Your support materials are the evidence that you and your team can carry out this project. Choose what is clearest and most relevant to this project, not everything you have.
One PDF per question: the Project Leaders, work sample, and ideation questions each accept one PDF. Your PDF can have several pages, so you can combine images, pages, and descriptions in one file. If your work is online, your PDF can list the links, with a short description of what each link shows and how it connects to this project.
Point the panel to your best moment: the panel reviews up to 5 minutes of any video or audio. If your sample is longer, tell them where to start, for example "Watch from 2:15 to 7:15."
Make sure links work: put the link inside your PDF, and include the password if it is private. Grant access to: sponsorship@nyfa.org
Linking to a whole website or portfolio instead of a specific sample.
Uploading a long film or recording with no time stamp.
Links that are broken, expired, or password-protected with no password given.
Bios that list achievements but do not say what the person will do on this project.
Failing to disclose the use of AI when submitting AI-generated images as past work.
Letters of support from individuals with no professional connection to the project.
Submitting letters of support created with AI. These make your application immediately ineligible.
The panel wants to know who is doing what, and whether the team has done this kind of work before.
What makes it strong: a bio or one-page resume for each key person, starting with their role on this project, then their most relevant past work. Include central collaborators, such as a producer, editor, or curator.
How to put your PDF together: combine all bios or resumes into a single PDF, one person per page. Put each person's name and role on this project at the top of their page.
This shows the panel that you can finish what you start, at the level this project needs.
What makes it strong: a completed work closest to this project in approach, scale, or skills. If this project is new territory for you, choose the sample that shows the skills you will rely on, and explain the connection in your description.
How to put your PDF together: build the PDF around one past project. Start with a page giving the project name, year, and your role, then add images or excerpts. For video or audio, include the link with a time stamp and a short description of what the panel will see.
This shows the project is real and developing, and how you see it. It does not need to be polished.
What makes it strong: whatever shows where the project is now, such as a treatment, script pages, a storyboard, a floor plan, rehearsal photos, a mood board, or a first chapter.
How to put your PDF together: combine your materials into one file, with each item on its own page, such as sketches, a floor plan, and a materials list. Label each page so the panel knows what it is looking at. For video or audio, include the link with a short description.
A letter is an outside voice confirming what you say in your application.
What makes it strong: it comes from someone with a real stake in your project, such as a funder, a venue, a partner organization, or an advisor in your field, and it is specific about dates, their role, or their commitment. A letter from a confirmed or likely venue is one of the strongest signs of readiness.
How to put your PDF together: if you have more than one letter, combine up to three into a single PDF, with each letter starting on a new page. Make sure each letter is signed and dated and includes the writer's name, title, and organization.
Select every way you use AI tools, from writing this application to creating the final work.
We want to understand how artists are using AI in their work and in managing their projects.
If you don’t use AI, select “I do not use AI tools.”