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Since 2009, SFFILM has been in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation which supports our artist development program known as SFFILM Makers. Each year we award the SFFILM Rainin Grant to filmmakers at various stages of their creative process on their projects that meaningfully explore pressing social issues and/or have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community.

Today, we are thrilled to announce the 2022 SFFILM Rainin Grantees! Eighteen filmmaking teams have been awarded a total of $450,000 in funding and will also receive artist development services from the SFFILM Makers team including residency access at FilmHouse, creative and professional guidance, and programming designed for our filmmaker community.

This program is open to filmmakers in the US and internationally who can commit to spending time developing the film in San Francisco. The SFFILM Rainin Grants program has funded more than 175 film projects, including Fernando Frias’s I’m No Longer Here, Channing Godfrey Peoples’ Miss Juneteenth, Antoneta Kastrati’s , Joe Talbot’s The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Nijla Mu’min’s Jinn, Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Monsters and Men, Jeremiah Zagar’s We the Animals, Chloé Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, and Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Supported films have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, South by Southwest, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Festival as well as racking up industry nominations and awards including the Academy Awards ®.

The jury panelists who reviewed the finalists’ submissions are Raven Jackson, filmmaker and SFFILM Rainin Grantee in 2018; Laura Wagner, filmmaker and SFFILM Rainin Grantee in 2015; Ted Russell, Director, Arts Strategy & Ventures, Kenneth Rainin Foundation; Masashi Niwano, Director of Artist Development, SFFILM; Rosa Morales, Artist Development Associate Manager: Narrative Film, SFFILM.

“The jury was impressed and inspired by this talented slate of filmmakers and their bold approaches to storytelling in front and behind the camera. The diversity in stories and filmmakers reflect the enduring vitality and spirit of independent cinema. From transgenerational stories to films that center historically excluded characters and communities, we are thrilled to support these projects and help them get one step closer to the big screen,” as noted by the Jury.

2022 SFFILM Rainin Grant Winners

1791
Stefani Saintonge, writer/director/producer; Sebastien Denis, writer/director/producer—$25,000 for development

It’s August 1791 in French-owned Saint-Domingue– the most profitable colony in the world. A collective of enslaved workers meet in secret to plot a revolt. As the yoke of slavery takes its toll, a coerced confession reveals their plan, forcing everyone into action. This sparks the Haitian revolution and the beginning of the end of slavery.

Three kids from the ghettos of East Oakland are sent on a wild adventure after their favorite cousin escapes house arrest.

Fremont, CA. 2008. In the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt and how to love your mom.

Dreaming of Lions
Paolo Marinou-Blanco, writer/director—$25,000 for screenwriting

A dark surreal & satirical comedy about euthanasia. Gilda and Amadeu meet at an underground organisation that claims to help the terminally ill kill themselves painlessly for a fee, as they try to bypass the fact euthanasia is illegal. But when they discover the workshop is just a money-making scam, they take matters into their own hands and go on a wild surreal adventure to finalize their plans, falling in love along the way.

From Honey to Ashes
Emily Cohen Ibañez, writer—$25,000 for screenwriting

In this psychological drama, an act of gun violence strikes a married couple in California’s Central Valley, resulting in a ripple effect involving a widow, a nanny, an unhoused woman, a high school senior, and a young gang member. The microcosm of these women’s intersecting lives play out against the backdrop of a dying monarch population, an unprecedented heat wave, and a magical force that binds them in a world on the brink of collapse.

In My Father’s House
Abbesi Akhamie, writer/director—$25,000 for screenwriting

In My Father’s House follows Anna (nee Anike), a disillusioned millennial battling grief after the unexpected loss of her mother. She arrives in Lagos, Nigeria from the United States determined to escape the remnants of her former life but her efforts are futile as she discovers new life and purpose in the homeland of her estranged father.

