LEF Moving Image Fund Grantee News
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Image description: Two images, left/top to right/bottom: In this still from Khary Saeed Jones's work-in-progress NIGHT FIGHT, a dark hallway leads to an open door bathed in red light; In this still from Pedro de Filippis's work-in-progress REJEITO, a figure looks through binoculars at the top of a ladder propped up against a brick wall crowned with looping barbed wire.
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Sundance has announced its 2022 Documentary Fund awardees. Included in this year's selected films for production is LEF-supported project NIGHT FIGHT, directed by Khary Saeed Jones ( WHERE THE PAVEMENT ENDS) and produced by Jones and Kendra Taira Field. Jones's hybrid documentary centers a Black man navigating the tumultuous summer of 2020 on a national, social, and personal scale. A post-production awardee is REJEITO, directed by Pedro de Filippis with producers Leonardo Mecchi, prior LEF grantee and 2021 LEF Flaherty Fellow Bronte Stahl (BEYOND THE FOLD), and Tarsila Nakamura. REJEITO addresses the communities in Brazil emerging from the shadow of hazardous dams and corporate interests. See the full list of Sundance awardees.
Revolutions per Minute Festival will run October 18-23. Organized by prior LEF grantee Wenhua Shi (RED SPECTRUM) and co-hosted by the Art and Art History Department and Cinema Studies at UMass-Boston, the Brattle Theatre, and Harvard FAS CAMLab, RPM Fest is dedicated to short-form poetic, personal, experimental film, essay film, animation, documentary, video and audiovisual performance. Some LEF-supported filmmakers in this year's programs are: Jackie Goss (HART’S LOCATION), Jodie Mack (THE GRAND BIZARRE), Kathryn Ramey (EL SIGNO VACÍO) , Brittany Gravely (BLOOD OF THE EARTHWORM), Luis Arnias (UNDOCUMENTED PLEASURE), and 2019 LEF Flaherty Fellow Carl Elsaesser. See all the films playing at RPM and get your tickets.
A screening of short-form films, "Up and Down the River," will take place at the Montague, MA Common Hall on Saturday, October 15 at 7pm. Organized by 2017 LEF Flaherty Fellow Sarah Bliss, the program of films on place and placemaking along the Connecticut River includes works from prior LEF grantees Abraham Ravett (LUNCH WITH FELA) and Josh Weissbach (THE PLACE OF BAD NOISES), who was also a 2015 LEF Flaherty Fellow, and Amber Bemak, a 2016 LEF Flaherty Fellow. The event will highlight work shot on celluloid and offer attendees the opportunity to try their hand at moving filmstrip through a projector. RSVP on Facebook.
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Are you a LEF grantee or fellow with news to share about your film?
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State of Vermont's Film and Media Task Force Listening Sessions
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Image Description: As frames on a strip of celluloid, three images from left to right: a camera is pointed at a person with long brown hair in front of a pink background; a camera operator films a kneeling person extending their arms in line with overturned ironing boards; an orchestra on stage with a projected image of an elderly person with short white hair, a goatee, and glasses above them.
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Established by the Vermont state legislature, the Film and Media Industry Task Force is charged with examining effective ways to cultivate a vibrant film and media industry in Vermont. It was established in 2022 by the Vermont state legislature in bill S.11 and signed into statute by Gov. Phil Scott. Task Force members are Sen. Randy Brock, Rep. Stephanie Jerome, Vermont Arts Council Executive Director Karen Mittelman (Task Force chair), and Vermont Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Heather Pelham.
Join the Task Force to share your ideas and perspectives in the final online listening session, which will focus on the experiences of other state-supported film offices. The Task Force will hear invited testimony from representatives from other states as well as from Vermont's film and media industry and then invite open discussion and Q&A with registered participants. A recording will be available after the session.
The final listening sessions will take place via Zoom from 4:30-6:00pm on Thursday, October 20. Register here.
A recording of the first listening session on September 29 is available to watch here.
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Image Description: Bright Lights Cinema Series Logo
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Bright Lights Cinema Series
The Fall 2022 program for the Bright Lights Cinema Series is currently running through December 15. Bright Lights is a weekly screening series sponsored by the Emerson VMA department to collaborate with other exhibitors in the Boston area and keep communal moviegoing alive. It is free and open to the public, with ticketed events on Thursdays at the Bright Family Screening Room on the 4th floor of the Paramount Center (559 Washington St, Boston).
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Some exciting documentaries in the lineup are: Subject (October 13), Free Chol Soo Lee (October 27), Mama Bears (November 17), Long Live My Happy Head (Decmber 8), and Fire of Love (December 15).
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Image Description: Creative Ground Logo
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Creative Ground
CreativeGround is New England's community-generated, free, online arts and culture directory that provides visibility, connection, and information to support a region-wide creative network.
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Both a database and directory, the user-generated and maintained profiles on CreativeGround provide a real-time picture of the creative people and places at work in the six New England states. The platform enables the people of the creative community to share who they are, what they do, and what they contribute. The site remains the only searchable creative economy research database/asset map in the U.S. that is updated directly by the community.
