PURPOSE

• To award a total of 6 development grants of €10,000 euro each and interviews with industry agents/managers for potential representation, the project optioned by Boyhouse Studio for future production consideration, and to partner with a professional industry mentor

• 3 in Albania, 3 in Kosovo

• Grant funds are to be used to pay for artists’ basic life costs such as rent, food, and daily transportation so they can focus on developing their projects

• THIS IS NOT A PRODUCTION GRANT. FILM ARTISTS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A FINAL PROJECT.

 

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SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Applications must be received via Catalyst online portal by 23:59 Central European Time on September 30, 2026

 

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APPLICATION PACKAGE

• Submit a pdf document with a maximum of 15 pages plus the production budget including all of the required elements listed below

• All pages must be combined into 1 single pdf, multiple documents are not accepted

• Applications missing any of the required elements will be automatically disqualified

• You cannot submit a solo project. The project must already have at least 3 key team members from any of the following positions to apply: writer, director, cinematographer, producer, line producer, accounting, attorney, editor.

• Writing teams of up to 3 people are allowed to submit together

• No scripts or produced video allowed

• Video trailers or AI generated video materials not allowed

• All aspects of the project are in English

 

REQUIRED ELEMENTS FOR APPLICATION PACKAGE

• 1 page summary of project

• Short biographies of all associated team members. Bios should include full legal name, country of birth, country of current citizenship/residence, age, summary of previous job experience inside and outside of entertainment industry, list of all education experience inside and outside of entertainment industry, links to previous work

• Up to 3 pages of a visualization deck of the project (no text)

• Up to 2 pages of a written text breakdown of the storyworld, tone, theme and style

• Summary of overall plot

• Summary of main characters

• Marketing plan

• Summary of potential shooting locations

• Technical summary of cameras, audio equipment, editing software and other technical elements anticipated to be used during production

• Proposed production budget. Must be in US/UK standard production budget format (such as moviemagic or similar) including correct numbered categories and full crew department breakdowns all above and below the line positions

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COST TO APPLY

• Free. No application cost.

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GENRES & CONTENT ACCEPTED

• Films (any length, short and feature)

• Episodic series (any length, short and long-form)

• Comedy

• Drama

• Action

• Documentary

• Travel

• Animation

• Thriller

• Horror/slasher

 

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GENRES & CONTENT NOT ACCEPTED

• Vertical series

• Social media series

• AI

• Pornography

• Government propaganda

• Political content

• Religious promotion

• Content deemed illegal by the laws of the host country

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TIMELINE AND AWARD PROCESS

• Artists submit project package electronically by the deadline

• Application must list one primary applicant who will receive the grant award and be responsible for overseeing the project

• 20 Finalists (10 from Albania, 10 from Kosovo) selected on or before November 30, 2026

• Finalist interviews scheduled during month of December

• Awards announced January 15, 2027

• 25% award granted by January 31, 2027

• 25% award granted by April 30, 2027

• 50% award granted by June 30, 2027

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SELECTION COMMITTEE

• 7 members

• Boyhouse studio

• Industry experts from USA and UK

• Albanian/Kosovo locals unaffiliated with any projects submitted

• No government office, agency or ministry involvement

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RULES & REQUIREMENTS

• At least 2 members of the primary team must be residents or citizens of Albania and/or Kosovo

• Primary team includes: writer, director, producer, cinematographer, financier, lead actor/actress

• No previous film degree or filmmaking experience is required. If you have no experience, you must be enrolled in a Catalyst Story Institute course.

• All members of the primary team must have at least one of the following: (a) be enrolled at the Catalyst Story Institute (if not, you can click here to enroll today), (b) have previous experience working on an American/UK/Hollywood production, (c) a qualified degree from a USA/UK based film school. Online certificates/universities not accepted.

• Each primary applicant is allowed to submit a maximum of 1 project

• It is ok for a person to be involved with multiple different projects, but can only be listed once as the primary applicant

• Winners must agree to focus 6 months of their life on developing projects, not working full time jobs. A maximum of 20 hours per week on part time jobs is allowed.

• Winners agree to allow Boyhouse studios to have the exclusive option to the project for a term of 1 year from the date of receiving the award

• All primary team members must be age 18 or older and legally allowed to work in host country

• Award recipient must have a registered company (private or NGO) in host country 

• Award recipient must have an open bank account in host country

• Award recipient will be required to show payment receipts of life expenses on a quarterly reporting basis

• All members of the team will be required to show a valid state issued document stating they have no criminal record or open criminal cases​

 

 

GRANT EXPECTATIONS AND OUTCOMES

• At the end of 6 months, the award recipient must have a completed shooting script, pitch deck, budget, and production package plan for potential pitches to funding sources

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DISQUALIFICATIONS

• This is a development grant. Projects must be in the pre-production phase. Projects already in production are not eligible.

• Projects partially funded or otherwise financially supported (including barter/trade) by the following entities are not eligible:​

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• In Albania:

  • QKK Albania

  • Balfin

  • Kastrati

  • Tring/Vision Plus

  • American Albanian Development Fund

  • Any person or company under criminal investigation by SPAK, or sanctioned by any government authorities

  • Any person, company, family member, relative or associate of any government Minister or Deputy Minister

  • Family members, relatives, or associates convicted of criminal activity, including but not limited to money laundering, corruption, financial crimes, and all other capital offenses

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• In Kosovo:

  • Ikone Studio

  • AAB

  • University of Prishtina

  • Any person or company under criminal investigation by government anti corruption authorities, or sanctioned by any government authorities

  • Any person, company, family member, relative or associate of any government Minister or Deputy Minister

  • Family members, relatives, or associates convicted of criminal activity, including but not limited to money laundering, financial crimes, corruption, and all other capital offenses

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Misuse of funds will result in immediate termination of grant award, and no further installments will be paid