Learning about the newly founded American Film Institute, which gave grants to film makers who could support their application with a prior work and a script for a new project, Lynch decided to send them a copy of The Alphabet along with a script that he had written for a new short film, one that would be almost entirely live action, named The Grandmother.
Saznavši za novo osnovani Američki filmski institut koji je davao stipendije filmašima koji su za njih mogli producirati stare, ali i nove projekte, Lynch je odlučio poslati im kopiju filma The Alphabet zajedno sa scenarijem kojeg je napisao za svoj novi kratki film i koji bi u potpunosti trebao biti igrani, naziva The Grandmother.