Freeing Filmmakers
Written by Michael Field | Posted by: Anonymous
For over 75 years, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has helped scholars in their pursuit of knowledge and artists in their thirst for creation. The Foundation was started in 1925 by former U.S. Senator, Simon Guggenheim and his wife, Olga Hirsch Guggenheim in honor of their son who passed away three years earlier. The expressed purpose of the program is to help provide Fellows with blocks of time in which they can work with as much creative freedom as possible.
In 1929, the Foundation divided the Fellowship into two categories, The United States and Canadian Fellowships and the Latin American and Caribbean Fellowships. It’s remained in place ever since, with resounding success. Last year alone, the average amount of a Fellowship grant was $36,638. And all total, for the year 2002, the Foundation provided almost 8.5 million dollars in grants.
What separates the Guggenheim Foundation from most other film financing opportunities is that it’s not entirely for artists. People from a variety of fields, such as mathematics and chemistry, are also awarded fellowships. In fact, only about five to seven percent of applicants for a fellowship are filmmakers — and consider that the total number of applicants to the United States and Canadian Fellowship last year was 2,845. So unlike other opportunities in the independent film world, filmmakers stand out in this crowd.
But who is the right person? Peter Kardon, Vice President of the Guggenheim Foundation, explains, "In the creative arts, in addition to promise, we look for a significant record of accomplishment: for filmmakers, that usually means that applicants should have made recent films of high quality."
Now it’s time for a little hypothetical scenario. So, you’ve made a few short films which have garnered mild praises amongst the underground film community and you decide it’s time to shoot that feature you’ve been dying to do. A friend mentions the Guggenheim Fellowship as a chance for some money and you bite. What do you do now? Obviously, you visit the website (www.gf.org) and discover the application deadline is October 1, 2003. Plenty of time. But you don’t want to procrastinate so you download an application right away. You send in the necessary references, supporting materials (samples of writing and maybe a selection of your short film on video) and the filled-out application form. All that’s left is to wait. At least, you can polish up that script a little more.
From there, your application and supporting work materials are reviewed by a panel of jurors. This panel of jurors, consisting of other practicing professionals in the creative arts, determines whether you’re worthy of a fellowship. And as luck would have it, you are. The jurors then rank and compare you with other applicants in the arts, such as music composition, photography, and choreography. But you’re not done yet. After shooting to the top of the list for the arts, you are now compared with all other selected applicants, including those in natural and social sciences.
The panel of jurors takes those applicants, including you, and makes a formal recommendation to a Committee of Selection. This committee ultimately decides who is awarded a Fellowship and for what amount. In 2002, out of the 184 awarded United States and Canadian Fellowships, nine were film and video makers.
The Fellowship is not for all film and video makers. Beginners are unlikely recipients, since the Foundation favors people with a proven track record in their field of interest. But as Kardon mentions, promise or potential is a key factor in reviewing applicants. There is no entry fee, which is pleasantly surprising in this day and age of festivals and competitions. Another interesting note is that a Fellowship will not be awarded to those who’ve already received one in the passed from the Foundation.
As Senator Guggenheim once wrote that the Foundation’s goals were "…to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding, and the appreciation of beauty, by aiding without distinction on account of race, color, or creed, scholars, scientists and artists of either sex in the prosecution of their labors." And of course, the Foundation provides a monetary means and the freedom of time for artists and scientists to achieve their dreams and succeed in their goals with no strings attached.
The application deadline this year is October 1, 2003 for the United States and Canadian Fellowship and final selection will be made in April 2004. For the Latin American and Caribbean Fellowship, the deadline is December 1, 2003 with final selections in June 2004. All information on applying can be found at www.gf.org and make sure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader, because the application (available in July) is a .pdf file. Or you can request an application form through the mail at: John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, 90 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.
