PAST WINNERS 2009 – 2021

  • Grant Award Winners

    I Didn’t See You There – Reid Davenport. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Skin of Glass – Denise Zmekhol. *Al Bendich Award
    A Thousand Pines – Sebastián Díaz Aguirre. *Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Elevate Award
    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.
    The Curse of the Mutant Heirloom – Debra Schaffner.
    Who the Hell is Johnny Otis? – Doug Harris and David Zeiger.

    Student Grant Award Winners

    After Hours – Neil Haeems.
    Anchored Out – Clara Mokri and Katie Bernstein.
    Barrier Lands – Joey Horan.
    Kiana – Shandaeya Caldwell.
    Orchestra from Oil Drums – Gail Feldman.

  • Grant Award Winners 

    Fruits of Labor – Emily Cohen Ibañez. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Untitled Prison Hunger Strike Film – Lucas Guilkey. *Al Bendich Award
    Oaklead – Alex Bledsoe. *Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Elevate Award
    Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? – Francisco Núñez Capriles.
    The Lake Merritt Monster – Benjamin MulHolland.
    Vivien's Wild Ride – Jessica Anthony and Vivien Hillgrove.
    Two Rivers – Todd Darling.
    We Still Here / Aquí Estamos – Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi.
    When You Were Young – Tracey Quezada.
    Shelter In The Palace – John Slattery.

    Student Grant Award Winners

    8 Days at Ware – Meg Shutzer and Rachel Mueller – UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
    Na Luta Delas – Orion Rose Kelly and Pedro Cota – UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
    My Own Mecca – Alba Roland Mejias – San Francisco State University.
    Alpha Phi Nightmare – Neil Haeems – UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
    Crow Country – Tsanavi Spoonhunter – UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.

  • Grant Award Winners

    Sansón and Me – Rodrigo Reyes. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Black Mothers – Debora Souza Silva. *Al Bendich Award
    The North Pole 2 – Yvan Iturriaga.
    Spring Valley – Garrett Zevgetis, Ariana Garfinkel.
    United States vs. Reality Winner – Sonia Kennebeck/Ines Hofmann Kanna.
    Moody Suzy – David Telles.
    Through the Windows – Bret Parker.
    ataraxia – Haley Seppa.
    Undocumented Justice – Marlene Morris.
    Stripped For Parts – Rick Goldsmith.
    Last Days of Paradise High – Co-Directed by Emily Thomas and Derek Knowles.
    White Highlands – Daphne Matziaraki.
    The Blind Captain – Sarahbeth Maney.

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Irse – Co-directed by Marian Carrasquero and J.P. Dobrin.
    A Place To Breathe – Michelle Grace Steinberg.
    Sheila E. – Jennifer Steinman Sternin.
    Untitled Dwarfism Project – Julie F. Wyman.
    Vanishing Chinatown: The May’s Photo Studio – Emiko Omori/Lydia Tanji.
    Home Yet Far Away – Sabereh Kashi.

    Emeryville Grant Award Winner

    Hale – Brad Bailey.

  • Grant Award Winners

    Bryan Gibel, Director / Producer | A.K. Sandhu, Producer, Sign My Name to Freedom. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Shareef Nasir, Director | Dana Nachman, Producer, Case 993. *Al Bendich Award
    Andres Alegria, Director / Producer | Abel Sanchez, Director / Producer, Song for Cesar*
    Denise Zmekhol, Director / Producer | Amir Soltani, Co-Producer, Skin of Glass
    Ellen Spiro, Come And Take It
    Jed Riffe, Producer | Frances Causey, Director, The Long Shadow
    Johnny Symons, Director / Producer | Kenyon Symons-Rogers, Director | Daniel Chein, Co-Producer, Hoodie
    Lacy Jane Roberts, Co-Director | Luisa Conlon, Hanna Miller, Co-Directors, We Became Fragments
    Lee Swenson, Producer | Judith Ehrlich, Director | Christopher Jones, Producer, The Boys Who Said No
    Mark DeSaulnier, Producer | Spencer Wilkinson, Director, One Voice
    Mark Oltmanns, Director | Jason Motlagh, Co-Director, The Unwanted
    Mathew Ramirez Warren, Director / Producer, Weed Dreams
    Meg Smaker, Director / Producer | Bryan Storkel, Producer | Abigail Disney, Executive Producer, The UnRedacted
    Nina Menendez, Producer | Maureen Gosling, Director | Jed Riffe, Producer, The Nine Lives of Barbara Dane
    Rick Tejada-Flores, Producer | Will Parrinello, Director, Troubled Water*
    Robin Fryday, Director / Producer, We Are Kids
    Sean Buckelew, Director | Jeanette Bonds, Producer, Drone
    Stephen Most, Producer | Kevin White, Director, Wilder than Wild
    Yoav Potash, Director / Producer | Brad Marshland, Producer, Diary from the Ashes

    * Thank you to the City of Emeryville for supporting these Emeryville filmmakers.

