Sponsored Projects
Film Independent Fiscal Sponsorship
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When social worker Johanna returns to her childhood home after the death of her estranged mother she must confront the abuse she experienced as a child, battling a force within the house that thinks Joanna is still a child in need of discipline..
Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Writer: Carolynn Cecilia
Co-Producer: Desiree Abeyta
Editor: Jamie Wright
Composers: Michelle Birsky & Kevin Henthorn
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An homage to gritty 70s horror, Stain-Free is the story of Billie, a crippled police officer-turned-illicit crime scene cleaner who struggles to hold onto her humanity while covering up the murders perpetrated by her mysterious Employer.
Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Phil Tice
Producer: Rudy Scalese
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Locations like the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs show how Stan’s work is a staple of the Mid Century Movement from a California artist working since the 1950’s to today. The film is a study of contrasts, Stan, a reserved man, whose work, much like Jackson Pollack’s, is the culmination of physical battle with his preferred medium, clay.
Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Francesca Di Amico
Director of Photography/Producer: Claudia Unger
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Elderly prisoners cost taxpayers billions and are the least likely to reoffend, which is why senior citizen activist Bill Ryan - who already helped to end the death penalty in Illinois - wants to set them free.
Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Writer/Producer: Ben Kolak
Producer: Yana Kunichoff
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Veteran suicide is a huge problem in the U.S. today. Steel Soldier follows military veterans and others struggling with PTSD as they use armored combat - an emerging combat sport - to deal with their traumas.
Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Creator/Producer: Carl Fisk
Director: Jamie Flanagan
Editor/DIT: Derek Evans
Co-Producer: Jordan Letsinger
Cinematographer: Madison McKamey
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A runaway man returns to Alaska to visit his ailing mother amidst a family rift leads to an unexpected entanglement with the homeless community and the revelation of a long-buried family secret that threatens to upend his entire life.
Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Jiin F. Chang
Producer: Bright Chang
Director of Photography/VFX Supervisor: Ryan Tester
Director of Photography: Nathan Shuttleworth
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A young mother's American Dream turns into a living nightmare until she finds the inner strength to listen to a voice she hadn't heard before: her own.
Project type: Fiction Feature
Director: Jared Martino
Assistant Director: Isabella Olaguera
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Writer/Director: Anne Lann
Producer: Lynnette Myers
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An inceptive lens exploring the convergence of poor eating habits and elevated sugar consumption promoting health disorders that plague the African American community with solution-oriented goals toward better health/well-being.
Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Michael Cooke
Producer: Anthony Hemingway
Producer: Anthony J. Davis
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Based upon personal experiences, SummerWinterSummer delves into the recurring cycle of trauma and shame faced by a gay Vietnamese American artist in his pursuit of love.
Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director/Producer: Thy Tran
Producer: Giovanni Labadessa
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Garrett (17) - a teenage cinephile whose congenital heart defect all-but guarantees he'll die before he's thirty - gets tapped to launch a media campaign for Sunburst Cinemas - a dying, independent movie theater, whose antiquated amenities, inept manager, and hapless, rag-tag employees all-but-guarantee it won't survive the summer.
Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Producer: Mark Wilson
Writer/Producer: Chris Retts
Producer: J.P. Oullette
Producer: Dylan Matlock
Executive Producer: Hilary Barraford
Cinematographer: Thomas Rose
Composer: Jacob Boyd
Sound Editor: Will Digby
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A Chinese-American mother and daughter pull into a gas station in rural Virginia but are refused service for being Asian. Mary stubbornly refuses to drive away until she gets served, so eight-year-old Shelly uses her imagination to help her mother preserve dignity in the face of racism. A dark comedy set in the 80’s. Based on a true story.
Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director/Producer: Christy Chan
Consulting Producer: Nico Opper
Executive Producer: Gordon Yamate
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In a war-torn country, a young girl named Danuta and her family play a dangerous game of hide-and-seek with soldiers as they struggle to survive.
Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Matt Balcerek
Producer: Pinar Binay
Director of Photography: Łukasz Dziedzic
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The sun sets too often on pregnant women in Nigeria who face an inescapable reality - to live or die. In Sunset, we follow some women on a journey to remove the veil of Nigeria's dichotomic healthcare system.
Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Adaku Uwandu
Producer: Ife Olatunji
Cinematographer: Gilliam De La Torre
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Triggered and wanting to escape her past trauma, Naomi, a young Asian American female, falls into the world of blackjack to regain a sense of control but finds herself addicted to the game.
Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Jess Dang
Producer: Jessica Olthof, Darren Haruo Rae
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Meet Jim. A police cadet fresh out of the academy who gets in over his head when he tries resolving a domestic abuse case outside the legal system. Good luck, Jim.
Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Quinn Armstrong
Producer: Colin West
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A private peek behind the curtain at award-winning celebrity chef, Susan Feniger, as she tries to create her first solo restaurant in Los Angeles: Susan Feniger’s STREET. The adventure of hunting down delicious street food takes Susan to Southeast Asia, China and then back to Los Angeles where the recipes refuse to behave and the build-out of the new restaurant goes horribly, horribly wrong.
Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Lisa Lachman
Producer: Lisa Donmall-Reeve
Co-Producer: Myrta Vida
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Swearing is a dramedy short film about GOD, SEX, and GROWING UP.
Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer: Mary Bronaugh
Producer: Natalie Galdamez
Leading Role/Executive Producer Sari Arambulo
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Shot over the lead actor’s first year on Testosterone, T follows Em through their journey of gender discovery, and the challenges and joys they face in their romantic relationships, friendships, and family.
Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Lane Michael Stanley
Producer: Lowell Blank
Executive Producer: Deb Fink
Lead Actor/Story: Mel Glickman
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Through intimate first-hand accounts, refugees describe their near-impossible journeys of hope from their African homes to European cities. Alongside, social and other aid workers provide a framework for challenges new immigrants often face as they attempt integration.
Project type: Fiction Short
Director: Daniel W Smith