Oct 20, 2015
Artist Development
San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) and Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) have selected 14 finalists for the latest round of SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants; up to $300,000 will be awarded to one or more narrative feature film projects at various stages of production. SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are awarded twice annually to narrative feature films that will have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community. More than $3 million has been awarded since the launch of the Film Society’s flagship grant program in 2009. Winners of the fall 2015 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants will be announced in November.
The San Francisco Film Society, in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the United States. The SFFS / KRF program has funded more than 50 projects since its inception, including Jonas Carpignano’s Mediterranea, which premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and has created buzz all over the international festival circuit; Chloé Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, which screened at Sundance and Cannes and will be released in theaters this fall; Kat Candler’s Hellion and Ira Sachs’ Love Is Strange, both of which premiered to strong reviews at Sundance 2014; Short Term 12, Destin Cretton’s sophomore feature which won both the Narrative Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at South by Southwest 2013; Ryan Coogler’s debut feature Fruitvale Station, which won the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, the Un Certain Regard Avenir Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category at Sundance 2013; and Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin’s debut phenomenon which won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2012 and earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture).
“There is an impressively wide range of stories being told among this amazing group of finalists, and it’s going to be a particularly difficult process choosing our winners,” said Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of Filmmaker360. “These are all filmmakers to watch, and we can’t wait to get involved more deeply with these exciting projects.”
SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are made possible by the vision and generosity of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. In addition to being awarded funds from the country’s leading granting organization, recipients will receive various benefits through Filmmaker360, the San Francisco Film Society’s comprehensive and dynamic filmmaker services program. These benefits, customized to every individual production, can include one-on-one project consultations and project feedback, additional fundraising assistance, resource and service recommendations, and networking opportunities, among many others. For more information visit sffs.org/Filmmaker360.
FALL 2015 SFFS / KRF FILMMAKING GRANT FINALISTS
A Ciambra – Jonas Carpignano, writer/director; Jon Coplon and Ryan Zacarias, producer – packaging
Pio is a young Romani boy living in southern Italy who must decide how far he is willing to go to keep his family together and repay his brothers debt. aciambra.com
AWOL – Deb Shoval, writer/director; Jessica Caldwell and L.A. Teodosio, producers – postproduction
Joey, 18, falls hard for Rayna, 27, a sexy, married mother of two. Threatened by Rayna’s husband, fired from her job at the local dairy and without many economic opportunities, Joey reluctantly joins the Army. Days before deployment to Afghanistan and still wildly in love, she returns home to rural Pennsylvania and plans to go AWOL with Rayna and her kids. facebook.com/AWOL.movie
Chasing Greatness – Chris Bailey, writer/director – screenwriting
Chasing Greatness is the story of NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury, who finds redemption halfway across the globe after suffering tragedy off the court.
Dara Ju – Anthony Onah, writer/director; Justin Begnaud and Kishori Rajan, producers – postproduction
A young Nigerian American financier struggles with love, family and a prescription drug dependency as his ambitions steer him down a criminal path. anthonyonah.com
The Fixer – Ian Olds, writer/director; Caroline von Kuhn, producer – postproduction
An Afghan journalist is exiled from his war-torn country to a small bohemian community in Northern California. When he attempts to turn his menial job on the local police blotter into “Afghan-style” coverage of local crime, he gets drawn into the backwoods of this small town-a shadow Northern California where sex is casual, true friendship is hard to come by and an unfamiliar form of violence burbles up all around him. fixerthefilm.com
Freeland – Mario Furloni and Kate McLean, cowriter/directors; Laura Heberton, producer – packaging
In the last season of black market marijuana growing before legalization, a mother and daughter must reconcile their differences in order to survive in an increasingly inhospitable world.
Little Woods – Nia DaCosta, writer/director/producer; Rachael Fung, producer – packaging
Ollie sneaks into Canada to get medication for her terminally ill mother and other residents in her overwhelmed oil boomtown. She is caught and forced to stop her illegal business, even though it means leaving the people she aids with no better options. When her estranged sister Deb asks for her help, Ollie has to decide whether or not it’s worth it to help her when it will put both of their lives at risk. niadacosta.com
The Lusty (working title) – Silas Howard, writer/director; Antonia Crane, cowriter; L.A. Teodosio, producer – screenwriting
In San Francisco in the late 1990s, an army of strippers at the Lusty Lady confront dangerous labor practices and go on to create the first exotic dancers’ union in the world. Based on a true story. silashoward.com
Ma/ddy – Devon Kirkpatrick, writer/director – screenwriting
In this dark comedy, life after death takes on a whole new meaning for a genderqueer widow following the loss of their wife. maddyfilm.com
Over The Eaves – Brent Green, writer/director; Thyra Heder, cowriter; Carly Hugo, Matt Parker and Alexandra Pitz, producers – preproduction
A young boy living on a farm begins inventing strange, hand-made machines to ease the family’s hard labor, but his ambitions quickly grow. When his most daring invention backfires and changes life on Earth forever, the townspeople struggle to understand whether he has done them harm or shown them what they have been missing. site.nervousfilms.com
Reza and the Refugees – Aaron Douglass Johnston, writer/director/producer; Laura Wagner, producer – packaging
A ragtag team of Middle Eastern political refugees in Holland enters the Eurovision song contest in an effort to save their friend from deportation and certain death.
Rogue – Mark Kindred, writer/director; Reinaldo Marcus Green, producer – packaging
An ex-cop gone rogue wages “asymmetric and unconventional warfare” on the corrupt police force that fired him, resulting in the biggest manhunt in California’s history. Inspired by true events. roguefeaturefilm.com
These Animals – Vivian Tse, writer/director – screenwriting
The story of an astronaut’s last year spent on Earth, as she prepares to crew the first manned mission to Mars. It’s a one-way trip.
Your Face in Mine – Malik Vitthal, writer/director; Ismet Prcic, cowriter – screenwriting
In the near future, a broken man struggles to find a way to love himself again, and agrees to help an old acquaintance who has undergone “racial reassignment surgery” to tell his story, a task that turns out to be bigger and more complicated than he anticipated.
Kenneth Rainin Foundation
Kenneth Rainin Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to enhancing quality of life by championing and sustaining the arts, promoting early childhood literacy and supporting research to cure chronic disease. Collaboration and innovation are at the heart of all its programs. Its vision is guided by the belief that change is possible through inquiry, creativity and compassion. Its successful partnership with the San Francisco Film Society supports visionary filmmakers to create narrative films that inspire social justice. More at krfoundation.org.