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2021 Golden Gate Awards Official Selections

Documentary Feature

Writing With Fire—McBaine Documentary Feature Award Winner
Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh, India

After Antarctica—McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature Award Winner
(Bay Area)
Tasha Van Zandt, USA/Canada

Captains of Zaatari
Ali El Arabi, Egypt

In the Same Breath
Nanfu Wang, USA/China

Radiograph of a Family
Firouzeh Khosrovani, Iran/Switzerland/Norway

Seyran Ateş: Sex, Revolution and Islam
Nefise Özkal Lorentzen, Norway

Unseen Skies
Yaara Bou Melhem, Australia

We Are As Gods
(Bay Area)
David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg, USA

New Directors Prize

This Is My Desire—New Directors Jury Prize Winner
Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri, Nigeria/USA

A Leave—New Directors Jury Special Mention
Lee Ran-hee, South Korea

Holler
Nicole Riegel, USA

Home
Franka Potente, Germany/Netherlands

I’M FINE (Thanks for Asking)
Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina, USA

Poppy Field
Eugen Jebeleanu, Romania

Skies of Lebanon
Chloé Mazlo, France

The Whaler Boy
Philipp Yuryev, Russia

Critics Jury Prize

Nudo Mixteco—Critics Jury Award Winner
Angeles Cruz, Mexico

Cruz
Teresa Camou Guerrero, Mexico

The Dance of the 41
David Pablos, Mexico

Fauna
Nicolás Pereda, Mexico/Canada

Son of Monarchs
Alexis Gambis, Mexico

The Spokeswoman
Luciana Kaplan, Mexico

Animated Short

In the Shadow of the Pines—Animated Short Films Jury Prize Winner
Anne Koizumi, Canada

The Fire Next Time
Renaldho Pelle, United Kingdom

Step into the River
Weijia Ma, China

Documentary Short

Dial Home—Documentary Short Films Jury Prize Winner
César Martínez Barba, USA/Mexico

American Wildlife
Elizabeth Lo, USA

Halpate
Adam Piron, Adam Khalil, USA

Since you arrived, my heart stopped belonging to me
(Bay Area)
Erin Semine Kökdil, USA

Wavelengths
(Bay Area)
Jessie Zinn, USA

Family Films

To: Gerard—Family Films Jury Prize Winner
Taylor Meacham, USA

A Concerto Is a Conversation—Family Films Jury Honorable Mention
Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers, USA

Broken Bird
Rachel Harrison Gordon, USA

Intermission
Simon de Glanville, Alice Jones, Freddie Claire, UK

Kapaemahu
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, USA

The Magical Forest and the Things
Dave Russo, USA

Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug
Galen Fott, USA

Tulip
Andrea Love, Phoebe Wahl, USA

Mid-Lengths

Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Mama—Mid-Length Films Jury Prize Winner
Topaz Jones, rubberband. (Simon Davis, Jason Sondock), USA

Cloudscape
Sofía Gallisá Muriente, USA/Puerto Rico

Mum Is Pouring Rain
Hugo de Faucompret, France

Sing Me a Lullaby
Tiffany Hsiung, Canada

Tales of the Accidental City
Maïmouna Jallow, Kenya

Narrative Shorts

Jeûne d’été (Summer Fasting)—Narrative Short Films Jury Prize Winner
Abdenoure Ziane, France

Doretha’s Blues
Channing Godrey Peoples, USA

Freezerburn
(Bay Area)
Sarah Rattay-Maloney, USA

The Night Train
Jerry Carlsson, Sweden

New Visions

Here, Here New—Visions Short Films Jury Prize Winner
Joanne Cesario, Philippines

If You Hum at the Right Frequency
(Bay Area)
Daniel Freeman, USA

Signal 8
Simon Liu, Hong Kong

Youth Works

Through Their Eyes—Youth Works Jury Prize
Alisha Heng, USA

Music for the End of the World—Youth Works Jury Honorable Mention
Emmanuel Li, UK

A Cure for Humanity
(Bay Area)
Jared Fontecha, Iziyah Robinson, USA

Greta
Sofie Verweyen, USA

i hate winters.
Shivesh Pandey, India

ILEA
Samuel Correa, USA

Just as I am
Arianna Azzaro, Italy

Kozan
İlayda İşeri, Turkey

A LOCO VIVID DREAM
Marek Ścibior, Poland

Stranger Strings
Ava Salomon, USA

What’s that sound?
(Bay Area)
Tanya Cyster, USA

SFFILM is proud to have partnered with a number of notable foundations and partners over the years to create grant programs that directly fund and support films in various stages of production. Read below to learn more about our previous grant programs and check out the Supported Projects page for information on the many films and filmmakers that are part of the SFFILM Makers community.

