Press Release: Announcing the 2021 Grant Winners
NEWS
Media Contact:
Andrew Neilly, Nancy Amaral
925.930.9848
andrew@gallen.com nancy@gallen.com
Isabella Miller, BFF Program Director
510.705.1481
For Immediate Release isabella@berkeleyfilmfoundation.org
BERKELEY FILM FOUNDATION’S 2021 GRANT AWARDS
BERKELEY, Calif., July 29, 2021 – The Berkeley FILM Foundation (BFF) is proud to announce that it has awarded $217,000 to 21 independent filmmakers who reside or work in the cities of Berkeley, Emeryville, Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany, and Oakland in its 2021 grant cycle.
Since its founding in 2009, BFF has awarded more than $2.07 million to 202 film projects that push boundaries and inspire change. In its effort to encourage the next generation of local filmmakers, BFF has awarded $187,000 to 56 student filmmakers.
"Despite the acute challenges of the past 18 months, filmmakers in the East Bay did not let their creativity or tenacity be extinguished. The variety of projects that came to us this year was impressive and encouraging and these are all stories worthy of attention. We are proud, and grateful, to have distributed more money this year than the previous two cycles. We funded 24% of the projects submitted, thanks to our partners the City of Berkeley, the Saul Zaentz Company and Wareham Development. This support is essential for the filmmaking community right now." – Abby Ginzberg, President and Board Chair of the Berkeley FILM Foundation
This year’s Saul Zaentz Award for $25,000, given each year to honor the legacy of renowned filmmaker and a BFF Founder Saul Zaentz, goes to Reid Davenport for I Didn’t See You There, an unflinching meditation on freakdom, (in)visibility, and the pursuit of individual agency of a disabled filmmaker. Shot entirely from his literal physical perspective, both from his wheelchair and his two feet, the filmmaker’s gaze and thoughts oscillate between how he is seen, his distant family, and whether his films have fallen into the legacy of the Freak Show.
The $20,000 Al Bendich Award is granted to Skin of Glass by Denise Zmekhol, whose film follows her journey to discover her father’s threatened legacy as an artist, as she confronts the harsh reality of inequality destroying the city her father loved. The Award is given in honor of civil rights attorney, social justice advocate and BFF founding member, Al Bendich.
We are also happy to announce the 2nd annual Jonathan Logan Elevate Award for $25,000 in partnership with the Berkeley-based Jonathan Logan Family Foundation (JLFF). This award supports one emerging filmmaker each year for five years and will reflect JLFF's mission: to advance social justice by empowering world-changing work in documentary, investigative journalism and arts & culture. This year’s Elevate Award is granted to A THOUSAND PINES by Sebastian Diaz Aguirre, a documentary that follows foreman Raymundo Morales and his crew of 12 Mexican seasonal workers for a nine-month tree planting season through the American south. Together, they plant millions of trees for the world’s largest reforestation company, Superior Forestry - an outfit run by hippie planters turned businesspeople. We follow Raymundo as he balances the intensity of planting with the needs of his men and their loved ones back home. Co-Directed by Noam A. Osband.
Other films receiving 2020 grants are:
Boogaloo Originals – Spencer Wilkinson
Death and Deathability: A Period Piece – Maria Victoria Ponce
Hangtown – Lyntoria Newton and Stuart Harmon
Heaven Through the Backdoor – Banker White, Anna Fitch and Sara Dosa.
Instrumental: The Elayne Jones Story – Grace Wang and Julie Wyman
Julia Vinograd: Between Spirit and Stone - Ken Paul Rosenthal
On the Divide – Maya Cueva
Pleistocene Park - Luke Griswold-Tergis
Quest – Santiago Rizzo
Sanctuary Rising – Theo Rigby
Sunday Errand – Christy Chan
Curse of the Mutant Heirloom – Debra Schaffner
Who the Hell is Johnny Otis? – Doug Harris and David Zeiger
Student Films
After Hours – Neil Haeems
Anchored Out – Clara Mokri and Katie Bernstein
Barrier Lands – Joey Horan
Kiana – Shandaeya Caldwell
Orchestra from Oil Drums – Gail Feldman
BFF Diversity:
Although BFF does not collect demographic information from all of its applicants, we know that at least one third of our grantees are filmmakers from under-represented communities, including LGBTQ, people with disabilities, senior citizens, people of color, and immigrants and that well over half of our grantees are women. We believe that our audiences reflect similar demographics.
Mission:
The Berkeley FILM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) grant organization for independent filmmakers founded by the City of Berkeley, Wareham Development, and the Saul Zaentz Company with a mission to nurture, sustain and preserve the thriving local film community while attracting the next generation of filmmakers. The BFF focuses on supporting the ideals reflected in Berkeley culture: social, historical and innovative documentary and dramatic works. Many of the BFF grant winners have gone on to screen at U.S. and international film festivals, been recognized with prestigious awards, received television broadcasts, and are making a difference around the world.
Please visit our website for announcements of upcoming events: www.berkeleyfilmfoundation.org, www.twitter.com/BerkeleyFilmFdn and www.facebook.com/BerkeleyFilmFoundation.
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