Joyride
Edwin Alexis Gómez, writer/director; Evelyn Angelica Martinez, producer—$25,000 for screenwriting

Teenage sisters are enlisted by their abuelita to break her out of her senior living facility for a joyride to the Grand Canyon. On the journey, their grandmother reveals some unfinished business while newly unearthed family secrets take things to telenovela proportions.

Late Spring
Yuan Yuan, writer/director—$25,000 for screenwriting

A Chinese factory worker travels to New York for her daughter’s eagerly anticipated college graduation, only to be thrust into a desperate search in unfamiliar territory when she learns the girl is missing.

Rowdy By Nature
Morningstar Angeline, writer/director—$25,000 for screenwriting

After a mother disappears without a trace, her troubled daughter spirals in her search, unaware a vampire will save them both.

Ruby: Portrait of a Black Teen in an American Suburb
Raven Johnson, writer/director—$25,000 for screenwriting

A coming-of-age tale set during the height of Covid-19 and racial justice protests after the murder of George Floyd. RUBY: PORTRAIT OF A BLACK TEEN IN AN AMERICAN SUBURB follows the story of Ruby, a fifteen-year-old, Liberian-American teenager and a wannabe Tik Tok star, as she deals with the sudden breakup of her closest friendship after her best friend, Kiki, begins dating a much older man.

Santa Anita
David Liu, writer/director; Xin Li, producer—$25,000 for screenwriting

As the summer of 2004 begins, a series of strange events transform the lives of three generations of Asian-Americans living in the Southern California foothills — an aging heiress and art collector haunted by visions of her dead mother, an aspiring young female novelist running a neighborhood video game arcade, and a trio of teenage musicians caught in an increasingly tense dispute between two local gangs.

Signs Preceding the End of the World
Joie Estrella Horwitz, writer/director; Luis Gutiérrez Arias, writer/director; Kindred Spirit, producer; Bahìa Colectiva, producer—$25,000 for screenwriting

Across borders and into the Aztec underworld, Signs Preceding the End of the World is the story of a journey with no return. Adapted from the namesake novel by Yuri Herrera, the film follows Makina as she travels across the U.S./Mexico borderlands to find her estranged brother. Along the way, she faces the apocalyptic reality of her changing world as we are confronted with the signs that announce the end of ours.

The President’s Cake
Hasan Hadi, writer/director—$25,000 for screenwriting

While people struggle daily to survive under sanctions in Saddam’s Iraq, nine-year-old Saeed must use his wits to gather ingredients for the mandatory cake to celebrate President Saddam Hussein’s birthday or face the consequences – prison or death.

The Stud
Matthew Puccini, writer/director—$25,000 for screenwriting

A pair of queer teenagers set off to sneak into the closing night of The Stud, San Francisco’s oldest gay bar.

TOKYO FOREVER
Andres Piñeros, writer/director; Federico Piñeros, producer; John Chaparro, producer—$25,000 for development

Tokyo, a Colombian teenager has to assimilate the death of his brother and his supposed responsibility in his disappearance, confronting his family and questioning our traumas as a community in the context of the Colombian conflict and post conflict.

Uncle Hiep’s Casino
Richard Van, writer/director; Betty Hu, producer—$25,000 for development

Somewhere between his mother’s house and his uncle’s illegal casino, a prisoner finds a new life.

Welcome to Roswell
StormMiguel Florez, writer/director/producer—$25,000 for screenwriting

A middle aged transgender filmmaker returns to his father’s birthplace of Roswell, New Mexico to document coming out to his family. His partner’s obsession with the 1947 UFO crash takes him and his film crew in a very different direction.

Where is the Healer?
Tebogo Malebogo, writer/director/producer; Petrus van Staden, producer—$25,000 for screenwriting

Ayanda gets caught in the tangle of people’s lives as she attempts to cast the remake of a forgotten B-movie.

Read more at Filmmaker Magazine.

Congratulations to these fantastic storytellers. The next application period for SFFILM Rainin Grants opens Spring 2023. For more information visit SFFILM Makers.