Catapult Documentary Fellowship

SFFILM and the Catapult Film Fund supported filmmakers in the early stages of development on compelling, story-driven, feature-length documentary films. The fellowship was geared towards emerging filmmakers who have directed short films previously and for whom this is their first feature, or filmmakers who have directed one or two features already.
 
Awards were made once a year to three films. In addition to a $10,000 grant, fellows received mentorship by industry professionals whose work or artistic approach aligned with the filmmaker’s goals, guidance from SFFILM and Catapult Film Fund staff, and access to SFFILM’s FilmHouse residency and dynamic suite of artist development services. This fellowship allowed filmmakers to create a strong fundraising trailer and core application with which they used to bring on additional key team members, partners, and funders.

SFFILM Djerassi Fellowship

The SFFILM Djerassi Fellowship provided a one-month artist residency for an emerging or established screenwriter.
 
Located in a spectacular setting in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 40 miles south of San Francisco, the program provided artists with uninterrupted time for work, reflection and collegial interaction in a professionally supportive and inspirational environment. The SFFILM Djerassi Fellowship was supported by a gift from SFFILM Board Member Dale Djerassi.
 
Designed for both US-based and international screenwriters, the SFFILM Djerassi Fellowship offered living and studio accommodations and meals. Residents worked and were housed in three buildings on the Djerassi ranch according to artistic discipline and creative project. Living quarters and studio space consisted of a four-bedroom house and a unique, remodeled twelve-sided barn. The Middlebrook Studios, new spaces for writers, were also available. The residency did not include travel and writing supplies.

New American Fellowship

Through the SFFILM New American Fellowship, created in partnership with the Flora Family Foundation, SFFILM offers six-month fellowships to narrative or documentary filmmakers who have arrived in the United States within the past ten years as either an immigrant or a non-immigrant. The fellowship is open to both directors and producers working on at least one active project.

SFFS/Hearst Screenwriting Grant

The Hearst Screenwriting Grant awarded $15,000 annually to a screenwriter who had been practicing for at least five years and who had previously written a minimum of one feature screenplay. The grant was open to writers residing in the United States whose project expressed both a unique personal perspective and an artistic approach to the subject. Priority was given to writers whose previous short or feature screenplays have successfully been produced into finished films.

Vulcan Productions Environmental Fellowship

The SFFILM Vulcan Productions Environmental Fellowship supported documentary filmmakers telling powerful stories about the environment and/or conservation. The fellowship, originally launched in 2018, included a $25,000 grant, an advisor with expertise in the specific environmental topic being explored, and access to SFFILM’s dynamic suite of artist development services, including an educational lesson plan. The fellow also traveled to San Francisco and Vulcan Production’s headquarters in Seattle to partake in workshops and activities that address filmmaking, the environment, and entertainment industry connections.

Westridge Grant

The SFFILM Westridge Grant supported US-based, independent narrative feature films in the screenwriting phase. Grants were awarded twice annually to projects that address social issues and pressing questions of our time through creative and original storytelling. The SFFILM Westridge Grant was open to US-based filmmakers whose stories take place in the United States.
 
A total of $200,000 was granted annually through this program, with four or five $20,000–$25,000 grants awarded each spring and fall. In addition to financial support, grantees received a range of benefits through SFFILM’s comprehensive and dynamic artist development programs, as well as support and feedback from SFFILM and Westridge Foundation staff.

Women, Peace, and Security

SFFILM was awarded a grant from the Compton Foundation to launch the Women, Peace, and Security Fellowship, open to both documentary and narrative filmmakers who were telling stories of women’s efforts to end conflict and advance peace. Two $25,000 grants were allocated through consecutive fellowships in the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018.
Created with the goal of inspiring filmmakers to tell stories of courageous women leaders, generate conversation across public audiences, and encourage policymakers to invest in women as essential actors in effective peace-building and violence prevention, the Women, Peace, and Security Fellowship supported a filmmaker dedicated to elevating women’s efforts to end conflict and advance peace. In addition to financial support, SFFILM provided fellows with connections to advisors with expertise in the subject matter of their film, networking opportunities, and active support from SFFILM staff and from mentors within the Bay Area creative community.