Gee John not all of us producers rely on government funding!
In fact this is the 1st time I have applied for it but I must admit after a few year sick & not working - when I came back to get crew to work on it, they had all already had it.
So I guess I must be "old school" as most of the shorts have been privately funded. (check out temp site screenquest.tk)

Its hard though - to get private investors & I think more ACTORS should shell out $5 grand to star themselves in a short (provided its a good script that shows off their versatility etc.) I have done 2 shorts funded by the lead actor both of whom are working now one in mainstream TV the other in the US (no names sorry).
They had brains I reckon!

The other thing is private investors are business folk NOT film folk & they want a quick return on their investment or a tax write off (some even do it just to meet celebrities & pull chicks) & they want to see a feature you have done before investing the bucks - that is where funding is "supposed" to come into it.

Mandie (always looking for investors) Messenger
ScreenQuest