Tasveer Film Fund Renewed for Its Fifth Year (EXCLUSIVE)

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

Supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity and aligned with the Tasveer Film Market Initiative, the fund requires applicants to have over three years of industry experience and at least three short films to their credit.

The fund invites narrative short scripts that explore themes of diaspora or immigrant stories, LGBTQIA+ issues, and South Asian narratives. Nine pitches will be shortlisted, with the top three receiving $25,000 each to produce their next short film. The deadline for submissions is August 30.

The Tasveer Film Market, including the Tasveer Film Fund and the Tasveer Film Festival, will be held from October 15-20, 2024, in Seattle. The festival’s best short film winner will automatically qualify 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 scale. 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”).