In recognition of Pride Month, Sacramento Region Community Foundation is now accepting applications for the BENT Film Festival Grant, which supports LGBTQ+ filmmakers and artists in the greater Sacramento region. The deadline to apply for available 2026 grants is June 29. The longest-running LGBTQ+ film festival in Sacramento, the BENT Film Festival celebrated queer stories and fostered activism, inclusion, and cultural expression for nearly 30 years before sunsetting in 2023.
“These grants carry forward the BENT Film Festival’s legacy by celebrating creativity and visibility, and by uplifting LGBTQ+ artists whose voices need to be heard,” said Kerry Wood, CEO of Sacramento Region Community Foundation. “This cause is critically important, especially at a time when support for the arts and LGBTQ+ causes is increasingly at risk.”
Through the BENT Film Festival Fund, managed by Sacramento Region Community Foundation, its leaders continue the festival’s legacy by empowering the next generation of queer storytellers and artists.
Available BENT Film Festival Grant Details:
- Grants of $1,500 are available to support creative projects that spotlight LGBTQ+ experiences, history, or perspectives — especially those reaching youth, art students, or LGBTQ+ gallery audiences.
- One or two grants will be awarded in 2026.
- Eligible applicants must identify as LGBTQ+, live in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, or Yuba counties, and be working on a visible film or art project that uplifts the queer community.
- For complete details and to apply for the 2026 BENT Film Festival grants, please visit http://www.sacregcf.org/nonprofits.
Past grant recipients include local artists A La Mode, Cecilia Romo, Alice Covello, and Daniel Sellers-Norman, whose powerful projects celebrate the diverse experiences and creative voices of the LGBTQ+ community.
One of last year’s recipients, Alice Covello, used the funding to support Digging for Freedom, a heartfelt, comedic short film she co-wrote with her father. The film follows a young girl, her eccentric grandfather, and a reluctant schoolteacher on a treasure hunt that uncovers hidden LGBTQ+ history in Sacramento.
“I’m incredibly honored to receive this support,” Covello shared. “As a queer filmmaker who was born and raised in Sacramento, this project holds deep personal significance.”
Opening a charitable fund like the leaders of the BENT Film Festival have done is a meaningful way to keep an organization or collaboration present for years to come. Community members, businesses, and/or organizations interested in helping to strengthen the nonprofit sector by establishing similar grants in partnership with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation are encouraged to visit www.sacregcf.org.
