10 Opportunities for Black Writers and Filmmakers to Apply for This October
A Shondaland directing mentorship, a $60,000 short film grant, a free trip to Sundance and more. Here is what is open right now for Black storytellers across the diaspora.
I'm almost three weeks into my writers' season with the AuthenticA Series Lab, where I was accepted to develop my TV series. Being on this side of a development program has reminded me how much these opportunities can change a career, and I wanted to make time to talk about them. This list is for the young Black filmmakers just getting started and for the seasoned ones stepping into their second act. Your story still has a place, and these programs are looking for it.
So in between a ton of homework and writing rooms, I found some time to put this list together. I hope you find it useful. October is spooky season, but the scariest thing on any writer's calendar is a missed deadline. So consider this your reminder to dust off the pilot, polish the reel and finally write that bio you have been avoiding.
Black Film Wire has rounded up 10 open calls worth your time this month, from studio-backed mentorships to fat production grants and international pitching stages. Some are built specifically for Black, African and diaspora storytellers. Others are open to all but actively looking for women and underrepresented voices, which means there is room at the table if you pull up a chair.
We have listed them with the biggest swings first. Read the eligibility carefully, note the time zones and, please, do not wait until 11:58 PM.
1. SeriesFest x Shondaland Women Directing Mentorship
If you have ever watched Bridgerton and thought "I could run that set," or at least be a fly on the wall, this is your door. SeriesFest and Shondaland are on the eighth cycle of their Women Directing Mentorship, and the grand prize is the chance to shadow a director on an episode of a Shondaland original series. Past winner Gia-Rayne Harris shadowed Tom Verica (Bridgerton, Scandal) on the Bridgerton set. The winner and semifinalists also get all-access badges to SeriesFest: Season 13 in Denver, plus press and editorial support from both partners.
What you submit: A work sample (short or feature), a 3 to 5 minute personal introduction video, a directing reel under 15 minutes (student work counts), your CV and the entry fee.
Open to: Women directors aged 21+ based in the US or UK, with at least three years of professional experience in any role.
Anyone who has already directed a network series is ineligible, and directing teams are not accepted.
Deadline: November 3, 2026 (final deadline, $75 fee)
To apply: Visit here
2. Vimeo Short Film Grant
This one is serious money. Vimeo has doubled its Short Film Grant to a $300,000 pot, split equally among five emerging filmmakers at $60,000 each. Winners also get Panavision camera packages, OWC storage, mentorship from the jury and Vimeo's curation team, and distribution and promotion on Vimeo. This year's jury includes cinematographer Jomo Fray (Nickel Boys).
Requirements: You must have made at least two short films and must not have directed a feature yet. Submissions go through SlideRoom on the grant page.
Open to: Emerging directors. Last year's grant was limited to filmmakers in the US and Canada, so confirm this cycle's eligibility rules before you start.
Deadline: October 16, 2026, 11:59 PM ET
To apply: Visit here
3. The Black List x Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship
Want to go to Sundance on someone else's dime? Every year, the Black List picks ten indie-spirited scripts by unrepresented writers and sends them to producer Cassian Elwes (Mudbound, Lee Daniels' The Butler). He then chooses the fellow, who gets an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2027 Sundance Film Festival with him.
Requirements: Your feature script must be hosted on the Black List website (hosting fees apply) and you must be its sole author.
Open to: Unrepresented feature writers who have earned less than $5,000 in total from film or TV writing.
Deadline: November 1, 2026
To apply: Visit here
4. Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund
Playwrights, this one is yours. Audible is looking for early-career theatrical writers ready to move into audio drama, and it is commissioning original work. This cycle, they especially want Action and Adventure (mystery, thriller, horror, sci-fi and fantasy) and Core Fiction (contemporary fiction, romance and literary companion pieces). The call is listed on the BBC Writersroom opportunities page, but it is an Audible program, not a BBC one.
What you submit: The playwright application, one full-length original play in English (PDF or Word), a professional bio of up to 300 words and a pitch for an original audio play.
Open to: Early-career playwrights. Full eligibility is on Audible's application page.
Deadline: November 18, 2026, 11:59 PM EST
To apply: Visit here
5. Series Mania Forum Co-Pro Pitching Sessions 2027
Got a drama series that needs international money? Series Mania's call for its 2027 Co-Pro Pitching Sessions opened on October 6. Up to 15 projects will pitch to broadcasters, producers and financiers in Lille, France, on March 23, 2027, followed by two days of one-on-one meetings. The best project takes home a €50,000 prize. Last year, the Forum received more than 400 eligible submissions from 65 countries, so bring your A game.