Stay In Touch With SFFILM

SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM works hard to bring the most exciting films and filmmakers to Bay Area movie lovers. To be the first to know what’s coming, sign up for our email alerts and watch your inbox.

Supporting feature filmmakers since 2009

SFFILM is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2022 SFFILM Rainin Grant, the flagship artist development program offered by SFFILM Makers in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Twenty-eight filmmaking teams have been shortlisted as contenders to receive funding for their narrative projects at different stages of production.

The SFFILM Rainin Grant program is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the US, and supports films that address social justice issues—the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges—in a positive and meaningful way through plot, character, theme, or setting. Awards will be made to multiple projects once a year, for screenwriting, development, and post-production. Recipients are offered a cash grant up to $25,000 for screenwriting and development, up to $50,000 for post-production and a two-month residency at FilmHouse, SFFILM’s premier artist residency space.

The program is open to filmmakers from anywhere in the world who can commit to spending time developing the film in San Francisco. Applications will reopen in late fall.

SFFILM Rainin Grant Finalists

1791

Stefani Saintonge—Writer, Director, Producer
Sebastien Denis—Writer, Director, Producer

It’s August 1791 in French-owned Saint-Domingue— the most profitable colony in the world. A collective of enslaved workers meet in secret to plot a revolt. As the yoke of slavery takes its toll, a coerced confession reveals their plan, forcing everyone into action. This sparks the Haitian revolution and the beginning of the end of slavery.

Blue Veil

Shireen Alihaji—Writer, Director

In the wake of 9/11, Amina, a First-Gen Muslim teenager struggles with the gaze of the outside world; from surveillance to the 24-hour newscyle. Until she discovers her mother’s record collection. The songs reflect her parent’s migration stories to America, and serve as a roadmap to her identity. As music unlocks memories, Amina remembers who she is.

Cousins

Adrian Burrell—Writer, Director
Alex Bledsoe—Producer
Sue-Ellen Chitunya—Producer
Saeed Crumpler—Co-writer

3 kids from the ghettos of East Oakland are sent on a wild adventure after their favorite cousin escapes house arrest.

Dìdi (弟弟)

Sean Wang—Writer, Director, Producer
Carlos López Estrada—Producer
Kelly Marie Tran—Producer

Fremont, CA. 2008. In the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt and how to love your mom.

Dreaming of Lions

Paolo Marinou-Blanco—Writer, Director, Producer

A dark surreal & satirical comedy about euthanasia. Gilda and Amadeu meet at an underground organisation that claims to help the terminally ill kill themselves painlessly for a fee, as they try to bypass the fact euthanasia is illegal. But when they discover the workshop is just a money-making scam, they take matters into their own hands and go on a wild surreal adventure to finalize their plans, falling in love along the way.

En Garde!

Jehnovah Carlisle—Writer, Director, Producer

A delinquent street dancer is discovered to be a rare fencing talent by a willing coach who is tasked with redirecting a damaged youth towards his full potential.

From Honey To Ashes

Emily Cohen Ibañez—Writer

In this psychological drama, an act of gun violence strikes a married couple in California’s Central Valley, resulting in a ripple effect involving a widow, a nanny, an unhoused woman, a high school senior, and a young gang member. The microcosm of these women’s intersecting lives play out against the backdrop of a dying monarch population, an unprecedented heat wave, and a magical force that binds them in a world on the brink of collapse.

Girls Will Be Girls

Shuchi Talati—Writer, Director
Richa Chadha—Producer

Sixteen-year-old Mira finds her sexy, rebellious coming-of-age hijacked by her mother who never got to come of age herself.

HIGH

Tisha Robinson-Daly—Writer, Director
Jonathan Mason—Writer, Director

In the aftermath of a freak accident, a nomadic telecom tower climber is forced to repair the connections he needs most—with his family.

In My Father’s House

Abbesi Akhamie—Writer, Director

In My Father’s House is a millennial coming-of-age drama that follows Anike, a grief-stricken woman who travels to Lagos, Nigeria after the death of her mother seeking closure from her estranged father who abandoned her over 10 years ago.

