AI company Runway will grant moviemakers up to $1 million to make films powered by artificial intelligence, the company announced on Thursday.
The New York-based company, which recently struck a partnership deal with Lionsgate, said it will offer grants to 100 different projects as part of its new program, aptly dubbed “The Hundred Film Fund.”
Filmmakers will receive anywhere between $5,000 to $1,000,000 as part of the fund, and the company said “all formats of film are eligible.” That includes short films, documentaries, “experimental projects,” music videos and feature films.
“We believe that the best stories are yet to be told, but that traditional funding mechanisms often overlook new and emerging visions within the larger industry ecosystem,” Runway said in its announcement on Thursday.
Right now, the fund has $5 million to give away, and Runway said it plans on bumping that up to $10 million. The company is also planning on giving away an additional $2 million in “Runway credits,” which will apparently go towards using the company’s products to help make the approved movies.
Runway also set up an “Advisory Panel” that will “help amplify projects, offer advice and co-produce select projects.” The panel includes Tribeca Festival founder Jane Rosenthal, will.i.am from Black-Eyed Peas, Nvidia VP Richard Kerris, Company 3 founder Stefan Sonnenfeld, and Christina Lee Storm, the Emerging Media Programming Peer Group governor for The Television Academy.
The company said more members of its panel will be added in the coming weeks.
Any filmmakers interested in pursing a grant can find the submission form by clicking here.
Runway’s news comes during a busy week at the intersection of AI and Hollywood. On Tuesday, James Cameron announced he was joining the board of London-based Stability AI.
