Nov 27, 2019
Artist Development
FilmHouse Community Continues to Expand with an Exciting New Cohort of Filmmakers in Production Office Spaces for One-Year Residencies
San Francisco, CA – SFFILM has announced the latest filmmakers who have been awarded one-year FilmHouse residencies. This innovative program, made possible by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation with additional funding from the San Francisco Film Commission, supports both narrative and documentary films by providing 12-month residencies to independent filmmakers actively engaged in various stages of production. Residencies include access to office space and a robust mentor advisory board, networking opportunities, peer-to-peer engagement, and professional development resources through the SFFILM Makers community. A total of 31 filmmakers will start new year-long residencies in January 2020 and join a number of local and visiting fellows and grantees also receiving support under the FilmHouse banner.
The next application period opens in July 2020 for the term of FilmHouse Residencies beginning January 2021. For more information, visit sffilm.org/FilmHouse.
FilmHouse, located in a beautifully renovated space in the multicultural development at 644 Broadway in San Francisco, consists of a dynamic shared flexible use space for residents and a series of offices for working filmmakers, mentors, and advisors to the FilmHouse community. In addition to flex use workspace, FilmHouse residents will be provided with dedicated rooms for writing and editing their films, and special access to established industry professionals offering mentorship, office hours, and deeper artistic guidance 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.
A major component of the SFFILM Makers program, FilmHouse functions as a vibrant workshop and creative hub for filmmakers of all kinds. The mission of FilmHouse is to invest in artistic development and expand industry support around these filmmakers and their work to foster meaningful, sustainable careers, and continually strengthen the filmmaking community in the Bay Area.
The panelists who reviewed applicants’ submissions were Sofia Alicastro, SFFILM Artist Development Manager: Filmmaker Programs; Sophie Gunther, SFFILM Artist Development Manager: Film Funds; Lauren Kushner, SFFILM Interim Director of Artist Development; Rosa Morales, SFFILM Artist Development Coordinator; Brittney Réaume, Manager, Filmmaker Services & Digital Marketing, Bay Area Video Coalition; and Ted Russell, Associate Director, Arts Strategy & Ventures, Kenneth Rainin Foundation.
The review panel noted in a statement: “We are thrilled to be able to support these 31 filmmakers. The panel was quite struck by the high quality of the work presented by the artists who applied to the FilmHouse program this year; it was heartening to see such a strong showing of Bay Area talent. Ultimately, our aim was to assemble a group of filmmakers whose backgrounds and areas of focus are vast and diverse, and here we see a wide range of topics from human rights issues to artful portraits of the everyday in a variety of formats, lengths, and styles. We strongly considered how this program could benefit both maker and project and this particular group of projects stood out as important stories to develop and grow this year.
2020 FILMHOUSE RESIDENTS – 12-MONTH TERMS
(* denotes extension of previous residency)
Liz Anderson* – Cordyceps – narrative feature, screenwriting / development
Natalie Baszile* – Good People – narrative feature, screenwriting
Erin Brethauer – Another Day in Paradise – documentary feature, production
Christy Chan* – Dear Wizard – narrative feature, screenwriting
Darren Colston* – Grandpa’s Hands – narrative feature, screenwriting
Jennifer Chang Crandall – Whitman, Alabama – hybrid documentary feature, production
Daniel Freeman* – Teddy, Out of Tune – hybrid documentary feature, post-production
Contessa Gayles – No Time to Waste (working title) – hybrid documentary feature, development
Jen Gilomen – Delivering Justice: A Movement Is Born – documentary feature, development
Marjolaine Grappe – The Envelope – documentary feature, production
Dee Hibbert-Jones* – Run with It – animated documentary feature, production
Alexandra “Alle” Hsu* – Queens – narrative feature, screenwriting / development
Tim Hussin – Another Day in Paradise – documentary feature, production
Emily Cohen Ibañez* – Fruits of Labor – documentary feature, post-production
Yvan Iturriaga* – American Babylon – narrative feature, development
Jonathan Kiefer – So Fast They Follow – narrative feature, screenwriting
Eugene Kim – Press Only – narrative feature, screenwriting
Erin Semine Kökdil – La Caravana – documentary short, production / post-production
Luke Lorentzen – Untitled Marine Salvage Documentary – documentary feature, development
Simran Mahal – Americanized – narrative short, post-production
summer fucking mason – 818 – narrative feature, production
Ed Ntiri – A Lo-Fi Blues – narrative feature, screenwriting
Erin Persley* – Human Shield – documentary feature, development / production
Reaa Puri – K for Kashmir – documentary feature, development
Débora Souza Silva* – Black Mothers – documentary feature, production
Nomi Talisman – Run with It – animated documentary feature, production
Tasha Van Zandt – After Antarctica – documentary feature, post-production
Ellie Wen – Elementary (working title) – documentary feature, development
Taylor Whitehouse – Nobody Has a Plan – narrative feature, screenwriting
Sephora Woldu – Aliens in Eritrea – narrative feature, screenwriting / development
Sebastian Zeck – After Antarctica – documentary feature, post-production
For more information about SFFILM’s artist development programs, visit sffilm.org/makers.
FilmHouse residencies are a part of SFFILM Makers, SFFILM’s suite of artist development services, which provide significant financial and creative resources to independent filmmakers through grants, fellowships, residencies, and other professional development opportunities. SFFILM Makers has become one the largest nonprofit supporters of independent film, having disbursed over $7 million to more than 200 film projects since its inception in 2009.
SFFILM Makers
SFFILM Makers (formerly “Filmmaker360”), the organization’s artist development program, provides significant financial and creative resources to independent filmmakers through grants, fellowships, residencies, fiscal sponsorship, and more. Since 2009, over $7 million has been disbursed to more than 200 film projects in various stages of production. Highlights include the SFFILM Rainin Grant and the SFFILM Westridge Grant, which together distribute the most nonprofit funding for narrative features in the United States; a joint effort with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to cultivate stories rooted in science and technology; and the Documentary Film Fund, a partnership with the Jenerosity Foundation. For more information, visit sffilm.org/makers.
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.
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