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Anaiis K. Cisco, Gryl
    Daniel Chein, Sonsplitter
    Juhee So | Russell Kiel, Producer, Maelstorm
    Lovage Sharrock, XRAYSPEX
    Nani Walker | Grace Oyenubi, Director / Producer, Forced
    Natalya Sharapova, Your Number’s Up
    Serginho Roosblad, The Maze

  • Grant Award Winners

    Sara Lafleur-Vetter, The Sacred & The Snake. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Lise Pearlman, American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton. *Al Bendich Award
    Bill Kinder, Wartime Projections
    Delnaz Abadi, The Secret Fatwa
    Jason Cohn, Mad as Hell!
    Jennifer Steinman, The Musical Legacy of Sheila E.
    Jim LeBrecht, Crip Camp
    Kim Anno, Quba
    Marsha Mather-Thrift, Capture a Legacy
    Michelantony Dunston, Life and the Lady
    Peter Li-Pan Lee, Don’t Be A Hero
    Pratibha Parmar, My Name is Andrea*
    Pam Uzzell, Welcome to the Neighborhood
    Sam Ellison, Voyagers
    Yvan Iturriaga, The North Pole

    * Thank you to the City of Emeryville for supporting these Emeryville filmmakers.

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Anaiis K. Cisco, Breathless
    Bradford Bailey, Hale
    Deborah Craig, It’s Been a Great Ride
    Isara Krieger, Beacon
    Jason Hanasik, How To Make A Pearl
    Maya Craig, Water Town
    Molly Stuart, Objector

  • Grant Award Winners

    Sheri Shuster, Still I Rise. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Dawn Valadez, The Pushouts.  *Al Bendich Award
    Connie Field, The Whistleblower of My Lai
    David Brown, Setting the Word on Fire
    Mike Seely, Exiled: America’s Deported Veterans
    Marlene Morris, A New Color
    Amir Soltani, Dogtown Redemption
    Kevin Wong, Home Is A Hotel
    Jane Greenberg, The Surrender of Waymond Hall – in partnership with The East Bay Community Foundation
    Erika Cohn, Belly of the Beast – in partnership with the LaFetra Family Foundation

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Melina Tupa, The Search
    Alsanosi Adam, Losing Oakland
    Daniel Chein, Sonsplitter
    Kayo Gorden, Possessed
    Simona Schneider, Moll
    Romin Lee Johnson, Paparon
    Yuhe Yao, I Take A Long Nap on the White River

  • Grant Award Winners

    Harrod Blank and Gina Leibrecht, Les Blank: A Quiet Revelation.*Saul Zaentz Award
    Jason Zeldes and Michael Klein, Romeo is Bleeding
    Jun Stinson, Futbolistas 4 Life
    Marcy Cravat, Angel Azul
    Morgan Schmidt-Feng, On Her Own
    Rebekah Fergusson, Navigating The Divide
    Rick Goldsmith, Mind / Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw
    Shaleece Haas, Real Boy
    Tal Skloot, 4 Wheel Bob
    Vivian Kleiman, No Straight Lines

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Emily Gibson, The Buddhist Bin Laden
    John Hyatt, The Surge
    Mark Kurlyandchik, The Homeless Beat
    Ryan Lee, Home
    Sara Lafleur-Vetter and Niema Jordan, Oasis
    Sally Schilling and Andra Cernavskis, Melting Glaciers, Deadly Lakes

  • Grant Award Winners

    Eugene Corr, Ghost Town To Havana. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Amir Soltani, Dogtown Redemption
    Gregory Scharpen, Buchla
    Karina Epperlein, Finding The Gold Within
    Kim Anno, Water City, Berkeley
    Marlene Morris, A New Color
    Raymond Telles, A Photographer’s Journey
    Rick Goldsmith, Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw
    Rick Tejada-Flores, My Bolivia–Remembering What I Never Knew
    Robin Fryday, Riding My Way Back
    Sarolta Cump, The Gold Fish Casino
    Sheri Shuster, Still I Rise
    Snitow-Kaufman Productions, Company Town
    Judy Montell/Emmy Scharlatt, In The Image

