Application deadline: September 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM PT
Submission window opens: August 4, 2026How to apply: Apply through the Voices With Impact submission form. Applicants must prepare a proposal / pitch deck, select three work samples, and complete the online submission form.
Voices With Impact is accepting proposals for its 2027 Mental Health Short Film Grant.
The program offers 10 production grants of $7,500 USD to filmmaking teams creating 5-minute short films that explore mental health through the 2027 theme: Sanctuary.
For this year’s theme, Voices With Impact is seeking proposals that explore Sanctuary through the lens of mental health. Sanctuary can be a place, person, practice, memory, tradition, cultural root, or another form of refuge. Proposed films may be comedy, horror, documentary, animation, drama, experimental, or another genre, as long as the story explores mental health.
Selected filmmakers will receive support through the filmmaking process, including story consultation, mental health story consultancy, industry mentorship, and edit feedback. The completed films will premiere at the VIFF Centre in Vancouver in June 2027 and will be distributed through Art Opening Minds and its educational programming partnerships with postsecondary institutions across North America.
The program is looking for fresh and challenging narratives, memorable visuals, responsible portrayals, underrepresented voices, and unresolved endings. Proposals are evaluated by jurors from the film industry and mental health fields.
This opportunity is open globally, so B.C.-based filmmakers are eligible to apply.