John/Juan

Charlotte Gutierrez—Writer, Director

At 15, nerdy bookworm John Lopez is “too Mexican,” for his old private school and “too white” at his new public high school. When John meets Sandra, a militant LatinX activist, he struggles to impress her, and so reinvents himself as “Juan, Super woke Latino.”

Joyride

Edwin Alexis Gómez—Writer, Director
Evelyn Angelica Martinez—Producer

Teenage sisters are enlisted by their abuelita to break her out of her senior living facility for a joyride to the Grand Canyon. On the journey, their grandmother reveals some unfinished business while newly unearthed family secrets take things to telenovela proportions.

Lady of the Lake

Randall Dottin—Writer, Director, Producer

Facing capture and execution a Sudanese activist escapes the country with her family and rebuilds her life as an immigrant in Chicago, only to have death destroy her new found comfort.

Late Spring

Yuan Yuan—Writer, Director

A Chinese factory worker travels to New York for her daughter’s eagerly anticipated college graduation, only to be thrust into a desperate search in unfamiliar territory when she learns the girl is missing.

Ovum

Cidney Hue—Writer, Director
Shunori Ramanathan—Writer, Lead actor

In a not-so-distant America, a woman is forced to watch her unborn fetus grow up over and over again before she can get a life saving abortion.

Rowdy By Nature

Morningstar Angeline—Writer, Director

After a mother disappears without a trace, her troubled daughter spirals in her search, unaware a vampire will save them both.

Ruby: Portrait of a Black Teen in an American Suburb

Raven Johnson—Writer, Director, Producer

A coming-of-age tale set during the height of Covid-19 and racial justice protests after the murder of George Floyd. RUBY: PORTRAIT OF A BLACK TEEN IN AN AMERICAN SUBURB follows the story of Ruby, a fifteen-year-old, Liberian-American teenager and a wannabe Tik Tok star, as she deals with the sudden breakup of her closest friendship after her best friend, Kiki, begins dating a much older man.

Santa Anita

David Liu—Writer, Director
Xin Li—Producer

As the summer of 2004 begins, a series of strange events transform the lives of three generations of Asian-Americans living in the Southern California foothills — an aging heiress and art collector haunted by visions of her dead mother, an aspiring young female novelist running a neighborhood video game arcade, and a trio of teenage musicians caught in an increasingly tense dispute between two local gangs.

Signs Preceding the End of the World

Joie Estrella Horwitz—Writer, Director
Luis Gutiérrez Arias—Writer, Director

Across borders and into the Aztec underworld, Signs Preceding the End of the World is the story of a journey with no return. Adapted from the namesake novel by Yuri Herrera, the film follows Makina as she travels across the U.S./Mexico borderlands to find her estranged brother. Along the way, she faces the apocalyptic reality of her changing world as we are confronted with the signs that announce the end of ours.

The House Edge

Morgan Mathews—Writer, Director

When his estranged father moves back to town with a new wife and stepson during the summer break, a teenage boy has to reconcile with eerie experiences in this reimagined family.

The Parking Lot Attendant

Lino Asana—Writer, Director
Rajal Pitroda—Producer

In a tightly-knit Ethiopian-American community, an isolated teenager becomes entangled in the agenda of a charismatic figure who runs a mysterious empire out of his parking lot. Based on the novel by Nafkote Tamirat.

The President’s Cake

Hasan Hadi—Writer, Director

While people struggle daily to survive under sanctions in Saddam’s Iraq, nine-year-old Saeed must use his wits to gather ingredients for the mandatory cake to celebrate President Saddam Hussein’s birthday or face the consequences – prison or death.

The Stud

Matthew Puccini—Writer, Director

A pair of queer teenagers set off to sneak into the closing night of The Stud, San Francisco’s oldest gay bar.