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Dorothy Atkins, The Battle Over Thompson Divide
    Leah Dubuc, Zora

  • Grant Award Winners

    Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg, My Love Affair With The Brain: The Life and Science of Dr. Marian Diamond. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Samantha Grant, A Fragile Trust
    Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega, El Poeta
    Ashley James and Kathryn Golden, Santos
    Melissa Regan, Nuns On The Bus
    Tony Nguyen, Giap’s Last Day At The Ironing Factory
    Quinn Costello, Rodents of Unusual Size
    Kyung Lee, Telos

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Mariel Waloff, A Confused War
    Adam Grossberg, Vacant Seat
    Nikki Sonfield, Samba Funk
    Nicolas Collins, Work Progressed
    Gina Moreno and Kevin Lawrence, Ore Wa Neko Da

  • Grant Award Winners

    Jacob Kornbluth, Inequality for All. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Pratibha Parmar, Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth
    Maureen Gosling, BAMAKO CHIC: Threads of Power, Color & Culture
    Karina Epperlein, Finding The Gold Within
    Suzanne LaFetra and David Collier, F-R-E-E
    Deann Borshay Liem, Geographies of Kinship: The Korean Adoption Story
    Cassandra Herrman, When I Say Africa
    Paula Mozen, Life Interrupted: Telling Breast Cancer Stories
    Rick Goldsmith, Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw
    Robert James, The Night Minister
    Delnaz Abadi, The Secret Fatwa
    Avon Kirkland, Triumph And Tragedy: The Life of Booker T. Washington
    Benjamin Schuder, The Village of Peace
    Peter Nicks, The Waiting Room
    Kelly J. Richardson, Without A Net
    Tory Stanton, Games People Play
    Sean Mitchell, Witness 11
    L. Jeffrey Moore, A Midsummer Nightmare: The Betrayal

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Emily Bender, Half Full
    Crescent Diamond, Performing Girl
    Samina Hitch, Anarkali Blossoms
    Rob Fatal, La Bamba 2: Hell Is A Drag
    Alia Lundy, Bless You

  • Grant Award Winners

    Lisa Fruchtman, Sweet Dreams. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Aarin Burch, Roots and Wings
    Arwen Curry, Worlds of Ursula K. LeGuin
    Judith Ehrlich, The Mouse That Roared
    Connie Field, Martin Luther King in Palestine
    Robin Fryday, The Barber of Birmingham
    Yusef Haroun, Amen
    Dan Krauss, The Imagination of Jeremy Blake
    Toby McLeod, Losing Sacred Ground
    Marilyn Mulford and Aleixo Gonçalves, A Song of Unity
    Tamara Perkins, Life After Life
    Denise Zmekhol, Google Earth Hero: Chief Almir and the Surui Tribe of Amazon

    Student Grant Award Winners

    Mary K. Flynn and Nina Goodby, Angel For Hire
    Kate McLean, Pot Country
    Marlene Morris, A New Color
    Rob Richert, No One But Lydia

  • Grant Award Winners

    Judith Montell and Emmy Scharlatt, In the Image. *Saul Zaentz Award
    Arielle Elizabeth (Krnich), Truth Takes Time
    Eugene Corr, Ghost Town to Havana
    Jed Riffe, Germ Wars
    Joel Pincosy, Goatherder
    Justine Shapiro, Our Summer in Tehran
    Maureen Gosling and Chris Simon, This Ain’t No Mouse Music
    Katie Gallaway and Kelly Duane de la Vega, Better this World
    Rachel Antell, No Word for Autism
    Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow, Between Two Worlds
    Leah Mahan, Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek
    Kelly J. Richardson, Without a Net

  • Grant Award Winners

    Yun Suh, City of Borders
    Yoram Savion, T.U.R.F.
    Scott Crocker, Ghost Bird
    Pam Uzzell, Welcome to the Neighborhood
    Marilyn Mulford, Archeology of Memory: Villa Grimaldi
    Denise Zmekhol, Children of the Amazon
    Helen De Michiel, Lunch Love Community
    Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday, The Barber of Birmingham
    Crescent Diamond, The Heretics
    Nancy Kates, Regarding Susan Sontag
    Rick Tejada-Flores, My Bolivia: Remembering What I Never Knew
    Karina Epperlein and John Knoop, Buenos Aires 1997: Awakening from Sorrow