Kendal Mountain Festival and Rab® present 'The Mountain People Film Commissioning Grant'

Adventure storytelling is at the heart of Kendal Mountain Festival therefore we are excited to be partnering with Rab® to support upcoming British based filmmakers.

Our mission is to share the adventure

We are proud to launch alongside Rab®, a £10,000 Film Commissioning Grant; supporting grassroots adventure storytelling within the core area of British Mountain Culture.

"We are delighted to support filmmakers to push their creative and professional boundaries. Not only are we excited to hear applicants' innovative ideas on our theme; 'The Mountain People' we look forward to seeing the next trailblazing film based in our spectacular British landscape."Jim Evans, Rab®

Our core objectives are:

  • To encourage filmmaking in the British Mountains
  • To enable applications from filmmakers who are, as yet, unable to access funds for their ideas
  • To broaden the number of storytellers who use the British Mountains as a creative and physical resource
  • To support and grow diversity and inclusion in the outdoors
  • To inspire people to enjoy and experience the mountainous areas within Britain
  • To bring new stories to the Kendal Mountain Community, and on to the wider festival circuit to share with new outdoor audiences.

Grant Outline

The Kendal Mountain and Rab® Film Commissioning Grant will contribute £10,000 and project support to a winning film application, awarded at the 2021 Festival.

The decision will be made jointly by the Kendal Mountain Festival team, Rab®, and two film industry consultants; Jonathan Hourigan, Head of Screenwriting at the London School of Film and Television, and Emma Crome award-winning independant filmmaker and producer.

The grant is for a documentary film of up to 30 minutes to be made in the United Kingdom during the period of November 2021 to September 2022 exploring the theme, ‘The Mountain People’.

We are looking for brave, creative responses. Stories that will have a lasting impression and inspire individuals and communities to spend time in the British Mountains. We want to discover new angles on adventure.

"A mountain is a place that gives you perspective. We believe a mountain can be a metaphor as much as a physical space. It could be a literal high summit, or a personal peak. Where-ever or whatever your mountain is, it provides inspiration, a challenge. An element of exploration; the unknown. An opportunity to forge strong bonds, embrace heritage or build new communities. It may be a place of science, activistim or spiritualism; movement or contemplation. It will be a place where stories are born. The Mountain People are those who venture in to these spaces. And we believe anyone can."Claire Carter, Kendal Mountain Festival - Artistic Director

Alongside the £10,000, Kendal and Rab® will support the winning filmmaker with monthly development meetings of the film’s progression up until the final cut. We will continue to support the team with festival submission and further acquisition negotiations. Additional funds can be sourced from other partners, but Kendal and Rab® retain the right to overall consultation.

Productions must be scheduled to be shot, edited and all assets delivered by September 2022, in time for submission to the November Festival.

We welcome applications from filmmakers and production companies who are based in the UK.

All teams must consider the environmental impact of the project and we suggest you use the 'We Are Albert Carbon Calculator' to assess your decision making.

We ask all applicants to read and consider the guidence that is required by the BFI Diversity Standards when thinking about their own application.

Applications will be taken via this Google Form between the 17th of September and the 17th of October 2021.

The application requires:

  • 300 words outlining the proposed story
  • 200 words on the intended audience of the film
  • 200 words on any key challenges you will face
  • A PDF containing the bios of your production team, a production and location schedule and a completed budget.
  • You can download our budget template here (you will need to go to ‘File’ > ‘Download’ and download the xls file to complete it).

Please begin your application here

Claire Carter, our Artistic Director, will run a Zoom Meeting on Tuesday 28 September at 6.30pm to talk about the application process, the theme 'The Mountain People' and answer any questions. Please sign up by emailing: claire.carter@mountainfest.co.uk

Assessment

 Your pitch will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • The creative strengths of the proposal
  • The strengths of the project team
  • The likely career progression for the individuals involved
  • The ability of the story to connect with audiences
  • The value of the story to mountain culture
  • The logistical preparation of the project

Successful Applications

If your application is successful you will be made an offer of funding as set out below.

You will need to provide a final budget, production schedule and shooting dates, and a confirmed specification for your film, prior to us sending you the offer of funding. This will constitute the agreed criteria against which the project will be delivered.

A member of the Kendal Team, and a Rab® representative will provide support and oversight of your project.

This award will take the form of a non-recoupable grant.

The Agreement

You will be required to enter into an agreement with the two partners that sets out the following terms and conditions of our funding:

  • The filmmakers retain all rights over the film and any resulting proceeds.
  • The filmmakers must submit the film to Kendal Mountain Festival as a premier and give permission to both Kendal Mountain Festival and Rab® to screen the film and cuts digitally and in venues without further compensation.
  • You will be required to included specified credits for Rab® and Kendal Mountain Festival.
  • The filmmakers agree to the right of consultation for Rab® and Kendal Mountain Festival for the final cut of the film.
  • A delivery date by which you agree to finish work on your short film and submit the required delivery materials to us.
  • A cash flow that breaks down the award total into instalments, with the final payment being subject to submission to us of the delivery materials. Any underspend on the award will be retained by or reimbursed to the partners.
  • Delivery materials must include a 1 H264 .mov or .mp4 file, and a caption file.
  • Publicity materials must include a selection of approved stills, a trailer, and a written pack to include a synopsis and biographies with relevant imagery.
  • The team must be available to contribute in person and digitally to events pertaining to the film at the 2022 festival without extra compensation.
  • Standard terminations provisions apply.
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