TOKYO FOREVER

Andres Piñeros—Writer, Director
Federico Piñeros—Producer
John Chaparro—Producer

Tokyo, a Colombian teenager has to assimilate the death of his brother and his supposed responsibility in his disappearance, confronting his family and questioning our traumas as a community in the context of the Colombian conflict and post conflict.

Uncle Hiep’s Casino

Richard Van—Writer, Director
Betty Hu—Producer

Somewhere between his mother’s house and his uncle’s illegal casino, a prisoner finds a new life.

Welcome to Roswell

StormMiguel Florez—Writer, Director, Producer

A middle aged transgender filmmaker returns to his father’s birthplace of Roswell, New Mexico to document coming out to his family. His partner’s obsession with the 1947 UFO crash takes him and his film crew in a very different direction.

What You’ll Remember

Erika Cohn—Writer, Director

A young couple struggling with homelessness fight to find a home and keep their family of six together, even when “support systems” try to break them apart.

Where is the Healer?

Tebogo Malebogo—Writer, Director, Producer

A tenacious director attempts to remake a forgotten B-movie in his own image, and Ayanda is tasked with scouting the perfect cast. She quickly gets taken on an odyssey through modern-day South Africa as she gets caught up in the tangle of people’s lives.

We are thrilled to to welcome a new group of Bay Area–based storytellers to take up residence at FilmHouse, SFFILM’s dynamic shared workspace for independent filmmakers. FilmHouse residencies, made possible by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation with additional funding from the San Francisco Film Commission and the San Francisco Foundation, supports both narrative and documentary projects (including features, shorts, and series) by providing 12-month residencies to filmmakers actively engaged in various stages of production.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FilmHouse residency moved to a virtual workspace in 2020. For 2022, we have opened the doors of the FilmHouse once again, following all SF Public Health COVID guidelines, to support the filmmakers throughout their residency period. FilmHouse is the only year-round artist residency program of its kind. FilmHouse residents will be provided special access to established industry professionals offering artistic guidance and support from their various areas of expertise. Other resident benefits will include a robust guest speaker series, featuring lectures and presentations by leading industry professionals; workshops led by prominent filmmakers and other members of the independent film industry; peer-to-peer support; work-in-progress screenings; bi-weekly production meetings; access to meaningful networking opportunities; and numerous other community-building programs.

The selection committee for the 2022 FilmHouse Residents were:

Masashi Niwano, SFFILM Director of Artist Development
Joshua Moore, SFFILM Artist Development Manager of Documentary Projects
Rosa Morales, SFFILM Artist Development Associate Manager of Narrative Projects
Sabrina Sellers, SFFILM Artist Development Coordinator
Manijeh Fata, Acting Executive Director of Film SF
Maria Victoria Ponce, Writer/ Director and Former FilmHouse Resident
Tom E. Brown, writer/ director/ producer Creative Advisor

We are excited by the diversity of identities represented in this group and noted that what these unique filmmakers have in common are their innovative and urgent stories that ponder where we are going and consider where we have been. We are honored to provide support and guidance to these promising local filmmakers as they craft their stories and we look forward to helping share their work with the world.
— 2022 FilmHouse Residents Selection Committee

Now let’s meet the residents that will be taking their projects to the next stage — whether it be screenwriting or post-production — at FilmHouse in 2022!

Patricia Lee

Hannah’s Family — Narrative Short

Hannah’s Family is a series of vignettes about the plurality of the Asian American experience within the bounds of one family. Although they live under one roof, each family member goes out to experience the world in ways completely unique to themselves.

Jessica Zitter & Cheo Tyehimba Taylor

The Chaplain of Oakland — Documentary Feature

Frustrated by watching Black patients needlessly suffer in hospitals due to end-of-life healthcare inequities, a crusading hospital chaplain works to transform an unfair healthcare system, one patient at a time.

