May 24, 2022
Announcing Our Spring 2022 Grantees
LEF has awarded 11 Moving Image Fund grants totaling $205,000 in support of feature-length documentary works in production and post-production.
The LEF Moving Image Fund invests in feature-length documentary films that demonstrate excellence in technique, strong storytelling ability, and originality of artistic vision and voice. The most recent round of awards includes seven grants of $15,000 to projects at the Production stage and four grants of $25,000 to projects at the Post-production stage. 
 
This year’s selected films represent a chorus of perspectives questioning how best to celebrate, conserve, and connect with the past and present while forging ahead into an unwritten future. 
Production

  • COSMIC CODA (dir./prod. Mary-Jane Doherty)
  • Kaksori! (dir. Shirley Kim-Ryu, Eben Portnoy; prod. Kim-Ryu, Portnoy, Marcela Santibañez)
  • King Luck (dir. Emily Graham-Handley; prod. Graham-Handley, Tom Donahue)
  • My Disability Roadmap (dir. Dan Habib, Samuel Habib; prod. Dan Habib)
  • Requiem for a River (dir. Mary Patierno; prod. Patierno, Hugo Pérez)
  • The Source of Life (Te Puna Ora) (dir. Virginie Tetoofa; prod. Kiran Jandu, Riham Ezzaldeen, Ciara Lacy)
  • Untitled Wastewater Documentary (dir. Kaitlyn Schwalje, Alex Wolf Lewis; prod. Rebecca Stern, Justin Levy)
Post-production

  • Adam's Apple (dir. Amy Jenkins)
  • Cairo, IL Project (working title) (dir. Lisa Marie Malloy, JP Sniadecki, Ray Whitaker; prod. Karin Chien, Wynne Hannan)
  • Israelism (dir. Eric Axelman, Sam Eilertsen; prod. Axelman, Daniel Chalfen)
  • School District (dir. Leigh Morfoot, Jason Morfoot; prod. Leigh Morfoot)
FSC-LEF Fellowship
Image description: In this close-up still from Amy Jenkins's work-in-progress, Adam's Apple, shaving cream forms a beard over the smiling face of Adam, a young boy with light skin.
Earlier today, LEF joined the Harvard Film Study Center in announcing that Amy Jenkins has been selected as the 2022-23 recipient of the Film Study Center-LEF Foundation Fellowship with her project “Adam’s Apple.”

The FSC-LEF Fellowship, open to Boston-area nonfiction directors who are not currently affiliated with Harvard, aims to foster connections between Harvard filmmakers and those in the surrounding filmmaker community. One filmmaker per academic year receives a $10,000 grant (jointly funded by FSC and LEF Foundation), access to FSC production and post-production equipment, and the opportunity to participate in the Harvard FSC community through work-in-progress screenings, workshops, and other activities. Fellowship applications are accepted in the January round of the LEF Moving Image Fund Production and Post-production grant cycle and the final recipient of the FSC-LEF Fellowship is selected by the Film Study Center.


The next Moving Image Fund grant deadline is Friday, June 3, 2022 for New England-based directors and producers seeking Pre-production and Early Development support for feature-length documentaries. Find more information about guidelines and eligibility here.

For more information on the Foundation or its funded projects, please contact Program Officer Matthew LaPaglia at matthew@lef-foundation.org.
The LEF New England team
Lyda, Gen, & Matthew

LEF Foundation
PO Box 382066
Cambridge, MA 02238
617.492.5333
A private family foundation dedicated to the support of contemporary arts, LEF was established in 1985 with offices in Massachusetts and California. The Moving Image Fund was launched in 2001 through the LEF office in Cambridge, MA to support independent film and video artists. Since its inception, the Moving Image Fund has awarded over 400 grants to New England-based independent filmmakers with approximately $4.2 million in funding. The goal of LEF New England is to fund the work of independent documentary film and video artists in the region and to broaden recognition and support for their work locally and nationally. It also supports programs that highlight the rich history and ongoing legacy of innovation within New England's independent film community. The overarching goal of LEF New England's philanthropic investment is to help build a sustainable and strong community of support for artists and their work.