Rooftop Films has awarded thirteen cash and service grants to alumni filmmakers, including The Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund Garbo NYC Feature Film Grants, which were awarded to directors Kitty Green and Sebastian Silva. Green will receive a monetary grant of $15,000 to help finish her new film, Casting JonBenet, and Silva will receive a $10,000 grant to support his film, Demon Me. “Kitty Green’s film Casting JonBenet represents the type of daring and meaningful cinema that […]
Seven filmmaking teams will receive a total of $270,000 to help with the next stage of their creative process, from screenwriting to postproduction in the latest round of Fall 2015 San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) / Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) Filmmaking Grants. The SFFS / KRF program has funded more than 50 projects since its inception, including Jonas Carpignano’s Mediterranea, which premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and has created buzz all over the international […]
Thirty-three independent documentary films have been selected for 2015 Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program support. The Sundance Documentary Fund moved to a limited rolling open call in 2015, encouraging filmmakers to submit applications only when they feel their film is ready to share. Rahdi Taylor, Film Fund Director, said, “This past year was one of experimentation and change. We eliminated deadlines, embraced risk taking in form, filmmaker and subject matter, but we stayed true to […]
Brent Green and Thyra Heder have been selected to receive this year’s $15,000 2015 San Francisco Film Society / Hearst Screenwriting Grant for development of their script Over the Eaves. “Man, it takes a long time to write a screenplay! Way longer than you’d think,” said Green. “Or at least longer than I’d have thought. I’m so very grateful to the San Francisco Film Society and William Hearst III for their generosity, which will allow […]
Queer/Art/Mentorship, the multi-disciplinary, inter-generational arts program that pairs and supports mentorship between emerging and established LGBTQI artists in NYC, has announced the eleven Fellows accepted for its 2015-2016 annual mentorship cycle. The Fellows chosen in five artistic disciplines are Monstah Black, Eva Peskin and Justine Williams in Performance; Jacob Matkov and Brendan Williams-Childs in Literary; Rodrigo Bellott, Erin Greenwell and Mylo Mendez in Film; Caroline Wells Chandler and Doron Langberg in Visual Arts; and Hugh […]
The 36th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) announced the participants of the 8th edition of Talents Durban, presented in cooperation with the Berlinale Talents an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival. Talents Durban is a five day development programme made up of workshops and seminars for African filmmakers delivered by film professionals, academics and intellectuals. The Talents, who are selected through a rigorous application process, will also have the opportunity to attend screenings and […]
Ten narratives have been selected for the 2015 Independent Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s annual year-long fellowship for first-time feature directors. The creative teams of the selected films are currently attending the first week’s sessions – The Time Warner Foundation Completion Labs – taking place June 8-12 at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP (pictured above). Featuring a stylistically diverse slate of sci-fi, fantasy, drama, young adult, comedy, hybrid and horror, this year showcases films […]
Eight independent filmmakers are winners in the latest round of Spring 2015 San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) / Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) Filmmaking Grants awards, and will receive funding to help with their next stage of their creative process, from screenwriting to production. The projects will receive a total of $300,000. The Film Society’s flagship SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are awarded twice annually to filmmakers for narrative feature films that will have significant economic or professional impact on […]
The San Francisco Film Society yesterday announced the inaugural recipients of its SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowships, a brand new suite of services designed to support female writer/directors working on their second or third narrative feature through a combination of financial backing, innovative programs and events, mentorship services, industry connections and a growing community of fellow filmmakers. Supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and facilitated by Filmmaker360, the Film Society’s filmmaker services department, these fellowships provide direct […]
Telluride Film Festival, to be held September 4-7, 2015, announces its Call for Entries in all categories including student, short and feature length films. Submission period begins April 15, 2015. Film Entry Form is available for download at www.telluridefilmfestival.org. Shorts and student film submissions must be received no later than 5:00 pm, July 1, 2015. Feature film submissions must be received no later than 5:00 pm, July 15, 2015. All submissions must have been completed […]
Cucalorus announces its call for entries!! Cucalorus seeks submissions for features, documentaries, shorts, music videos, media installations and performances ranging from slam poetry to dance for the 21st annual Cucalorus Film Festival, to be held November 11-15, 2015. The festival takes place in a walkable nine-block radius of historic downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. During the five-day celebration, film freaks and community members choose from a diverse lineup buoyed by cleverly crafted special programs, including the […]
The San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) and Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) have selected 15 finalists for the latest round of SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants; up to $300,000 will be awarded to one or more narrative feature film projects at various stages of production. SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are awarded twice annually to narrative feature films that will have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community. More than $2.8 million […]
The regular deadline to submit entries for the 2015 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition is Friday, April 10, at 11:59 p.m. PT. In November, as many as five $35,000 fellowships will be awarded to amateur screenwriters. Deadlines and entry fees are as follows: Regular deadline: April 10, at 11:59 p.m. PT; entry fee US$55 Final deadline: May 1, at 11:59 p.m. PT; entry fee US$75 Online applications and complete rules are available at www.oscars.org/nicholl. […]
Sundance Institute announced the 25 feature-length documentary films that will receive $550,000 in grants from its Documentary Film Program and Fund (DFP).
