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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Pieces of Eleanor

After receiving a life-threatening diagnosis Harper’s entire world is turned upside down when she finds herself under the care of a disinterested doctor.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer/Producer: v.c. rhone
Producers: Kate Rees Davies, Gabrielle Jeanelle, Suzie Abdou, Arlene Silguero

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Pillow Talk
Pillow Talk peeks into the intimate lives of 5 Gay Couples through their postcoital conversations. Their stories explore the Passion, Hope, Prejudice and Heartache of these diverse but relatable characters; to finally reveal that each is set at a different pivotal moment of LGBTQ+ history. History doesn't Repeat, but we Rhyme.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director/Producer/Editor: Ra-ey Saleh
Producer: Ben Arredondo
Director of Photography: Brandon Ripley

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Play The Game: A Jock ‘N’ Roll Story
A group of brainy football players from the worst college team in the country become bodyguards for rock legends Queen. Their whirlwind journey will give them an education in life and a chance at last to feel like champions.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Directors/Producers: Roland Mesa
Executive Producer: Walter Versen
Editor: Christopher Hume
Director of Photography: Alex Garcia

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Please Hold

In the near future, a young working-class Latino is thrust into a fully automated and privatized jail after being arrested by mistake.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director: K.D. Davila
Co-Writer/Co-Producer: Levin Meneske

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Politics is a Mother

Known as the ‘Feisty Grandma’, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg flipped New Jersey on its head when she unearthed the Bridgegate scandal, which caused the fast and hard fall of Governor Chris Christie. Told through the lens of a mother/daughter story, Politics Is A Mother, Raising Hell is Part Of The Job, reveals how the political is always personal and how an “adorable” grandmother could be one of the most important politicians of our time.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Francine Graff
Line Producer: Jonathan Graff

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Portrait of a Young Man

A high school boy's struggle with identity and an eating disorder, as his family attempts to heal past wounds and nurture future hope.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Writer: Brandon Shenk
Producer/Editor: Yining Xu
Executive Producer: Iman Zawahry
Co-Producer: Yu Ying Chien
Cinematographer: Vanon Li
Production Designer: Yudi Zhang
Director of Graphics: Yizhou He

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Professor Doctor: Shamanism in the Anthropocene

In 2015, the tiny West African nation of Togo was named “unhappiest” in the world by the World Economic Forum, yet Togolese subsistence farmer, Vodun (“Voodoo”) priest, and aspiring rapper known as “Professor Doctor” manages a high-level of happiness through an interconnectedness with the land. However, decades of clearcutting and erratic climatic patterns have devastated crop yields and biodiversity rates; the distressing reality of climate change threatens to eradicate every aspect of Prof Doc’s identity.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer/Cinematographer: Colin Scott
Director/Producer/Lead Researcher: Abby Snyder

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Project Mujeres

Project Mujeres” shines light on the pain of the women of Mexico, who actively fight to change machismo culture and its deadly toxicity.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Producer: Natasha MacLeay
Co-Producer: Mayur Agrawal
Director: Anuj Rawra
Editor/Director of Photography: Ashish Dawar
Community Outreach Coordinator: Merari Enriquez

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Proof of Loss

When a fire takes their home, a father and daughter must find a way to salvage what remains: each other.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Producer: Laura Zak
Producers: Katherine Fisher, Sheri Bradford

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Pterry

A boy struggles to fit in his school desk and in life. When he crosses paths with an equally eccentric girl at school, the two misfits harness their weaknesses together and unlock their superpowers to defy school bullies and gravity.

Project type: Fiction Short
Project status: Development
Writer/Director: John Michael Riva Jr.
Producer: Doug Barden
Cinematographer: Indeana Underhill
Production Designer: Kato Lawton
Editor: Mario Andrew Fierro

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Puberty for Humans

Puberty for Humans is perfect for your nervous health class students as they approach their inevitable cybernetic bodily changes. In this short educational video, Linus, an insecure prepubescent teenager, learns that everything will be okay… for everyone else.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Wester Demandante
Producer: Justin Ricafort
Producer: Derek Benig-Aiello
Producer: Zach Zahorik

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Pullin’ It Together

An optimistic administrator, who isn’t having a great workweek, tries to give herself a pep talk until two other personas actually appear and help her compose her thoughts for an upcoming meeting - yup - with a Karen!

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer/Producer: Joenique C. Rose
Producer: Guo Guo
Production Designer: Minolae Jain
Editor: Christine Douglas
Composer: Tiffany Román Louk

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Puzzle People

When a documentary on competitive speed puzzlers resonates with a film director, a quirky hobby becomes a tool for mental health and conversations around it.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Emily Sheskin
Producer: Ben Kainz

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Quentin Blue

In 2014, the band Quentin Blue was formed inside of San Quentin State Prison by men serving life sentences. In 2020, three band members were released and came to the same sober home in Los Angeles, where they have re-formed the band and now use music as part of their healing and reintegration into society.

Project type: Nonfiction Short
Project status: Development
Director/Producer: Lane Michael Stanley
Producer: Lowell Blank
Cinematographer: John David De Virgiliis
Editor: Prakshi Malik

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Rapt

In the hopes of gaining a coveted spot in a prestigious acting program, a young woman navigates a herculean audition process where her limits are tested in the pursuit of success, fame, and winning the game.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Co-Writer/Editor: Maggie Budzyna
Co-Writer/Producer: Christian Tasiopoulos
Cinematographer: Julia Swain

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Ray’s Theorem

Ray has a quiet, unassuming job as a statistician for the Paris Metro, but one lost opportunity convinces him to risk his entire department's future on the chance that he might be able to recreate that moment and get it right that time.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Producer: Brad Torreano

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Reaching New Heights: Fazlur Rahman Khan and the Skyscraper

Story of the American structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan, known as the ‘Einstein of structural engineering’ and ‘father of modern-day skyscrapers.’ Khan, a Muslim immigrant, built the iconic Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center in Chicago. His pioneering innovations literally transformed the landscape of America’s largest cities and paved the way for supertall skyscrapers worldwide.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Writer/Director/Producer: Laila Kazmi
Cinematographer: Ryan Purcell
Graphics and Animation: Begoña Lopez
Associate Producer: Arnila Guha Nolok

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Reckless

A teenage boy is dropped off to work on a school project with a classmate. The strangers are forced to connect and a harsh reality is revealed.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer: Major Dorfman
Producer: Creighton Dorfman
Producer: Grace Merriman
Producer: Justin Gonçalves
Producer: Will Pinke
Cinematographer: Cinematographer

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Red

In rural Pennsylvania, a teenage couple’s — James and Lizzy — relationship is interrupted by Aaron, the guy James almost hooked up with four months ago. Red explores being queer in conservative towns during hard times with empathy rather than disdain.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director/Producer: Scott Sullivan
Producer: Annalea Fiachi

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Redlight to Limelight

A group of sex workers and brothel youth form a film production house in the Kalighat redlight area, Kolkata, India. Despite the opposition from the conservative society, they are determined to become filmmakers, resist prostitution among the second generation, survive through the art of cinema, and aspire to transform the redlight area into a professional film colony in the post-pandemic time.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Bipuljit Basu
Producer: Nilotpal Majumdar
Producer: Max Tuula
Producer: Uldis Cekulis
Creative Consultant: Martijn te Pas
Cinematographer: Subhadeep Dey
Editor: Anirban Maity

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