|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · OCTOBER 31, 2012
|
|
|
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR
FALL 2012 SAN FRANCISCO FILM SOCIETY /
KENNETH RAININ FOUNDATION FILMMAKING GRANTS
|
|
|
13 Narrative Feature Projects With Social Justice Themes In Contention For Up To $300,000; Winners to Be Announced in December
San Francisco, CA -- San Francisco Film Society and Kenneth Rainin Foundation have announced the 13 finalists for the eighth round of SFFS / Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grants; up to $300,000
will be given to one or more narrative feature films at any stage of
production. Projects must explore -- through plot, character, theme or
setting -- human and civil rights, discrimination, gender and sexual
identity and other social issues of our time in order to qualify.
Additionally, the grants support projects by filmmakers from anywhere in
the world that will have a significant economic or professional impact
on the Bay Area filmmaking community. The total amount disbursed from
2009 to 2013 will reach nearly $2.5 million. Winners of the fall 2012
SFFS/KRF Grants will be announced in early December.
"It was a
difficult process narrowing the field to these 13 finalists; we were
very impressed by the strength of the applications across the board,"
said Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of Filmmaker360. "Each of these
projects, in their various stages of production, exudes the kind of
independence, integrity and great potential that that truly excites us."
"It
is so rare for narrative films to get financial support in this way,
completely divorced from market concerns. These grants allow filmmakers
to tell the stories they want to tell, in the manner each story -- not
the market -- requires," said Ted Hope, who recently took the reigns of
the San Francisco Film Society.
SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants are
made possible by the vision and generosity of the Kenneth Rainin
Foundation. In addition to a cash grant, recipients will receive various
benefits through Filmmaker360, the San Francisco Film Society's
comprehensive and dynamic filmmaker services program.
For additional information visit sffs.org/Filmmaker360/Grants.
FINALISTS
Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale, postproduction
Fruitvale
is the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who
crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last
day of 2008. This project was previously supported by a SFFS/KRF
Filmmaking Grant for production, and Coogler participated in
Filmmaker360's Off the Page script workshop program with actors Melonie
Diaz and Michael B. Jordan in the spring of 2012.
Destin Cretton and Asher Goldstein, Short Term 12, postproduction
An
acutely observed portrait of a foster care facility for at risk
teenagers. Told with immediacy, uncanny accuracy, and almost no
sentimentality, Short Term 12 is a story both of the children who live at the home -- and of the staff members who care for them.
Mario de la Vega, The Undeniable Charm of Sloppy Unruh, preproduction
A
charming rogue returns to his Texas hometown and turns it upside down,
seducing the ladies, dazzling the populace and running for sheriff
against the corrupt incumbent -- who happens to be his jealous younger
brother. De la Vega participated in Filmmaker360's Off the Page script
workshop program with actors Kyle Chandler, John Hawkes and Amy Ryan in
the summer of 2012.
Mark Decena, The Flower and the Bee, screenwriting
The Flower and the Bee
is a quirky dramedy about a nine-year-old botanist and his sidekick
girlfriend, a budding entomologist, who upon discovering a thriving bee
colony in an abandoned barrio lot, transform the orphaned half acre into
a community garden. When the Archdiocese decides to sell the land off
to a developer, the battle to save a garden becomes a questioning of
their faith, and a struggle to save a community. For more information
visit kontentfilms.com.
Eric Escobar, The East County, screenwriting
Dale
Ryan is a desperate and broke real estate hustler. While chasing down a
lead, he discovers two children abandoned in an empty house. Shockingly
they are the kids of his long-lost friend who has a connection to a
lucrative property development. With his eye on the real estate, Dale
volunteers to look after the children. After the parents' missing
minivan is found, Dale uncovers a web of corruption implicating people
closest to him. This project was previously supported by a SFFS/KRF
Filmmaking Grant for screenwriting in the fall of 2011.
Daniel Grove and Reza Sixo Safai, A Better Place Than This, screenwriting
A
happy-go-lucky prison guard, Para Dastur's charismatic demeanor hides a
grim truth: he is Singapore Changi Prison's resident hangman. Not
simply an anonymous executioner, Dastur consoles the condemned, helping
them come to terms with their fate. But when a young Australian girl is
placed on death row his convictions are challenged and his world is
turned upside down. For more information visit vimeo.com/38964286.
