Find Support
Edited by Brooklyn Modestita
The Transgender Media Lab’s mission is to uplift and honour trans artists; we attempt to do this in myriad ways, including through this list of resources and funding supports that we hope will be helpful for trans artists. We want to highlight resources aimed at BIPOC trans filmmakers, as well acknowledging that some of the more generic sources of funding may be racially biased. This is not an exhaustive list and we will continue to update it as we find more. If you know of any links that should be added, feel free to email us at transgendermediaportal@gmail.com.
Quick Links
Resources for BIPOC Trans Filmmakers
House Of Pentacles (HOP)
HOP is a Film Training Program and Production House designed to launch Black trans youth (ages 18-35) into the film industry and tell stories woven at the intersection of being Black and Trans.
Wahala
The Wahala Film Fund is a completion fund for short films (max 40 minutes) by Queer, Transgender and Intersex People of Colour filmmakers based in the UK, Europe and the Global South.
Black Trans Femme Artist Collective (BTFA)
The BTFA connects Black trans femme artists with each other and with the larger art community. We organize events that exclusively cater to Black trans femme artists such as artist meetups, workshops and lectures. We also curate art showcases, featuring Black trans femme artists, that are open to a larger public audience. Based in New York City.
Black Public Media
Black Public Media supports the development of visionary content creators and distributes stories about the global Black experience to inspire a more equitable and inclusive future.
Project Involve
Run by Film Independent, this project works to build a more inclusive and equitable film industry by supporting emerging filmmakers from communities underrepresented in film and entertainment. Project Involve provides hands-on filmmaking experience from inception to completion. Participants are paired with mentors and receive personalized guidance to help move their projects and careers forward.
Filmmakers Without Borders (FWB)
FWB is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to empowering the next generation of digital storytellers. FWB filmmaking grants provide funding and support for independent filmmakers to share their stories. Funds are available for narrative, documentary, experimental, and new media projects in various stages of production.
Diversity Development Fund (DDF)
The DDF is looking for exceptional stories by filmmakers from diverse backgrounds. They are committed to supporting producers of color and creating public media programming that is truly inclusive. The DFF gives producers of color up to $35,000 in research and development funding so you can develop your documentary for public media. The documentary can be on any subject, viewpoint or style as long as it is in development or pre-production.
General BIPOC Trans Resources
For the Gworls (FTG)
For the Gworls (FTG) is a collective that raises housing and medical funds for Black trans people.
Trans Woman of Color Collective (TWOCC)
There is a critical need for trans youth of color led initiatives that cultivate affirming spaces for our communities to engage in healing and restorative justice.
Black Trans Travel Fund
The Black Trans Travel Fund is a grassroots, Black Trans led Collective, providing Black transgender women with financial and material resources needed to remove barriers to self-determining and accessing safer travel options.
National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition
Established in 2011, the National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition is a social justice organization led by black trans people to collectively address the inequities faced in the black transgender human experience.
The Okra Project
The Okra Project is a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People.
Resources for Trans Filmmakers
Spindle Films Foundation
The Spindle Films Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports transgender, non-binary, two-spirit, and gender-diverse Canadian filmmakers. Rooted in an annual mentorship program supporting emerging filmmakers, the Foundation seeks to make the film and television industry more equitable and diverse by giving voice to underrepresented voices.
Transgender Film Center
The Transgender Film Center’s Trailblazer Grant provides start-up and completion funds for narrative or documentary projects written, directed, or produced by transgender creators.
GLAAD Media Institute
GLAAD has learned a lot since its founding in 1985 about the media’s role in changing hearts and minds. GLAAD demonstrated not only media’s powerful influence—impacting how people treat others, how they vote, and their daily decisions—but our own authoritative potential to lead the conversation, reshape the narrative, and ultimately, change the culture. The GLAAD Media Institute offers consulting, training, and research in order to help uplift the voices of marginalized LGBTQI.
Pinkstart
Pinkstart isa crowdfunding platform designed to cater to the LGBTI community as a way of funding various projects including film.
Outfest
Outfest creates visibility for diverse LGBTQIA+ stories and empowers storytellers, building empathy to drive meaningful social change. Our tentpole film festival programs and digital channels includes the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival, the Outfest Fusion People of Color Film Festival, OutfestNow and OutfestAlwaysOn, our filmmaker and talent mentorship and education programs and courses, the Outfest Screenwriting Lab, our Trans Acting Fellowship, and the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project (film archive and restoration program).
Frameline Completion Fund
The Frameline Completion Fund provides grants to emerging and established filmmakers. This program seeks to provide a much-needed source of financial contributions to artists who often struggle to secure funding to complete their works. Grants up to $5,000 are available for the completion of films that represent and reflect LGBTQ+ life in all its complexity and richness.
Horizon Foundation
Horizon offers numerous platforms for support and funding. Filmmakers can apply for the LGBTQI Film Funding Initiative Grants, which brings together donors interested in funding LGBTQI film in order to find out about current projects, discuss their merits with each other and film experts, and find a community of similarly interested donors.
