The Film Photo Award is open to all emerging, established, and student photographers based in the United States. Each award period provides three distinct grants of professional photographic film and complimentary film processing by Griffin Editions to photographers who demonstrate a serious commitment to the field and are motivated to continue the development of still, film-based photography in the 21st century.

During each spring and fall award cycle, 3 film grants will be awarded:

→ 2 Visionary Project Awards

→ 1 Student Project Award

1. Sponsors

2. Why Film?

3. Award Details

4. Important Dates

5. Guidelines

6. Requirements

→ Learn more about the all Spring 2023 Recipients + Finalists!

The Film Photo Award program is made possible and sustained through the generous support of our sponsors and individual donations by people who value film photography and look forward to its vibrant, evolving future. We are very pleased to be fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, which makes it possible for your donations to be tax deductible. Please reach out with any questions or send some support today via the donate button to the right! Thank you! ❤️ 🎞️

Film Photo Award is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Film Photo Award must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

The Visionary Award is designed to support photographers in their continued use of film within their photographic practice. The proposed project can be a new or ongoing project. Open to all emerging or established photographers based in the United States, 18 years old or older.

Two Visionary Project Award winners will be selected during each submission period.

Black and white:

• 100 rolls of 35mm

• 100 rolls of 120

• 200 sheets of 4x5 film

The Student Project Award is designed to help student photographers begin or continue a film photography project using professional film stock. Open to students based in the United States, 18 years old or older.

You must be currently enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of submission. You do not need to be studying photography specifically to be considered. A scanned image of your student ID is required to verify current enrollment status.

Black and white:

• 100 rolls of 35mm

• 100 rolls of 120

• 200 sheets of 4x5 film

The winner of the Student Project Award will also receive a new 4x5 view camera from Standard Cameras!

Spring 2024: Important Dates

• The Film Photo Award is open to all emerging, established, and student photographers based in the United States, 18 years of age or older.

• All applications to the Film Photo Award must be completed through the online submission portal. Submissions by any other means will not be accepted or reviewed. All application materials must be written in English.

• Applications are accepted at any time between the opening and closing of the award cycle. It is recommended to apply well in advance of the deadline to avoid any technical problems. The submission platform closes precisely at 11:59pm EST (New York, NY) on the final day of the submission period. All applications must be successfully submitted before that time. The submission platform will not be reopened for any reason.

• Each proposal is reviewed and juried by Film Photo Award staff. Industry leaders and previous Film Photo Award recipients are periodically invited to participate in the jurying. Results of the Film Photo Award are final. Feedback on submitted proposals is not possible at this time.

• Applicants will be considered on the basis of artistic excellence and the promise of future achievement.

• Past recipients are ineligible to receive the Film Photo Award again for three years.

• Recipients receive complimentary film processing from Griffin Editions in New York City for film awarded through the Film Photo Award during their 1-year award period only. Other Griffin Editions services such as scanning, printing, mounting, and framing, as well as shipping to and from the lab are not included in the award. Recipients are welcome to process their awarded film at any lab of their choosing, however Griffin Editions is the best and it’s free.

• Each recipient will be asked to donate one print to the Film Photo Award Archive at the conclusion of their one-year grant period. The print/s should be representational of the work made with the award. The goal is to create and document important work being made with film in the 21st century, and to ultimately place the Film Photo Award Archive in a permanent institutional collection some time in the future.

• Recipients of the Film Photo Award agree to commence or continue the work proposed in their submission during the year following receipt.

• Recipients will participate in an interview to be published on the Film Photo Award website approximately 8 months after receiving the award including a feature of select photographic work made with the awarded film.

1. Project Proposal

2. CV, Resume, or Bio

3. Images (up to 15)

4. Submission Fee

• Not exceed 4000 characters.
  (4000 characters is approximately 1 single-spaced Microsoft Word page)

• Provide an overview of the project idea.

• Include any relevant background research the applicant has conducted.

• Provide a thoughtful plan for completing the proposed project or portion of the project with awarded film (to be completed within the award year).

• Explain the significance of the project.
  Why should this work be made now?

• You are welcome to provide either a standard CV/Resume in list format or a narrative biography.

• Clear and concise is most important.

Filename: LastName_FirstName_CV.pdf

Example: Doe_Jane_CV.pdf

Image file specifications:

• 1-15 JPEG files sized at 1500 pixels on the longest dimension and saved at 72 ppi.

• Past work examples can be any variety of visual imagery. Image examples do not need to be film-based images to be considered, however your proposal should explain why photographic film is the right material for you now.

Filenames: LastName_FirstName_Number.jpg

Example: Doe_Jane_01.jpg, Doe_Jane_02.jpg, Doe_Jane_03.jpg, etc.

This file naming system is important, make sure you follow it carefully.

Ready to Submit?
Click here.

For any questions, please first review the FAQ.

If an answer is not found, email us at shoot@filmphotoaward.com or by using the online form.