Aurora Guerrero, Los Valientes (The Brave Ones), screenwriting
Struggling
to find work and recover from a break-up, Felix, a gay undocumented
Mexican, leaves San Francisco for a small town in Pennsylvania where his
sister promises steady work and the comfort of family. But once there,
alienated by the town's newly proposed anti-immigration law and forced
into silence regarding his sexuality, Felix finds unexpected solace in
the company of one person: his sister's husband. Guerrero's previous
project Mosquita y Mari was supported by a SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grant for postproduction in the spring of 2011.
Jonah Markowitz, Start at the End, screenwriting
Start at The End
is a character-driven drama that explores the similarities between the
family we are born into and the one that we create. The story begins
with a tragic accident that results in a gay couple becoming caretakers
of their teenage niece and nephew. As grief catapults all four onto
seemingly individual paths of despair and discovery, the inherent bond
of family contains these journeys into one that is shared.
Chris Mason Johnson, Test, postproduction
Frankie
is the newest, skinniest and most mocked member of San Francisco's
exciting new contemporary ballet company. The year is 1985. As lurid
headlines threaten a gay quarantine, Frankie navigates a world full of
risk that is also, now and then, full of promise. This project was
previously supported by a SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grant for production in
the fall of 2011, and Johnson's previous project Skirt was supported by a SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grant for screenwriting in the fall of 2010. For more information visit TestTheFilm.com.
Gerard McMurray, Riders, screenwriting
A
group of rogue police officers known as the Riders terrorizes black
residents in West Oakland, CA by making false arrests, violently
assaulting residents, and committing a myriad of other civil rights
violations. Ultimately, a 23-year-old rookie cop becomes entangled in
the corruption and has to face a difficult decision between his
obligation to the brotherhood of police and his own sense of morality.
Michael Tully and George Rush, Ping Pong Summer, postproduction
It's
the mid-1980s. Radical Miracle is a shy teenager who lives in Maryland
and loves two things: rap music and table tennis. When Rad relocates to
the beachside community of Ocean City, the most epic summer of his life
begins. In addition to falling in love, he realizes his dream of
becoming a ping pong champion. For more information visit facebook.com/pingpongsummer.
Diane Weipert and Cynthia Kane, Boyle Heights, screenwriting
Boyle Heights
tells the story of a young Mexican woman who was forcibly sterilized at
USC County Hospital in LA, a whistleblowing intern who risks his career
to expose the hospital's social Darwinist policies, and the way their
separate but parallel struggles helped bring about the 1978 federal
class action lawsuit, Madrigal vs. Quilligan.
Susan Youssef and Man Kit Lam, Marjoun and the Flying Headscarf, screenwriting
With
her father imprisoned on dubious terrorism-related charges, a Lebanese
American teenager in Arkansas searches for identity in a headscarf and a
motorcycle. This feature project is an extension of the short by the
same name that screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006, and is
the first narrative feature that explores coming of age into the hijab.
For more information visit forbiddentowander.com.
|
|
|
San Francisco Film Society
Building
on a legacy of more than 50 years of bringing the best in world cinema
to the Bay Area, the San Francisco Film Society is a national leader in
exhibition, education and filmmaker services.
The
Film Society presents 365 days of exhibition each year, reaching a
total audience of 130,000 people. Its acclaimed education program
introduces international, independent and documentary cinema and media
literacy to more than 10,000 teachers and students. Through
Filmmaker360, the Film Society's filmmaker services program, essential
creative and business services, professional development classes and
workshops, and funding totaling millions of dollars are provided to
deserving filmmakers of all levels.
The
Film Society seeks to elevate all aspects of film culture, offering a
wide range of activities that engage emotions, inspire action, change
perceptions and advance knowledge. A 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, it
is largely donor and member supported. Patronage and membership provides
discounted prices, access to grants and residencies, private events and
a wealth of other benefits.
For more information visit sffs.orgKenneth Rainin Foundation
is a private family foundation that is dedicated to enhancing quality
of life by promoting equitable access to a baseline of literacy,
championing and sustaining the arts, and supporting research that will
lead to relief for those with chronic disease. The Foundation focuses
our efforts on the San Francisco Bay Area and specific medical issues.
It utilizes its networks, resources, and commitment to socially
responsible practices to support innovation, collaboration and
connection in the service of inspiring world-changing work. For more
information visit krfoundation.org.
###
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
