Please Stick a Fork in My Eye (Filling Out Grant Applications)

How many times can a person check Facebook in a day? I'm not sure, but I seem to be trying to break the record. This, as I am in the middle of filling out grant applications for the new film. Specifically CALQ and Canada Council (to my American friends, these are just a few of our infamous Government entities that give out $ to artists to help fund their projects).

At best, I am seriously procrastinating, at worst, I am seriously struggling. I've filled out many grant applications for musicians, with a good degree of success. But this is different, this is for my own project, this is for my baby. I'm having a really hard time being objective, and I'm also caught in a loop of self-doubt (I made the first film by accident, they'll never fund this kind of project, etc.), mixed with frustration with the bureaucratic grant writing process itself. And one of the biggest questions: Do you modify the original vision of your project to cater it (even slightly) to the granting organization in order for it to have a better chance at getting funded?

As my friend Selin from Parabola Films once told me: "filling out grant applications can feel like sticking a fork in your eye". Indeed.

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