Granted filmmakers reflect a range of experience, including five first-time feature filmmakers as well as noted documentarians Fred Wiseman, Sam Pollard and Jehane Noujaim. In-country filmmakers include those in Africa (Ghana), India and China, and additional countries of production include Afghanistan, Nepal, Senegal and Egypt.
DEVELOPMENT
Boomtown (U.S.)
Director: Beth Murphy
A modern day Grapes of Wrath story is playing out across America as families pack their bags and head to North Dakota in search of the American Dream.
Bukom Fighter (Ghana)
Director: Makafui Zimrani
A nine year old boy from a shanty town in Ghana tries to create hope for himself using the only resource at his disposal; the power of his fists.
Chameleon (Canada / Ghana)
Director: Ryan Mullins
Africa’s most famed investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, takes us deep undercover for his own brand of brazen journalism.
Perry vs. Schwarzenegger (U.S.)
Directors: Ryan White and Ben Cotner
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that challenges California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Perry v. Schwarzenegger, filed by two couples with an unlikely legal team, has now reached the nation’s highest court and is poised to be the first ruling on the right of gay and lesbian Americans to marry.
Rise and Fall of ACORN (U.S.)
Directors: Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard
In 2009 a national community-organizing group was destroyed. The complex story of ACORN involves a journalist posing as a pimp, embezzlement, and voter fraud.
Sundance Institute has selected 12 projects for its 2013 January Screenwriters Lab, an immersive, five-day (January 11-16) writers’ workshop at the Sundance Resort in Utah. Participating independent screenwriters – drawn from around the world, including the United States, Iran, Europe, Mexico, and Somalia – will have the opportunity to work intensely on their feature film scripts with the support of established writers. The 2013 Lab is dedicated to the memory of Frank Pierson (1925-2012), a founding creative advisor of the Feature Film Program whose body of work and generosity as a mentor served as an inspiration to countless writers.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Across all Sundance Institute Labs, which include offerings for various forms of artistic expression, the constant is creating an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking. We look forward to building a unique community of artists at our Lab, in support of these emerging screenwriters and their stories.”
Michelle Satter, Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, said, “We are thrilled to welcome the new group of writers to the Lab whose stories are timely, ambitious and singular in their vision and independent voice. Exploring themes that resonate across cultures, the writers have found diverse and dynamic approaches to storytelling that will inspire and move audiences in the years to come. The January Screenwriters Labs marks the beginning of a rigorous year-round process of creative and tactical support which is tailored to the needs of each individual project and extends from script development to connecting with audiences.”
The Fellows will work with a distinguished group of creative advisors at the Lab, including Marcos Bernstein, D.V. DeVincentis, Michael Goldenberg, Susannah Grant, Walter Mosley, Marti Noxon, Anjum Rajabali, Howard Rodman, David Seidler, Susan Shilliday, Zach Sklar, Dana Stevens, Robin Swicord, Mike White, Tyger Williams and Erin Cressida Wilson.
The projects and Fellows selected for the 2013 January Screenwriters Lab are: