Tasveer Film Fund Renewed for Fifth Year (EXCLUSIVE)

The Tasveer Film Fund, which offers $75,000 of grants for South Asian filmmakers in North America, has been renewed for a fifth year.

The fund, which is supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, and is aligned with the Tasveer Film Market Initiative, requires applicants to have over three years of industry experience and have made at least three short films. 

It invites narrative short scripts exploring themes of diaspora or immigrant Stories, LGBTQIA+, and South Asian narratives. Nine pitches will be shortlisted and the top three will be awarded $25,000 each to produce their next short film. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 30.

The Tasveer Film Market, including the TFF and the Tasveer Film Festival will be held October 15-20, 2024 in Seattle. The festival’s best short film winner automatically qualifies for the Oscars.

“In its fifth year, we are thrilled to continue the Tasveer Film Fund, a powerful initiative to discover and nurture groundbreaking South Asian projects from its inception. Our commitment to supporting innovative voices aims to make a profound and lasting impact on the film industry, moving the needle on representation,” said Rita Meher, executive director at Tasveer.

The market aims to facilitate South Asian diasporic representation and filmmaking on a global level. It will feature a co-production market, a producer’s lab, industry panels and a work-in-progress lab. The co-production market will invite director-producer teams to pitch long-form and short-form projects, including features, shorts and series, both scripted and unscripted, to financiers, investors and studio executives.

The content advisory board for the market includes producers Apoorva Bakshi (“Delhi Crime”), Mohammed Ali Naqvi (“Among the Believers”), Neeraj Churi (“Sheer Qorma”) and Samudrika Arora (“Afghan Dreamers”).