PANO Microgrants

We are pleased to announce our inaugural Color Grading Grant along with our second round of ten Microgrants to support projects or professional development for Members of the PANO Network!

The PANO Network is delighted to announce the winners of our second round of Microgrants! The final Jury included Christine Swanson (P-Valley; Roswell, New Mexico), Anu Valia (She Hulk: Attorney at Law, Never Have I Ever), Joanna Naugle (The Bear, Ramy, Co-Owner of Senior Post), and Laura Fielder (Board Member, The Black TV & Film Collective).

We’d like to give a special shout-out to Stephanie Choriatis, who won our first-ever Color Grading Grant provided by Marika Litz. To everyone who applied, thank you for your effort and we encourage you to apply the next time around. On behalf of the PANO Board, we congratulate the winners and look forward to seeing your creative projects come to life!

We are proud to announce the semi-finalists for our second round of Microgrants! This spring, we had a huge number of wonderful projects that were submitted, and narrowing down was very difficult. Thank you to everyone who submitted. Your voices are necessary, and we can’t wait to see your films.

Semi-finalists’ projects will be considered by our jury, consisting of filmmakers Christine Swanson (P-Valley; Roswell, New Mexico), Anu Valia (She Hulk: Attorney at Law, Never Have I Ever), and Laura Fielder (Board Member, The Black TV & Film Collective). Winners will be announced in mid-June.

About the Microgrants

PANO (formerly NYCWF) will distribute ten (10) Microgrants in the amount of $500 each. The Microgrants are intended to support projects or professional development for members of the PANO Network. Grants can be used for: 

  • Pre-Production or Development
  • Production Services
  • Post-Production Services
  • Festival or Competition Submission Fees
  • Film Education or Training
  • Equipment Rental or Purchase

We will prioritize projects/films that support underrepresented filmmakers and/or involves Pano Network members in key leadership positions. You can view our previous round of winners and semi-finalists for more insight.

There is no expectation that projects necessarily be fully finished by the end of the grant term. However, all grantees must provide a written update by September 15th, 2022.

About the inaugural Color Grading Grant provided by Marika Litz

PANO has partnered up with Marika Litz to offer our inaugural Color Grading Grant (valued at $3500) for one short film by a member of the Pano Network. Marika Litz is a colorist and finishing artist working on site and out of their studio in Brooklyn, NY. They offer personalized post services from conform through final delivery including basic compositing, clean-up, look creation, LUT creation, end credits, and delivery to spec.

  • Applicant must submit at minimum a rough cut by May 1st to be considered. Cuts that are further along are of course accepted and highly encouraged!
  • Max runtime for project: 30 min
  • Awardee must list Marika Litz as the Colorist in the film’s credits and include the Pano Network logo in the end credits
  • At this time, Marika Litz is only offering remote sessions
  • Color grading work must start before end of year 2022
  • Work must completed within 8 weeks from start of project with Marika Litz
  • Unlimited reviews within the 8 weeks timeframe
  • Marika Litz offers a free online portal to deliver the footage electronically but if you choose to ship the footage, you must pay for postage & delivery to and from their studio.

Eligibility

Please note only PANO (NYCWF) Network members with active Filmmaker & Veteran subscriptions are eligible for these grants. Subscriptions must be active from time of application through receipt of grant. If you are not yet a qualifying member, please upgrade before applying.

Each applicant may only apply once. If you submit more than once, we will only consider your first submission.

Please do not apply on behalf of someone else. If you win, the grant funds or services will go to you, and you will be the point person for the project going forward as well as the grantee listed on all our materials. We will not send the funds to another member of your team nor change the name of the awardee to someone else nor transfer the services to another project.

We don’t accept projects that promote hate or excessive violence, projects/films completed prior to Jan 1, 2021, and projects/films with any affiliation with a major studio, or having secured U.S. distribution or films produced, financed or initiated by a major film studio or television network.

Important Info

  • Submissions will be accepted through May 1st, 2022.
  • Each eligible applicant may only submit one application.
  • You must apply with the same name that is listed on your PANO profile.
  • Please do not apply on behalf of someone else.
  • All winners are the decision of the PANO jury and are final.
  • Any materials submitted will not be returned.
  • PANO will in no way own or control your copyright or intellectual property.
  • All winners agree to share the news of winning and tag @panonetwork on their social accounts, and to thank PANO publicly in credits on their film, or if it is not a completed film with credits, on their website and or social media channels – using our name and social handles.
  • Payment of the Microgrants will be sent via Paypal.
  • By submitting your application, you agree to the following terms and conditions.

Submissions are now closed.

Please subscribe to our newsletter and/or check back regularly for Microgrant awardee announcements and for when the next round of submissions open.

Questions?

Congratulations to our Round 1 Microgrant Winners!

Over 140 filmmakers submitted for our first round in 2021, out of which 26 semi-finalists were chosen. View the ten winning filmmakers and projects.

Terms & Conditions

This Agreement of Terms and Conditions is made effective upon your submitting your application and consists of the entire agreement between You (the “Applicant”) and Pano Network, Inc. (“Pano”), concerning the Pano Microgrant (“Microgrant”) award of $500 each to 10 Applicants along with the inaugural Color Grading Grant valued at $3500 provided by Marika Litz (“Color Grant”).

