Jul 31, 2019
Artist Development
Three Emerging Filmmakers Will Receive Cash Grants and Mentorship to Support the Early Stages of Documentary Film Development
San Francisco, CA – SFFILM and the Catapult Film Fund have announced the three filmmaking teams that have been awarded 2019 SFFILM Catapult Film Fellowships: Ilse Fernandez, Allison Otto, and Yusef Srouji. These fellowships are awarded to filmmakers working in the early stages of developing compelling, story-driven documentary features, and run August through December of this year. Also, in keeping with SFFILM’s broader commitment to the Bay Area’s documentary filmmaking community, SFFILM’s popular Doc Talks series of nonfiction filmmaking workshops will continue at the organization’s FilmHouse residency space through a renewed grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In a rare approach to project funding, the SFFILM Catapult Documentary Fellowship supports documentary filmmakers working in the early development stage by providing financial support, mentorship, and continued artistic and industry guidance through the completion of their films. This fellowship seeks to provide direct assistance at the point in the filmmaking process when finding funding is critical, yet few funding opportunities from traditional granting programs exist. By providing support before the fundraising process even begins, this opportunity will facilitate the creation of strong grant proposals and fundraising trailers that will allow these projects to evolve through development and into production.
The panelists who reviewed the applicants’ submissions were Paula Arrigoni, Executive Director of the Bay Area Video Coalition; Lisa Kleiner Chanoff and Bonni Cohen, co-founders of Catapult Film Fund; Lauren Kushner, SFFILM Senior Manager of Artist Development; Caroline von Kühn, SFFILM Director of Artist Development; and Debra White, Grants Manager for California Humanities.
In a statement, the jury said, “We are honored to be able to support these three projects, which are all vastly different in terms of their artistic approach, point of access, and story, but united in their dedication to unearthing deeper truths and dismantling widely held assumptions. SFFILM and Catapult Film Fund are thrilled to be able to continue supporting filmmakers in early development, and advancing conversations about what development is and when it can happen in a film’s lifecycle. This important, foundational work is such a critical part of the process and one that is often not afforded to directors given the lack of funding and resources available for independent filmmakers.”
2019 SFFILM CATAPULT DOCUMENTARY FELLOWSHIPS
Ilse Fernandez – Exodus Stories: Voices from the Caravan
Ilse Fernandez has produced and directed over 200 hours of documentary programming and unscripted series for networks including ABC, NBC, VICE, MTV, Netflix, Univision, Discovery Channel, A&E, National Geographic, History Channel, and TLC. She worked as a director and field producer on five seasons of the A&E series Intervention, including the 2009 Outstanding Reality Program Emmy Award winning season; and was the showrunner on Viceland’s cutting-edge eight-part documentary series Cyberwar. Recently, she both directed and executive produced Spotify’s first documentary series about locations pivotal in music history called Music Happens Here, which won three Clio awards.
About Exodus Stories: Voices from the Caravan
A mass exodus where a 2,600 mile journey to the US border by foot or hitching rides separates Central American nightmare from American Dream. Exodus Stories is a feature-length documentary that intimately weaves together the harrowing experiences of three Central American immigrants who flee violence to join the migrant caravan, only to face their last but most decisive battle: making their case for asylum in the United States.
Allison Otto – The Heist
Allison Otto is an Emmy nominated, award-winning documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and visual journalist. Her clients have included National Geographic, the BBC, NBC, the Sierra Club, Atlas Obscura, and Lonely Planet. She was a 2019 Heartland Emmy finalist, a 2018 Telluride Mountainfilm Commitment grant recipient and a 2018 Roy W. Dean grant winner for her documentary short, The Love Bugs. In 2013, Otto released her first film, Keeper of the Mountains, which was awarded a Mountainfilm Commitment Grant, won 15 awards, screened in more than 30 countries and was named “One of the Best Adventure Films of 2013” by Outside magazine.
About The Heist:
It was one of the most audacious and puzzling crimes of a generation. In 1985, Willem de Kooning’s seminal work, “Woman-Ochre,” was sliced from its frame and stolen from the walls of an Arizona art museum, disappearing into the desert. Over 30 years later, in a remote town in New Mexico, the $160 million painting was rediscovered hanging behind the bedroom door of Jerry and Rita Alter—two mild-mannered schoolteachers who had recently passed away. The Heist is a quirky whodunnit that unravels the decades old mystery of who really stole “Woman-Ochre.”
Yusef Srouji – Suha
Yusef Srouji is a first-time documentary filmmaker and longtime storyteller. His work centers around understanding the dynamics of occupation in Palestine, and community resilience in conflict zones. He recently completed a Master of Development Practice at UC Berkeley and hopes to use his skills to aid and empower marginalized communities in the Middle East through self-sustainable practice. Srouji spent the first part of his childhood in Palestine, then relocated to Qatar with his family at the end of the Second Intifada. He attended the University of British Columbia, where he earned a BA in Economics.
About Suha:
Suha is the product of a young man’s journey rediscovering the time of civil and political conflict that changed the trajectory of his life and identity. Through home footage captured by his mother, Suha, Yusef Srouji sheds light on the daily impacts of war and the resilience of a family living in the midst of Palestine’s Second Intifada.
All SFFILM Catapult Documentary Fellows will receive:
- A $10,000 cash grant
- Time spent developing their project at FilmHouse, SFFILM’s artist community space. Residency at FilmHouse includes access to its robust series of presentations and workshops with leading industry professionals, peer reviews, and networking opportunities
- Strategic consultation from SFFILM and Catapult Film Fund staff, as well as a dedicated mentor, guiding them artistically and with industry support to successfully enter fundraising and production
The SFFILM Catapult Documentary Fellowship is one of many support programs designed for independent narrative and documentary filmmakers produced and managed by SFFILM Makers. To learn more about the filmmaker opportunities offered by SFFILM Makers, visit sffilm.org/makers.
In other documentary news, SFFILM renewed its relationship with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to produce a series of workshops that provide documentary filmmakers with opportunities to develop practical filmmaking skills. Through a $10,000 FilmCraft grant, SFFILM’s Doc Talks workshops—which take place at SFFILM’s FilmHouse residency space—give aspiring and emerging filmmakers the opportunity to learn from veteran documentary makers in an intimate setting. Workshops are designed for a wide range of artists, including FilmHouse residents, SFFILM members, student filmmakers attending local colleges and universities, and additional members of the Bay Area documentary community.
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 150 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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