What you submit: A pitch document of up to 10 pages using Series Mania's template (logline, synopsis, characters, tone, creator and producer notes and a financing plan), plus creative team bios. Everything must be in English. Submission is free.
Open to: Producers or distributors with a live-action fiction series of at least three episodes, each at least 26 minutes long.
Writers, this means you need a producer attached.
Deadline: November 30, 2026, 11:59 PM CET
To apply: Visit here
6. BBC Academy Live: Future of Comedy
Calling all the UK mandem (and gyaldem) with jokes. Not an application, but absolutely a resource, and it costs nothing. BBC Academy Live is hosting a free day on the craft, business and future of comedy at The Glee Club in Birmingham, timed to the final of the BBC New Comedy Awards 2026. Sessions cover stand-up, comedy writing, content development and how commissioning actually works, with emerging talent and commissioned creators on the panels.
Format: In person in Birmingham and online.
Open to: Working professionals and anyone trying to break into the creative sector.
Date: October 14, 2026
To book: Visit here
Bonus for UK writers: The BBC Writers Open Call usually opens in early November and closes in early December, and it's one of the few doors at the BBC that doesn't need an agent or credits. Send a drama or comedy-drama script of at least 30 pages for film, TV, radio or stage. They're looking for writers to develop, not projects to commission, so treat your script as your calling card. Visit here
7. CineStory Foundation 2027 TV Retreat and Fellowship Contest
Think of this as five days of script surgery in the mountains. The CineStory TV Retreat takes place in Idyllwild, California, where each attendee gets three one-on-one sessions of 90 minutes with a mentor who has already read their script. Between sessions, writers sit in a mock writers' room run by an experienced mentor, plus panels and group exercises.
Open to: TV writers with a script ready for feedback. Check the contest rules for full eligibility.
Deadline: October 25, 2026 (late deadline, $80 fee)
To apply: Visit here
8. First Flights Short Film Fund x Kodak
For writer-directors testing a feature idea in short form. First Flights offers grants of up to £7,000 or $10,000 toward production costs across all scripted genres and documentary. In a special Kodak category, two filmmakers will each receive five 400ft rolls of 16mm film with processing covered, and the resulting shorts can serve as proof of concept for a future feature.
Open to: Emerging filmmakers worldwide.
Deadline: October 31, 2026 (late deadline, fee applies)
To apply: Visit here
9. NOW Film Festival 2027 (Nollywood Week Paris)
The Paris festival built around African and diaspora cinema is open for its 2027 edition. Selected films screen alongside Q&As, masterclasses and industry events, which makes this a strong European stage for Nollywood and the wider continent.
What you submit: Features, shorts, animation, TV and web series, and immersive work.
Open to: African and diaspora filmmakers.
Deadline: November 30, 2026
To apply: Visit here
10. Black Film & Screenplay Festival
A screenplay contest that says exactly who it is for. The festival accepts scripts of any genre or format, as long as the story or characters are Black-driven. Every entry receives full written feedback, and winners get a proof-of-concept scene from their script performed by professional actors and cut into a promotional video.
Open to: Writers with Black-driven screenplays, any genre or format.
Deadline: October 26, 2026, with a final deadline of November 26, 2026 (entry fees apply, starting around $110)
To apply: Visit here
Bookmark this for next summer
Some of the best doors for African writers open and close before fall. The Realness Institute's AuthenticA Series Lab, which develops African series with residencies in Africa, Switzerland, and at Series Mania in Lille, ran its most recent call from July 6 to August 1, 2026. If you are an African screenwriter with a series idea set on the continent, put next July on your calendar now.
At Black Film Wire, we believe access is half the battle. Talent is everywhere across the diaspora, but information about who is funding, mentoring, and buying is not always shared evenly. That is why we will keep tracking these calls every month, so the next Black storyteller in a Shondaland writers' room or on a Sundance panel is someone who read about it here first.
With love from the writers' room, Sahndra Fon Dufe, Editor-in-Chief
Know of an opportunity we should be featuring? Email us at info@blackfilmwire.com.
For more opportunities like these, visit the Black Film Wire resources section.
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