Now you are planning on a film research project and applying for the Cine-self Foundation Grant. Your job is to propose a research project based on the films covered in this course and write a proposal to the Cine-self Foundation Grant review committee. To put it differently, you are pitching an idea to your potential sponsor and academic colleagues, for a research project you intend to work on, which you think will draw particular audiences in the field of film, media, and cultural studies. There are three main parts in your proposal: introduction (topic, background/context, stakes), description (central issue, research questions, working thesis, and outcomes), and preliminary plan (potential materials, methods, and procedures).

The Assignment:

This assignment is designed to invite you to rethink your own previous experience and personal history so as to write about yourself through a research project on film. Here is a sample research proposalPreview the document for your reference.

Cine-Self Research Grant

Cine Foundation and SIFF have partnered to underwrite a $1,000 grant for young film scholars. This grant's sole purpose is to invest in the critical community of film studies. The grant features an inclusive theme that a project about the encounter between one’s self and cinema will revolve around. Each applicant is asked to take this theme and bring it alive in their own way. This year's theme will focus on “Cinema, Love, and Self,” which might refer to but NOT limited to:

A Cinephile’s Self-reflection

Childhood in/and Cinema

Cinema as a Mode of Seeing through One’s Own Eyes

Falling in Love within the Film World

The Art of Movie-going

Passion on and off the Screen

The application proposal should include:

Part 1. Introduction: In a brief paragraph, introduce your research idea. Also state why the topic is important to you and is worth researching. Provide any background information that the review committee may need.

Part 2. Description: Discuss your proposed research idea; you might consider the following types of information.

The central issue or concern about the topic of your research
The main question (based on the central issue) you hope that your research will answer
Additional questions or subtopics that your research might address
A working thesis or hypothesis based on the main question
The outcome(s) that you expect from your research, including the value in terms of knowledge for yourself and others
Part 3. Plan: Explain how you plan to answer your questions, develop your thesis, prove your hypotheses, and so on. Please include the following types of information in your plan.

A description of your primary (firsthand) research (interview, oral history, video making, observation)
A rough list of materials you plan to use (at least three film texts from the course, clips/video essays, photos, paratexts, secondary scholarship)
Note: your proposal does NOT need to include the other aspects that a normal proposal also covers, such as:

“Describe the anticipated impact of the requested grant award on your short and long term professional and artistic goals;

List the names and roles and other key (2-3) individuals involved in the project. Please briefly describe their qualifications;

How will you measure the success of this project;

Full schedule and budget including money raised to date”

Parameters:

Self-related theme should be sufficiently focused: remember, you must address it in your one-page proposal. For example, instead of tackling American Selfie Culture, focus on The Secret Lives of Selfies in Public through [Your Name]’s eyes.
Keep genre in mind: consciously use the conventions of the genre you choose: Proposal! Think about the genre’s intention: the purpose of a film research proposal is different from the purpose of a film review, a science fiction, a feature story, a script for children, or the UNICEF report.
Think about audience: your content, word choice, and rhetorical choices will vary depending on your intended audience: the grant review committee. There is another group of intended audience hidden in your proposal: the target readers of your research (this is a little bit tricky and also interesting). Begin writing with a specific group in mind, and think about their biases, age, race, class, identify, political persuasion, etc.
A successful creative piece will:

Develop a narrow, clear line of thought, which displays good knowledge of the subject matter (sufficient background research of YOURSELF and the “Cine-self Foundation”/SIFF).
Be written in a specific, identifiable context of a proposal, using this genre’s conventions and strategies.
Use specific and identifiable rhetorical strategies chosen for its audience.