Vimeo has just announced a new initiative: The Vimeo Short Film Grant, presented by Nikon | Red, which will provide five independent filmmakers with $30,000 each to bring their short films to life. The program, in partnership with Nikon and Red, requires selected filmmakers to use cameras such as the Red V-Raptor [X] Z Mount, Komodo-x Z Mount, Nikon Z9, Z8, or Z6III for their projects. While this sounds like a positive move for the indie film community, it raises an important question: Why is Vimeo, a platform that has distanced itself from independent filmmakers, suddenly making an effort to support them?

Vimeo is Going Down: Reducing Workforce By 6%. A Platform That Turned Its Back on Indie Filmmakers

To understand the strangeness of this announcement, one must examine Vimeo’s trajectory over the past few years. Once celebrated as the premier online destination for independent cinema, Vimeo gradually abandoned its filmmaker-first approach,...