Nouns Fest Opening Second Round of Funding

Nouns Fest has revealed plans to open submissions for a second round of funding, this time for longer shorts, for the $1 million grant it announced in January.

The initial round, which closes February 29, has already received submissions from over 200 animators and creators. The second round will open on March 1, offering grants of $20,000 to fund “Tall Shorts,” films with a three-minute running time.

The initial round is offering grants of $7,500 for “Short Shorts,” any ideas in the sub-three-minute running time.

To note, ideas submitted for Nouns Fest must incorporate one or more of the “Nouns,” digital art characters created by Nouns.

The accepted submissions will be announced in April, and Nouns Fest will then transfer funds to participants so they can begin production immediately. Final submissions, along with three new animated shorts from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, which helped conceive the idea of Nouns Fest, will be screened at a special event later in 2024.

“The creativity, imagination and wit on display in the initial submissions has been tremendous,” said Chris Waters, a co-founder of Nouns Fest. “It’s going to be incredibly exciting to see the ideas generated by our first-ever call for ideas for longer shorts, which approach the running time of traditional animated shorts, offering a world of possibility.”