Take a look at the directory and add your profile here.
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Upcoming Film Opportunities
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Image Description: Interlace Logo
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Interlace Project Grants (Deadline: October 11)
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Interlace Project Grants range from $4,000 to $6,000 and support artist-driven projects in the Providence area. Interlace prioritizes the making of new visual artworks that expand the public’s understanding of the visual arts, especially through unexpected collaborations. Interlace Project Grants should be the primary source of funding for the proposed project.
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Image Description: CT.gov Logo
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Connecticut Artist Fellowship Program (Deadline: October 17)
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The Artist Fellowship Program provides recognition and funding support for Connecticut artists to pursue new work and advance their artistic careers. The program recognizes three grant designations with award recognition determined during the review process: Artistic Excellence grants ($5,000),
Artist Fellowship grants ($3,000), and Emerging Recognition grants ($1,000). Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and a full-time resident of Connecticut at the time of application deadline.
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Image Description: Frameline Logo
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Frameline Completion Funds (Deadline: October 31)
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Grants up to $5,000 are available for the completion of documentary, narrative, experimental, animated, or episodic projects that represent and reflect LGBTQ+ life in all its complexity and richness. Grants are given only for completion, so projects must have 90% of production finished and be in the post-production phase or ready to begin post as soon as funding is in place.
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Image Description: Jewish Film Institute Logo
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Jewish Film Institute Filmmakers in Residency Program (Deadline: October 31)
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The JFI Filmmakers in Residence Program is a year-long, competitive artist residency that provides creative, marketing, and production support for emerging and established documentary filmmakers whose projects encourage thoughtful consideration of Jewish history, life, culture, and identity. Residents will participate in cohort meetings, workshops, consultations, and mentorship, and will convene at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Independent feature or short-form documentary projects in any stage from development through completion are eligible.
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Image Description: From the Heart Productions Logo
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Roy W. Dean Film Grants (Deadline: October 31)
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The Roy W. Dean Film Grants fund independent feature films, documentaries, web series, and short films with budgets of $500,000 or less. Winners of the grants receive a cash award as well as goods and discounted services offered by film industry companies and professionals who care about getting good films produced.
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Image Description: Mass Cultural Council Logo
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MCC Cultural Sector Recovery Grants for Individuals (Deadline: November 1)
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Mass Cultural Council’s Cultural Sector Recovery Grants for Individuals offers unrestricted grants of $5,000 to creatives and gig workers to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and set a path for growth. Applicants must be a full-year resident of Massachusetts, 18 years or older, and an artist or cultural practitioner active in any artistic discipline or cultural tradition, a teaching artist/scientist/humanist, or a cultural worker in the arts, humanities, or interpretive sciences.
A recording of the October 6 info session can be found at the link below.
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Image Description: Assets for Artists Logo
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Assets for Artists Autumn 2022 Workshops (September - November)
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The Assets for Artists free artist-led workshops are available to artists of all disciplines in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. This season's workshop topics include website management, relationship building, artist statements, resource mapping, career planning, grant building, and artist contracts.
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Image Description: Points North Institute Logo
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Diane Weyerman Fellowship (Deadline: January 13)
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Up to three original, feature-length documentaries in production from global filmmaking teams will be selected to participate in an 18-month collaborative Fellowship. Resources provided to Fellows include $100,000 in unrestricted, non-recoupable grants per project, mentorship from veteran filmmakers and industry leaders, two festival-based creative retreats, and ongoing professional development – all designed to support the completion of their films and the advancement of sustainable careers as artists.
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Image Description: Color Congress Logo
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Color Congress Fall Membership Enrollment (Ongoing)
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Eligible applicants will join the Congress in the Fall. Color Congress members are organizations based in the U.S. or territories that offer programming or free services to support storytellers and leaders of color working in the documentary field or nurturing audiences of color for documentaries, wherein the majority of the leadership team identifies as people of color.
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Image Description: Documentary Accountability Working Group Logo
The framework serves as a crucial entry point for early career filmmakers and a valuable check-in for more experienced filmmakers alike. The guiding principles of a non-extractive, ethical mode of filmmaking supported in the framework center on six core values (which are summarized on DAWG's website):
- Integrate anti-oppression practices into your work
- Be transparent in your relationships
- Acknowledge your positionality
- Respect the dignity and agency of the people in your film
- Prioritize the needs, well-being and experience of the people associated with your film
- Treat all potential audience members with dignity, care and concern
DAWG emphasizes that "the process is the product," meaning that the ways one conducts the making of a film determines the outcome of that entire process. In this vein, they propose an urgent sixth and preliminary phase of production, reflection, during which filmmakers consider their positionality and the potential harm a project like theirs might cause. The framework breaks down each subsequent phase of production and the opportunities therein for taking a values-based approach by identifying considerations to be made, itemizing action values, and detailing narrative examples of the described practices in action.
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Thanks for reading and 'til next time,
The LEF New England team
Lyda, Gen, & Matthew
LEF Foundation
PO Box 382066
Cambridge, MA 02238
617.492.5333
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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.
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