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Winning Filmmakers, Pitches, and Films!

Scroll through to see previous winners' completed films, entries, and testimonials.

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Sunday Dinner

Filmmaker: Don Fanelli

Prize: $6,000

Pitch sentence: An Italian-American man confesses to his passionate siblings that he is now vegan and refuses to eat their traditional Sunday meatballs and I need $ for a DP & prod design.

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Freelance

Filmmaker: Mike Gerbino

Prize: $5,000

Pitch sentence: When a down-on-her-luck editor takes a job cutting snuff films, she is haunted by visions of the people in her videos; funds would go toward our 3-day principal photography, which begins in the fall.

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Americano

Filmmaker: Tim Viola (the OG first winner!)

Prize: $2,000

Pitch sentence: When an undocumented refugee hacker discovers evidence linking a politician to a tragedy on social media, he teams up with a PR director to expose the story; film is shot–need funds for audio post.

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I Love Jazz

Filmmaker: David Oster

Prize: $6,000

Pitch sentence: When a man’s own voice warns him of his impending murder via a jazz record, the next few moments are filled with suspense, color, and jazz, and I need funding to shoot all in one choreographed shot.

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Treehouse

Filmmaker: Matthew Greenberg

Prize: $5,000

Pitch sentence: A man struggles to understand why each attempt to build the perfect treehouse leaves him staring at an empty tree with no evidence of previous work; the funding will go to creating multiple treehouses

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The Bridge

Filmmaker: Izabella Amar

Prize: 3-Month Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription

Pitch sentence: A recently unemployed transgender woman forms a deep connection after a chance encounter in an unlikely place; the funds will be used to complete post-production.

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Bamboo

Filmmaker: Harrison Kwong

Prize: $400 KitSplit Gift Card

Pitch sentence: When a shy, Asian man encounters his charismatic, white-washed doppelgänger, the two struggle with each other's claim of dominance over their identity; funding is used for camera/lighting equipment.

Me + Lee

Filmmaker: Giorigio Miraflor

Prize: $400 KitSplit Gift Card

Pitch sentence: Amid grieving, Theo strikes up a unique and possibly toxic friendship with his pizza delivery guy who has the same name as his deceased brother; we need the funding for location and lens rentals.

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More in Production...

We have many more winners who are working on completing their films. See them below.

All Winners to Date

Swipe through to see all of our winning filmmakers. Many are still working on their projects, or they are on the festival circuit with their films!

Tim Viola

Elia Urquiza filmmaker headshot 2 the film fund

Elia Urquiza

Matthew Greenberg

Katie Sadler the film fund documentary funding winner

Katie Sadler

David Oster narrative short film funding winner the film fund

David Oster

robert murray duncan the film fund documentary funding winner

Robert Murray Dunacn

don fanelli actor headshot

Don Fanelli

savanna hunter reeves filmmaker

Savanna Hunter-Reeves

Harley Foos

travis beard filmmaker the film fund

Travis Beard

bridget barbara filmmaker the film fund

Bridget Barbara

the film fund winner jonathan chen short film

Jonathan Chen

lynne ferguson filmmaker the film fund short film

Lynne Ferguson

tommy garcia filmmaker the fi

Tommy Garcia

Sophie Schrago

colleen brady the film fund filmmaker

Colleen Brady

christopher guerrero the film fund filmmaker

Christopher Guerrero

daryl paris bright

Daryl Paris Bright

malcolm-johnson-on-set-the-film-fund-directing

Malcolm Johnson

sarah young filmmaker the film fund independent film

Sarah Young

sink filmmaker rachel lindsay independent film the film fund

Rachel Lindsay / "Sink"

Headshot Giorgio Miraflor

Giorgio Miraflor

jeff bergh

Jeff Bergh

the film fund winner alexander russell

Alexander Russell

the film fund winner claire downs

Claire Downs

miles pasholk the film fund podcast

Miles Pasholk

the film fund winner da'mon nero

Da'Mon Nero

the film fund winner lemia bodden filmmaker

Lemia Bodden

the film fund winner erin lee deacon

Erin Lee Deacon

rebecca luck winner filmmaker the film fund

Rebecca Luck

winning filmmaker sarah kamaras the film fund

Sarah Kamaras

swati tiwari the film fund winner filmmaker boston bollywood

Swati Tiwari

vinny anand filmmaker winner the film fund and his team

Vinny Anand

lindy stokes filmmaker the film fund winner short film

Lindy Stokes

jenna kelly filmmaker the film fund winner short film

Jenna Kelly

carya maharja the film fund winner short film filmmaker

Carya Maharja

Izabella Amar

Max Retik the film fund winner filmmaker short film

Max Retik

the film fund winner alexander lockett filmmaker short film

Alexander Lockett

christopher rodriguez the film fund winner short film filmmaker

Christopher Rodriguez

harrison kwong filmmaker the film fund winner short film filmmaker

Harrison Kwong

arielle friedman the film fund filmmaker short film

Arielle Friedman

mike gerbino filmmaker the film fund short film

Mike Gerbino

jo gennett filmmaker short film the film fund

Jo Gennett

mimi wilcox filmmaker short film the film fund

Mimi Wilcox

Samantha Severin filmmaker short film the film fund

Samantha Severin

stephanie ramones filmmaker the film fund short film

Stephanie Ramones

David Linthicum filmmaker short film the film fund

David Linthicum

marissa slaven filmmaker the film fund short film

Marissa Slaven

micheal fleming filmmaker the film fund short film

Micheál Fleming

Sindbad Guggenheim rumney filmmaker short fim the film fund

Sindbad Rumney

Suzanna-Klaucke-the-film-fund-filmmaker-short-film

Suzanna Klaucke

Emily Erhart the film fund filmmaker short film

Emily Erhart

Scott Naar the film fund filmmaker short film

Scott and Emily Naar

Omar Abreu the film fund filmmaker short film

Omar Abreu

pierce ryan independent filmmaker the film fund

Pierce Ryan

Lane Stanley

Nader Yousef

Carlos Novoa

Jackson Dorfman

Salem Daniel

Hunter Livingston

Corina Mazzi

Alfred Thomas Catalfo

Andrew Jonathan Smith

Steve Haisman

Adam Zax

Gaoyang Ganjin

Connor Ryan

Eli Newman

Katelyn McCulloch

Miles Gunter

What should my one-sentence pitch look like if I want to get film funding?

Submit it here for a chance to fund your narrative or documentary short film. Filmmakers write in all the time asking if they can see examples of winning sentences. Below you can find real, winning sentences submitted by independent filmmakers who have received thousands of dollars in funding and services to make their short film pitches a reality. You'll notice that not every winning sentence is included here. Out of respect for the filmmakers and their concepts, we don't release the winning sentences until the final films are released. The Film Fund does not favor one genre over another. In addition to the real sentences, our judges have written a few examples, which you'll also find below. You can also read an in-depth analysis of winner Don Fanelli's sentence here.

Example #1: Treehouse

A man struggles to understand why each attempt to build the perfect treehouse leaves him staring at an empty tree with no evidence of previous work; the funding will go to creating multiple treehouses.

Example #2: Sunday Dinner

An Italian-American man confesses to his passionate siblings that he is now vegan and refuses to eat their traditional Sunday meatballs and I need $ for a DP & prod design.

Example #3: Americano

When an undocumented refugee hacker discovers evidence linking a politician to a tragedy on social media, he teams up with a PR director to expose the story; film is shot–need funds for audio post.

Have a great pitch sentence of your own?

Submit it to one of our independent film funding contests here for a chance to receive up to $10,000 in funding and other prizes to make your project a reality.