Mar 19, 2019
Festival
2019 SFFILM Festival to Showcase Films Supported by SFFILM Makers Grants, Fellowships and Residency Programs
San Francisco, CA — SFFILM today announced today that the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival’s lineup will include six features and five short films that have received support from SFFILM Makers, the organization’s artist development branch, which provides significant resources to independent filmmakers through a variety of grants, fellowships, residencies, and professional development opportunities.
Tom Quinn’s Colewell received a 2018 SFFILM Rainin Grant for post-production. Ljubomir Stefanov & Tamara Kotevska’s Honeyland received a 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grant for post-production, and went through SFFILM Invest. Liza Mandelup’s Jawline received a 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grant for post-production. Luke Lorentzen’s Midnight Family received a 2017 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grant for post-production, and went through SFFILM Invest. Michael Tyburski’s The Sound of Silence received the inaugural 2018 SFFILM Dolby Fellowship.
“The last two years have been ones of great growth for our SFFILM Makers programs, with a focus on development and post-production, frequently engaging with our supported filmmakers at multiple stages of their artistic process. The supported documentaries and narratives screening at this year’s Festival are no exception to the rule, showcasing such exciting artistic visions coming through our doors from around the world. It’s such a treat to bring our films home to the Bay Area local audience through the SFFILM Festival” ” said Caroline von Kühn, Director of Artistic Development.
Since 2009, SFFILM Makers has disbursed more than $6.5 million to more than 150 film projects in various stages of production. Through its partnerships with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, the Westridge Foundation, and the Jenerosity Foundation, SFFILM awards over $1 million annually across various programs to incubate and support innovative and exceptional films. SFFILM Makers focuses on career sustainability for independent filmmakers, and its diverse initiatives offer unparalleled assistance and opportunities designed to foster creativity and shepherd important projects toward completion. Services offered to documentary and narrative filmmakers by SFFILM Makers include cash grants, consultation services, and residencies through SFFILM’s one-of-a-kind FilmHouse incubator program, which supports filmmakers by providing mentorship, artistic guidance, office space, and a vibrant creative community to Bay Area-based and visiting filmmakers. For more information visit sffilm.org/makers.
SFFILM SUPPORTED FILMS AT 2019 SFFILM FESTIVAL
Colewell, directed by Tom Quinn
In tiny Colewell, Pennsylvania, the residents gather at the post office for mail and gossip, while the days pass, quiet and serene. That is until news comes that the office is to close, and beloved clerk Nora (a marvelous Karen Allen) is left to fight for her job and reflect on the choices she has made that kept her in Colewell for so many years. Touching, with a hint of melancholy, Tom Quinn’s eloquent film is an ode to small-town life and the quiet emotions that come with nostalgia and memories of the past.
- 2018 SFFILM Rainin Grant for post-production
Honeyland, directed by Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska
The surprise hit at Sundance, where it won three awards, including the World Cinema Documentary Grand Prize, Honeyland is a visually stunning human portrait that has something sweet for everyone. Hatidze lives with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude, becomes a source of tension when they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice.
- 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grant for post-production
- 2018 SFFILM Invest
Jawline, directed by Liza Mandelup
Handsome 16-year-old Austyn Tester dreams of parlaying his moderate social media following into fame, as a way to escape his life in Tennessee and become a star. Garnering enough attention online to get management, he finds out firsthand how difficult it is to remain connected with his followers. Following Austyn, talent managers, and other influencers, filmmaker Liza Mandelup delves into the world of video blogging, from emotionally fraught IRL meet-and-greets to behind-the-scenes discussions of “authenticity,” and shows what happens to the talent in the fleeting industry of social media.
- 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grant for post-production
Midnight Family, directed by Luke Lorentzen
The Ochoa family runs a hair-raisingly frenetic private ambulance service in Mexico City. Director Luke Lorentzen captures the madness of their curbside negotiations—the service they provide is an add-on to Mexico’s under-resourced public health system—and the truly life-and-death drama of their everyday existence in a thrilling vérité style. Most of all, we become part of the remarkable Ochoa clan, with their big hearts, business savvy, and a remarkable sense of humor in the face of their chosen harrowing profession.
- 2017 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grant for post-production
- 2018 SFFILM Invest
Midnight Traveler, directed by Hassan Fazili
When the Taliban forces filmmakers and married couple Hassan Fazili and Fatima Hussaini to flee Afghanistan with their two daughters, they begin filming their time on the road, which includes running across borders, sleeping on roadsides, interacting with smugglers, and staying at multiple refugee camps along the way. Poetically shot entirely on three cell phones, Midnight Traveler immerses viewers in the ongoing and heartbreaking refugee crisis, capturing the family at their most desperate and yet most loving, as they try to stay hopeful without a place to call home.
- 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund grant for post-production
The Sound of Silence, directed by Michael Tyburski
Peter Lucian (Peter Sarsgaard) holds the keys to Manhattan—at least to how it sounds. He is a house tuner, hiring himself out to people who are uneasy in their apartments, but his real life’s project is mapping the city according to the note each neighborhood possesses. Unfortunately, his need for scientific recognition threatens to further ostracize him into the realm of crackpot. Sarsgaard is quietly commanding as the obsessive Peter, and he’s surrounded by an impressive Dolby Atmos soundscape in which a toaster’s hum can be the linchpin to a good night’s sleep.
- 2018 SFFILM Dolby Fellowship
For general information visit sffilm.org/festival.
For photos and press materials visit sffilm.org/press.
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2019 San Francisco International Film Festival
The longest-running film festival in the Americas, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities. The 62nd edition runs April 10–23 at venues across the Bay Area and features nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with close to $40,000 in cash prizes, and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.
SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization with a mission to champion the world’s finest films and filmmakers through programs anchored in and inspired by the spirit and values of the San Francisco Bay Area. Presenter of the San Francisco International Film Festival, SFFILM is a year-round organization delivering screenings and events to more than 75,000 film lovers and media education programs to more than 12,000 students and teachers annually. In addition to its public programs, SFFILM supports the careers of independent filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond with grants, residencies, and other creative development services.
For more information visit sffilm.org.
This press release is available online at sffilm.org/press/releases.
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