purchased here: https://ticketing.uswest.veezi.com/purchase/16888?siteToken=y62bhsm2h1sfp48nzexbtnm2wg

Synopsis: "Si Pudiera Quedarme / If I Could Stay"" is a heart-wrenching and inspiring story of two undocumented Latinx mothers, Jeanette and Ingrid, who courageously enter local churches to evade deportation and protect their families. Over five years, they must face the constant threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids while fighting for their legal status and inspiring allies in the predominantly white faith communities. Through an intimate and raw lens, the film showcases the unwavering strength, love, and sacrifice of these mothers, who risk everything to keep their families together in the country they call home. "Si Pudiera Quedarme / If I Could Stay"" is a call to action and a powerful reminder that providing Sanctuary is not just an act of charity, but a crucial act of social justice.

Set in a one of the few LGBTQ+ shelters in Tijuana, jardines is an intimate portrait of the life experiences and trajectories unique to displaced q***r folks as they flee violence and persecution in their home countries. Crafted with a lush, poetic and joyous eye the film introduces us to people from all over the world as they contemplate the uncertainty of a future in the United States at a time when asylum legislation and LGBTQ+ rights are under legal duress.
It is in this limbo, amid the shelter's walls, that we share a moment in time with its residents. Strangers become friends and family, as they begin to share deep moments of joy and grief, sorrow and hope.

The Berkeley FILM Foundation is very excited to announce the launch of our Narrative Short Film Grant Program. Starting this month, BFF will be accepting applications for funding for narrative short films from filmmakers who live or work in the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Alameda.

We are looking for projects under 40 minutes that use creative techniques, innovative visual elements and thoughtful character development to tell a story that illuminates a larger concept of social or environmental justice.

Applications will open on August 19 and the deadline to submit will be September 23, 2024. Please review the guidelines (link below) to learn more about your eligibility and available grants. We look forward to seeing all the amazing work the East Bay has to offer!

Guidelines: https://berkeleyfilmfoundation.org/narrative-short-film-program

The BFF 2024 Grant Cycle is now open! We invite local filmmakers who live or work in the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Alameda (new this year!) to submit your film proposal for consideration of a 2024 project grant. The Berkeley FILM Foundation provides grants in the production, post-production and distribution stages for documentary features and documentary shorts. The deadline to apply for General Grants is May 13.

Reminder! Please join us tomorrow, September 12 at 7:00p, for a screening of 'Jack Has a Plan' - a film by Bradley Berman and funded by BFF in 2022. Invite your friends and join us in Oakland!

Jack Has a Plan
Date: Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Time: 7:00pm
Location: The New Parkway, 474 24th St, Oakland, CA 94612
*Please stay for a post-screening Q&A with the filmmaker and other guests.
TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/yeyk2x5y