Inês Pedrosa e Melo

The dark knot at the center (working title) — Documentary Short

In this unusual road movie set against American landscapes, an anonymous collective of women narrates their personal experiences with traveling long distances to access abortion care. Their voices reshape the road and the vast scenery around it, shedding light on realities of womanhood, sexuality and health care access in contemporary America.

Debra Schaffner

Curse of the Mutant Heirloom — Documentary Feature

What happens when WWII trauma and a genetic mutation collide in the suburbs of New Jersey? That’s what filmmaker Debra Schaffner is trying to figure out as she attempts to connect with her estranged mother who is battling ovarian cancer.

LaTajh Weaver & Hillary Pierce

Queerling Series — Narrative Episodic

After taking a cushy tech job to make ends meet, 25-year-old, Queer, Oakland native struggles to stay morally grounded while benefitting from the same luxuries that are destroying her community.

Chris Cole

Rolling Stone — Narrative Feature

A disaffected music journalist assumes the identity of a rising rap star.

Aurora Brachman

Still Waters — Documentary Short

A daughter asks her mother a question about her mother’s childhood. Her answer begs them to wade through its rippling effects throughout their lives.

Charlotte Gutierrez

John Juan — Narrative Feature

At 15, nerdy bookworm John Lopez is “too Mexican,” for his old private school and “too white” at his new public high school. When John meets Sandra, a militant LatinX activist, he struggles to impress her, and so reinvents himself as “Juan, Super woke Latino.”

Jon Ayon

Mestizx: Aquí y Allá — Documentary Feature

Searching for ways to protect his daughter from the intergenerational trauma of immigration, a first-generation Latinx father travels along the U.S./Mexico border to record Indigenous and immigrant perspectives and chart a world where borders are inconsequential.

Kevin Wong & KarYin Tham

Home Is A Hotel — Documentary Feature

A composite portrait of housing inequality and community resilience, Home Is A Hotel exposes the human cost of housing insecurity through the eyes of 5 diverse San Francisco residents living in SROs.

Adrian Burrell

Cousins — Narrative Feature

Follow the lives of three kids coming of age in the ghettos of Oakland, CA as they are sent on a wild adventure after one of their cousins escapes house arrest (think “Boyz N Da Hood” mixed with “Stand By Me”).

Sanford Jenkins

Joy and Pain — Narrative Feature

An exploration of two families, through a young couple burying a parent and bearing their first child.

Morgan Mathews

Untitled Feature — Narrative Feature

When his estranged father moves back to town with a new family during summer break, a teenage boy is forced to reconcile with his complicated reality.

Lucas Guilkey

Untitled Prison Hunger Strike Film — Documentary Feature

A documentary film about the rise and fall of long-term solitary confinement in California prisons.

Natalya Samee

Doha Girls — Narrative Episodic

Three teen girls navigate the revelations and confusions of high school life amidst the ultra-conservativeness of the oil-rich monarchy of Qatar.

Shao Min Chew Chia

The Plutonians — Narrative Feature

When the official definition of the word “planet” puts Pluto under threat of expulsion, ninth planet expert Alvin Gibbs swoops into a sleepy international astronomy conference to save it. Bullying his peers with increasingly desperate ploys, Alvin fails to win this debate but rediscovers why Pluto matters to him in the first place.

Tsanavi Spoonhunter

Holder of the Sky — Documentary Feature

Holder of the Sky is a story of colonization’s continuum in modern-day America, documenting one tribe’s pursuit to reclaim historic treaty territory in Wisconsin, in the face of longstanding racism and lingering land lust.

Wei Keong Tan

Skin Coat — Narrative Animated Feature

A son forces his male lover to wear a woman’s skin coat in order to enter his home village to see his aging parents. After the death of his father, the short visit turns painfully unbearable for the trio who have to make sacrifices to protect the ones they love.

For more information about SFFILM’s artist development programs, visit learn more here.

Stay In Touch With SFFILM

SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM works hard to bring the most exciting films and filmmakers to Bay Area movie lovers. To be the first to know what’s coming, sign up for our email alerts and watch your inbox.