Vimeo opened its second annual Short Film Grant. Five filmmakers will each receive $60,000 — $300,000 total, double last year’s prize pool — plus access to Panavision camera packages, OWC storage, ShotDeck’s visual reference library, and mentorship. The jury is Kogonada, Josephine Decker, Pete Ohs, producer Sarah Winshall, and cinematographer Jomo Fray, ASC. Submissions close soon.
What the Grant Is For
The grant funds production of an original short film. Vimeo’s selection criteria are originality, potential impact and resonance, feasibility of execution, and overall artistic merit. Matteo Danieli, co-founder of Bending Spoons (which owns Vimeo), described doubling the pool as “the first of several initiatives aimed at supporting filmmakers.” Ina Pira, Vimeo’s Head of Curation: “we’re looking to discover the next generation of filmmakers and give them the resources, encouragement, and community support.”
Applications are through the Vimeo SlideRoom portal at vimeo.com/shortfilmgrant. No genre or format restrictions are listed in the public-facing materials; the full eligibility requirements are on the program page.
The Jury
Kogonada is the writer-director of Columbus (2017) and After Yang (2022), two formally deliberate and precise films built on stillness, negative space, and architecture as emotional weight. His presence on a jury for short films signals the program is looking for work with a clear aesthetic point of view, not just competent execution.
Josephine Decker directed Madeline’s Madeline (2018) and Shirley (2020), both built on formal experimentation and an intimacy that operates below the surface of their narratives. Pete Ohs co-wrote and directed Jethica (2022), a film made with almost nothing that works with precision above its budget. Sarah Winshall is a producer with a background in independent film. And Jomo Fray, ASC — the cinematographer of Aftersun, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and Waves — puts it plainly: “Short films are a pillar of filmmaking and a stepping stone for so many.”
That jury collectively represents a specific kind of filmmaking: formally intentional, independently made, with a perspective that’s earned rather than inherited. What they’re selecting for will likely reflect that.
The Equipment Package
Panavision camera package access is the piece of this that should register for working DPs. Getting time with Panavision glass at the short film level is genuinely uncommon — Panavision has historically worked primarily with features and larger productions. Their glass carries a character and optical quality that most short film budgets can’t independently access. The grant makes that access part of the prize.
OWC storage covers on-set and post-production storage needs. ShotDeck — the visual reference library launched by cinematographer Lawrence Sher, ASC — gives winners access to a tool that working DPs use to pull cinematographic references and communicate visual language to collaborators. These address specific production gaps: not just the budget, but the infrastructure that keeps a short from being compromised by its own constraints.
Why This Matters
Past winner Sofia Camargo said it directly: “There are so few initiatives that support short filmmaking, and so many filmmakers trying to make shorts.” That gap is real. Short film funding is thin, completion budgets are typically underfunded, and the distance between what a short costs to make well and what’s actually available is where most promising projects get compromised or don’t get made. A $60,000 grant with a Panavision package and a jury of Kogonada, Jomo Fray, and Josephine Decker is a concrete exception to that pattern — not a token gesture, but production-level support plus guidance from people who have actually made the kind of films worth making.
The deadline is October 16. Eight days to decide whether yours is the project that deserves Panavision glass and Jomo Fray on the other end of a mentorship call.
Sources:
No Film School — Vimeo’s Second Annual Short Film Grant is Now Open, With a Prize Pool of $300K Up for Grabs
Yahoo Finance / Business Wire — Vimeo Launches Second Annual Short Film Grant Program, Doubling Prize Pool to $300,000
Variety — Vimeo Doubles Short Film Grant Program Prize to $300,000
Cinematography World — Vimeo launches second annual short film grant program
