|
|
| Sundance Institute Announces Doc Grant Recipients |
|
|
August 27, 2004
The Sundance Institute Documentary Fund announced its second round of grants for 2004. Eleven feature-length documentary films, selected from over 400 submissions, will receive a total of $435,000. The fund, established at the Sundance Institute in 2002 by a grant from the Open Society Institute, is dedicated to supporting U.S. and international documentary films and videos that focus on current human rights issues, freedom of expression, social justice, and civil liberties.
Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grants are announced twice a year and since its inception at the Institute, the Fund has disbursed over $2 million to 73 projects.
A committee of human rights experts and film professionals selected the recipients from projects submitted by filmmakers from around the world. These projects represent a wide range of topics: an exploration of the war in Iraq; landmines and their impact on families in Afghanistan; the global community’s reaction to genocide; the political challenges faced by the government of Pakistan; marriage and divorce in Israel; in-depth stories about the lives of immigrants and refugees; and the search for justice and coexistence.
In supporting such work, the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund encourages the diverse exchange of ideas crucial to developing an open society, raising public consciousness about human rights abuses and restrictions of civil liberties, and fostering an ongoing debate about these issues.
“These projects were selected from among the strongest field of submissions we've ever received," said Diane Weyermann, director of Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. "This is an exciting time for risky, political nonfiction film. Audiences and distribution opportunities for documentary films are increasing, and the marketplace is looking for new and interesting stories. Each of these films illuminates a compelling story that brings us closer to understanding the world we live in and we're proud to be supporting these filmmakers as they move forward with their projects.”
The Sundance Institute Documentary Fund considers projects in three categories — Work In Progress, Development, and Supplemental. Documentaries in production or post-production are eligible for the more substantial Work in Progress grants. Development grants provide seed funds to filmmakers whose projects are in the early research stage or in pre-production. The program awards supplemental grants to projects that have previously received Development grants and meets the criteria for Work In Progress grants. Details on the fund’s award guidelines can be found on the Sundance Institute website, . ">www.sundance.org
The eleven Sundance Documentary Fund grant recipients are:
WORK IN PROGRESS GRANTS
Natalia Almada, AL OTRO LADO (TO THE OTHER SIDE), (US)
AL OTRO LADO (TO THE OTHER SIDE) illuminates the economic crisis forcing many Mexicans to turn to drug trafficking or other dangerous border crossings by tracing the stories of three musicians as they travel to the U.S. from the Mexican drug capital of Sinaloa.
Raed Andoni, IMPROVISATION, (Palestine)
IMPROVISATION explores the conflict of identity faced by different generations of Palestinians, as told through the story of a family of musicians who are divided in their political views, but united by their passion for Oud and Arab classical music.
Eugene Jarecki, WHY WE FIGHT, (US)
WHY WE FIGHT explores the anatomy of the American war machine and moves beyond how the Iraq war was waged to the deeper question of why.
Anne Makepeace, REFUGEE DREAMS, (US)
REFUGEE DREAMS chronicles a year in the lives of two extended Somali Bantu families as they leave a legacy of oppression in Africa to face new challenges in America.
Nicole Newnham and David Grabias, SENTENCED HOME, (US)
SENTENCED HOME explores the ongoing deportations of convicted Cambodian Americans by following three young offenders from Seattle and their forced return to Cambodia, a home they barely know.
Dennis O’Rourke, LAND MINES: A LOVE STORY, (Australia)
Filmed in Afghanistan, LAND MINES: A LOVE STORY reveals the stories of people whose lives and relationships have been defined by land mines.
Leslie Woodhead, HASAN’S WAR, (UK)
HASAN’S WAR chronicles one man’s quest to bring the authors of the Srebenica genocide to justice. The film reveals the continuing failure of the international community to take action against those known to have commited mass killings.
Anat Zuria, SENTENCED TO MARRIAGE, (Israel)
SENTENCED TO MARRIAGE traces the story of three women who fight for their right to divorce in Israel where there are no civil marriages and where all marriages and divorces take place under the auspices of the Jewish Rabbinical court.
DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
Renata Gritskova, AFTER, (Belarus)
As a follow-up film to PRISON CAMP, Gritskova reexamines the lives of the young men imprisoned in Belarus, as they are released and attempt to assimilate into mainstream culture and lifestyle.
Sabiha Sumar, MUSHARRAF’S DESTINY, (Pakistan)
Explores the challenges facing President Musharraf of Pakistan in his attempts to contain Islamists and modernize his country in a post 9/11 world.
SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS
Mercedes Moncada, THE IMMORTAL, (Nicaragua/Spain)
Moncada investigates post-civil war Nicaragua and its current environment of religious manipulation, male chauvinism and poverty.
|
|
|
|
|
|