1. Eligibility. Applicants must be an active Filmmaker or Veteran member of the Pano Network from the time of application until receipt of Microgrant. If your membership lapses before being awarded the grant, you will be asked to renew or will become ineligible. Each applicant may only submit one application. If you submit more than once, we will only consider your first submission. You must apply with the same name that is listed on your Pano profile. Please do not apply on behalf of someone else. Please do not apply on behalf of someone else. If you win, the grant funds or services will go to you, and you will be the point person for the project going forward as well as the grantee listed on all our materials. We will not send the funds to another member of your team nor change the name of the awardee to someone else nor transfer the services to another project. We don’t accept any projects that promote hate or excessive violence. Projects/Films are not eligible if they have been completed prior to Jan 1, 2021. Projects/Films with any affiliation with a major studio, or having secured U.S. distribution or films produced, financed or initiated by a major film studio or television network are ineligible.

2. Application. We accept a variety of applications whether the purpose is for film, writing, acting, directing, producing, post production, equipment, crew, competitions, consulting, education, paid feedback notes for new works or works in progress. Pano embraces diversity, dignity, inclusion, social justice and was created, in part, to discover and share media representing the full spectrum of humanity. Submissions will be accepted from March 31, 2022 through May 1st, 2022. You must include your real name and contact information in your application. All winners are the decision of the Pano jury and are final. Any materials submitted will not be returned. Pano will in no way own or control your copyright or intellectual property.

You – the Applicant – grant permission to Pano to share your name, project title and team members, images, synopsis and description, genre, film clips and information about you, crew and cast members, team members, and your project on the Pano website, social media platforms, in our promotional, visual, digital, or print, marketing materials, grant applications and other materials in perpetuity throughout the known and unknown Universe.

3. Awardees. You agree to provide a written update by September 15, 2022 on what you did with the microgrant, even if that use changed from what was on the application.

All Winners of the Microgrant and Color Grant agree to share the news of winning the Pano Microgrant or Color Grading Grant and tag @panonetwork on their social accounts, and to thank Pano publicly in credits on their film, or if it is not a completed film with credits, on their website and or social media sites – using the organization name and social handles.

4. Distribution. Payment of the Microgrants will be sent via Paypal. If you are awarded a Microgrant, we will require you to submit your email, phone number and address. It is required by law for our records. If you cannot share that information, please do not apply.

5. Color Grading Grant Terms:
5a. Applicants must submit at minimum a rough cut by May 1st to be considered. Cuts that are further along through picture lock are of course accepted and highly encouraged!
5b. Max runtime for project – 30 min
5c. Winner must list Marika Litz as the Colorist in the film’s credits and include the Pano Network logo
5d. Color grading work must start before end of year 2022.
5e. Work must completed within 8 weeks from start of project with Marika Litz
5f. Unlimited reviews within the 8 weeks timeframe
5g. At this time, Marika Litz is only offering remote sessions
5h. Marika Litz offers a free online portal to deliver the footage electronically but if you choose to ship the footage, you must pay for postage & delivery to and from their studio.

The Applicant also agrees as follows:

6. Hold Harmless. Upon the performance of services by any of its board members, employees, agents, invitees and/or volunteers for the purposes specified herein, the Applicant shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Pano from any and all actual or alleged claims, demands, causes of action, liability, loss, damage and/or injury (to property or persons, including without limitation wrongful death), whether brought by an individual or other entity, or imposed by a court of law or by administrative action of any federal, state, or local governmental body or agency, arising out of or incident to any acts, omissions, negligence, or willful misconduct of Applicant, its personnel, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers in connection with or arising out of their project, film, or services. This indemnification applies to and includes, without limitation, the payment of all penalties, fines, judgments, awards, decrees, attorneys’ fees and related costs or expenses, and any reimbursements to Pano for all legal expenses and costs incurred by it.

7. Authority to Enter Agreement. Each Party warrants that the individuals who have signed this Agreement have the legal power, right, capacity and authority make this Agreement and bind each respective Party.

8. Amendment; Modification. No supplement, modification, or amendment of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing and signed by both parties.

9. Waiver. No waiver of any default shall constitute a waiver of any other default or breach, whether of the same or other covenant or condition. No waiver, benefit, privilege, or service voluntarily given or performed by a Party shall give the other Party any contractual right by custom, estoppels or otherwise.

10. Ownership. The Submitter warrants, affirms and represents that he/she/they is the rightful owner of the copyright of the submission owns and maintains the rights to their project and submitted materials. Applicant hereby grants Pano a non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license to use the project to show, publicly perform, display, use and/or stream the submission on the Pano website and on any affiliated websites, social media or promotional materials, as well as Applicant’s name and/or likeness for promotional purposes.

11. Content. Submissions may NOT include material that may be considered pornographic, obscene, hateful, violent or advertising a product or any commercial activity or that which would otherwise conflict with the mission of Pano. Applicant will be solely responsible for its own content and the consequences of submitting the content to Pano. Applicant also expressly affirms, represents, and warrants that they own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to publish, use, perform, display or otherwise submit all of the material in the product they submit for consideration in the Microgrant or Color Grant approval process.

Applicant further expressly warrants, affirms and represents that the project submitted does not contain third party copyrighted material, or material that is subject to other third party proprietary rights, for which Applicant does not have the express and legal permission from the rightful owner of the material and that Applicant is otherwise legally entitled to use all of the material included in the submission for consideration in the Pano Microgrant & Color Grant, and grants Pano all of the license rights granted herein.

12. Submission is electronic signature. The parties agree that by the act of submission of the application to this site, Applicant explicitly agrees that he/she is agreeing to be bound by the terms and conditions herein and will have the same effect as if the Applicant physically executed said document.