Sponsored Projects

Film Independent Fiscal Sponsorship

New and innovative work, fiscally sponsored by Film Independent.
The Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists, supporting a diverse slate of projects at every stage of the filmmaking process – from development to distribution and beyond. Support Film Independent's creative community and help bring these projects to life by donating below.
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Juke Box Hero

This #metoo / #timesup feature about an aspiring rock star fights a mental breakdown along the road to stardom while pursued by a dysfunctional romantic. Drawn together and torn apart through humor, heartache and hope, the two grapple with the healing power of friendship and the damage wrought by demons of childhood.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director/Producer: Sherrie Richman
Writer: Christopher Kawika Brown

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Keep My Brother

Ava fights to maintain her own family, career and health while safeguarding her younger brother, Darryl, during his prolonged manic episode.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Sharona D’Ornellas
Producer: Catrina Del Re
Director of Photography: Nicholas Bupp

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King Djeferson
A modern-day story of resilience, perseverance, and determination, King Djeferson follows the story of Djeferson Mendes, who grew up in extreme poverty in Praça Onze, the beating heart of the city of Samba, and 35 years later was crowned King Momo of Rio’s famously spectacular Carnival of 2023.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Kelly Richardson

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La Fábrica de Ideas

Without power for six months following Hurricane Maria, and dependent upon importing materials from overseas for their public elementary school students, a small mountain community in Puerto Rico begins to transition towards autonomy by transforming an abandoned building next to the school into a solar-powered factory where they will build the items they once imported.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Gabriel Coss
Producer: Emma Crow-Willard

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Lady Buds

Six women emerge from the shadows of the California cannabis industry to go legal. As farmers, entrepreneurs and activists, these modern-day superheroes battle government bureaucracy, corporate interests and risk financial ruin in order to fight for the industry they helped create and for the survival of their community.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer/Writer: Chris J. Russo
Consulting Producers: Sarah Olson, Stephen Israel
Producer: Michael J. Katz
Executive Producer: Shauna Harden
Cinematographer/Producer: Christian Bruno
Editor/Writer: Tamara Maloney

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Lara’s Kitchen

After 60 years of marriage Amir (87) and Lara (78) both of the Druze faith, get divorced following a foolish argument. According to Druze belief, they are forbidden to see or speak to one another until the day they die. Lara moves across the street with her son and family to start her life anew, while Amir stays at home to cope with his solitude.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Co-Director and Writer: Yaron Yarkoni
Producer: Baher Agrabiya
Co-Director and Writer: Liat Dahan Yarkoni
Co-Writer: Hamed Sharoof

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Last Taxi Dance

In a ballroom called Paradise, in the aftermath of World War II, a beguiling Hawaiian singer dances with a returned American soldier and debates the dignity of the American dream. But when his dance tickets run out, she is left with a harsh choice – for when the dancing stops, this man will die.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Brayden Yoder
Producer: Ciara Leinaʻala Lacy

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Last Whaling Station

The Last Whaling Station is a feature length documentary film that follows the journey of Iranian artist and activist, Anahita Babaei, and American filmmaker Micah Garen, as they try to end whaling in Iceland.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Directors/Producers: Micah Garen and Anahtia Babaei

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Late Bloomers

After making a suicide pact, Sunday and Gigi go on their last road trip together, leaving behind their failed careers and relationships. Sunday’s grip on reality slowly unravels, as her decision to renege on the pact haunts her every move.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director/Actress: Spade Robinson
Producer/Director of Photography: Ayana Baraka
Production Design: Vanessa Plazo Lazo
Costume Design: Whitney Kyles
Composer: Sherri Chung
Executive Producer: Angela Edmond

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Latke vs Hamantash: The Movie

Much has been made about the Jewish tendency to obsess over everything – especially food. In this film, prominent Jews from around the world kvetch and kibbitz over whether a potato pancake or a triangular cookie is the more perfect Jewish delight, using a satirical debate to do it. With anti-semitism on the rise, this film makes us chuckle and reminds us of everything we love about being Jewish.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Executive Producer: Amy Krause
Editor/Post Production Producer: David Beerman
Animator/Graphic Designer: Marilyn Zornado

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Learning How To Drive

Bettina, a recent LA transplant and struggling actress-turned-babysitter, must chauffeur precocious preteen Wynn, to a sleepover in Laurel Canyon. There’s just one problem — she barely knows how to drive a car.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Producer/Actor: Bettina Bresnan
Director:Tyler Cunningham

Producer:Tallulah Dirnfeld, Brittany Suzanne Kelly, Jackson Rickun

Assistant Director: Emily Cohn

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Legally Brown

A scrappy brown high schooler must fight her way to be Elle Woods when the lead of her school's production of Legally Blonde: The Musical gets seriously injured ten minutes before showtime.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Producer: Maya Vyas
Director: Kirsten Hoang
Producer: Alyssa Callahan
Associate Producer: Sari Arambulo
Associate Producer: Nicole McCullough
Associate Producer: Ruhi Mansey

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Let the Church Say

In a time of racial upheaval and a multitude of woes affecting marginalized communities, a young, African American filmmaker journeys to the heart of the Black experience to find the answer to a daunting question: Is the Black church dead?

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Rafiq J Nabali
Producer: Joe Howell
Producer: Mahalia Latortue
Producer: Nancy Howard

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Let the Myth Be

Lauren thinks she’s awoken a monster. Faced with skepticism from the only person she trusts, she asks herself: can she believe what she sees or has she lost her mind?

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Carrington Walsh
Co-Producer/AD: Claire Liu

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Let Your Sisters Be

When sisters Alex and Claire learn of their abuser’s death, they journey to a New Zealand settlement to witness his burial.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director: Aileen O'Sullivan
Writer/Producer: Mary Sewell

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Letters to my Grandfather

In the aftermath of their venerated father’s death, two brothers travel to Europe to learn about his childhood experiences during the Holocaust that shaped a man they never fully knew.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Michael Gil
Producer/Editor: Nicholas Manting Brewer
Producer: Emily Grandcolas
Director of Photography: Feixue Tang

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Leveling Lincoln

Leveling Lincoln brings back to the forefront the first case in the Northern USA, where a school was torn down in the quest for equal rights in education. Mrs. Taylor vs. The Board of Education of New Rochelle, NY – 1961, was a landmark case brought by Lincoln School parents. Many still remember and speak on camera of this pivotal case, their childhood after the case, and how it relates to today’s educational struggles.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Arden Teresa Lewis
Producer/Assistant Director: Tinks Lovelace, Bag O' Bones Collective

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Life of the Party

After the death of their friend Evan, a group of 30-somethings try to suppress their grief during the celebration of life he wanted, a.k.a. The Best Funeral Party Ever. Life of the Party is a comedy about living with loss, it explores how we must move through our fear of mortality to ultimately go all-in on life.

Director: April Shih

Writers: Brandy Finmark, Nora Mcinery

Producers: Brandy Finmark, Nora Mcinery, Diversity Hire LTD, Make Good Content

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Light Go Shining

After the fall of Roe v. Wade, the lives of two women intersect: a pregnant 14 year old and a conservative supreme court justice dying of ovarian cancer.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Max Olson
Producer: Corrine Dye
Co-Producer: Julia Corcoran

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Light In Dark Places

A mother makes a shocking discovery when she’s left to pack up her daughter’s house after a tragic car accident.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director: Laguaria Davis
Producers: Valeria Lopez, Steak House

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