How to apply

Research and Development Fund

Thank you for your interest in the Violet Pictures RAD (Research and Development) Fund, which provides support to worldwide director/producer teams who are currently in the early stages of development on a single feature documentary. Applications are assessed as they are submitted, up to a maximum award of €2,000.

Application Process:

Please send through the following documents:

• A detailed two-page proposal.
• A Visual pitch deck.
• What you plan to spend the development money on.
• A timeline of your development plan.

Please note that the only requirements for receiving the grant are a credit of “The film was developed with support from Violet Pictures Research and Development Fund” and tickets to the film’s festival premiere.

The fund is now closed and will reopen in May 2026.

Projects supported:

2025 Awards:
The Chimney Sweeper - Dir: Shingo Ota, Producer: Kyoko Takenaka

At 85, Yoshio is one of Japan's last chimney sweepers for public bathhouses. When an earthquake damages a bathhouse in rural Noto Peninsula, he takes on what may be the final and most dangerous job of his life. Who cares for what still stands, when everyone else has moved on? How do we grow old with dignity and pride?

Shape of Silence - Dir/Producer: Varun Trikha

A blind Polish linguist and bioacoustician has spent years archiving the sonic secrets of forests. As aural environments shift, she journeys in search of a mysterious wild sound, one that once offered her solace, hoping it might now help others too.

2024 Award:
Big in Gazi Baba - Dir: Pauline Blanchet, Producer: Avdi Thachi

Sadije, a 14-year-old wrestling champion in North Macedonia, navigates expectations to fulfil a male role, defying traditional gender norms and ethnic barriers in her Albanian-Muslim community

Updates (Last updated March 2026):
Shape of Silence has been awarded the following grants:
• A Sundance Development Grant.
• Support from both the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council in Canada.
• Excellence Award at DMZ Industry in South Korea.
• 'Last Mile Grant' (India), which will support the film through in-kind sound post-production services by the renowned Indian sound artist Naren Chandavarkar.
• Varun Trikha has been selected for the year-long mentorship program 'Doc Producing South' in New Delhi, led by an exceptional group of mentors, including producers of the Academy Award-nominated documentaries 'All That Breathes' and'Writing With Fire'.

Image credit: Shape of Silence (Top), The Chimney Sweeper (Side)