BERKELEY, Calif., August 15, 2023 – The Berkeley FILM Foundation (BFF) is proud to announce that it has awarded $200,000 in its 2023 grant cycle to 20 independent filmmakers and 5 student filmmakers who live, work or attend school in the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville, or Oakland.
Since its founding in 2009, BFF has awarded almost $2.6 million to 265 film projects that continuously push boundaries and inspire change. In its effort to encourage the next generation of local filmmakers, BFF has awarded $227,000 to 66 student filmmakers.
This year’s Saul Zaentz Award for $25,000, given each year to honor the legacy of renowned filmmaker and a BFF founder, Saul Zaentz, goes to Courtney Quirin for Tracker. This film follows an intimate group of students admitted to Tracker Academy, a premier program in South Africa that teaches traditional wildlife tracking skills to young people. The Academy seeks to preserve this indigenous knowledge of nature, integrate ancient skills into modern conservation and convince new generations that tracking is a valuable and rewarding profession. This film is in post-production. To learn more about the film, visit their website here.
The $20,000 Al Bendich Award is granted to The Package Wars directed by Yael Bridge and produced by Yoni Golijov, Mars Verrone and Jeremy Flood. This Award is given in honor of civil rights attorney, social justice advocate and BFF founding member, Al Bendich. This documentary follows UPS workers in New York, California, and Kentucky as they prepare for an explosive labor strike, the largest seen in generations. From behind the closed doors of contentious negotiation meetings to screaming matches out on fired-up picket lines, audiences will witness the powerful journey of everyday UPS workers going toe-to-toe with a global logistics giant. This film is currently in production. Visit their website here for more information.
We are also happy to announce the 4th annual Jonathan Logan Elevate Award for $25,000 in partnership with the Berkeley-based Jonathan Logan Family Foundation (JLFF). This award supports one emerging filmmaker each year for five years and will reflect JLFF’s mission: to advance social justice by empowering world-changing work in documentary, investigative journalism, and arts and culture. This year’s Elevate Award is granted to Finding Ma directed by Thanh Tran. After 20 years apart, a family shattered by the foster care and prison systems reunites to heal old wounds and rebuild their bonds, starting with finding their mom who is houseless in the streets of Sacramento. This film is in production. Thu Vo is the Production Coordinator and Phoenix Woodall is the Associate Producer. Visit the film’s website here for more information.
Other films receiving 2023 grants are:
Finding the Money
Maren Poitras, Director, Marc Smolowitz, Executive Producer.
Friendly Signs
Rahsaan “New York” Thomas, Director, Producer and Writer, Brian Asey, Director of Photography, Producer and Editor, Christine Yoo, Producer.
Gloria
Kim Blanck, Writer and Director, Caitlin Machak, Cinematographer.
Growing Up with Ghosts
Marilyn Mulford and Aleixo Gonzalves, Co-Directors, Co-Producers.
Holder of the Sky
Tsanavi Spoonhunter, Director.
Midwaste
Liz Roberts, Director.
Mother
Meg Shutzer and Brandon Yadigari Moreno, Co-Creators.
My Sister-In-Law the Prime Minister
Lexi Leban, Director and Producer, Violet Du Feng and S.Leo Chiang, Producers.
¡Quba!
Kim Anno, Director and Co-Producer, Kyung Lee, Co-Producer and Editor.
Sinking Feeling
Zachary Epcar, Director.
Sweeping Graves
Kevin Duncan Wong, Writer and Director, Vanessa Moreno Gentry, Writer and Producer.
The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane
Maureen Gosling, Director, Jed Riffe, Producer and Nina Menéndez, Executive Producer.
The Eclipse 5:40
Maria Victoria Ponce, Writer, Director and Producer, Liz Anderson, Producer, Alexander Fletcher, Director of Photography.
The Highest Standard
Isara Krieger, Director, Producer and Cinematographer, Jessica Estelle Huggins, Producer.
Tulare Lake
John Picklap, Director.
Undocumented Justice
Marlene (Mo) Morris, Director and Producer, Jed Riffe, Producer, Nicole Solis-Sison, Producer.
Wood Street Untitled Documentary
Caron Creighton, Director, Estevan Padilla, Producer.
STUDENT FILMS
ARTificial Intelligence
Tanay Gokhale and Zhiwei Feng, Co-Creators.
University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
Jardines
Alfredo Torres
University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
That Kid from Oakland
Pablo Hernandez and Ciella Sfirri, Co-Creators.
University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
The Spark
Gabriel Studer-Randall, Co-Producer and Cinematographer, Emrys Mayell, Co-Producer and Cinematographer, Brian Barth Director and Co-Producer.
San Francisco State University
The Weight They Carry
Grace Galletti and Zhiwei Feng, Co-Creators.
UC Berkeley School of Investigative Journalism
“The diversity of the stories we are supporting this year is astonishing. From here in the Bay Area, we learn about an inmate at San Quentin Prison bridging the divide with deaf inmates (“Friendly Signs”), how an Oakland homeless encampment is dealing with the risk of eviction (“Wood Street Untitled Documentary”) and how the opening of a new bar is revitalizing the area’s queer community (“Mother”). We are then transported across the globe to South Africa where an elite academy is teaching the dying art of wildlife tracking (“Tracker”), and then to Iceland where the nation’s Prime Minister is fighting for her political future (“My Sister-in-Law the Prime Minister”). This year we have funded personal stories of redemption and reflection and fiction films that artistically highlight larger cultural themes using a narrative voice. The student films are impressive analyses of crucial issues often left out of today’s headlines. These grantees prove, once again, that East Bay filmmakers are producing stories with a global reach and bringing attention to essential political and cultural topics.”
– Abby Ginzberg, President and Board Chair of the Berkeley FILM Foundation
Mission:
The Berkeley FILM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) grant organization for independent filmmakers founded by the City of Berkeley, Wareham Development, and the Saul Zaentz Company with a mission to nurture, sustain and preserve the thriving local film community while attracting the next generation of filmmakers. The BFF focuses on supporting the ideals reflected in Berkeley culture: social, historical and innovative documentary and dramatic works. Many of the BFF grant winners have gone on to screen at U.S. and international film festivals, been recognized with prestigious awards, received television broadcasts, and are making a difference around the world.
Please visit our website for announcements of upcoming events: www.berkeleyfilmfoundation.org, www.twitter.com/BerkeleyFilmFdn and www.facebook.com/BerkeleyFilmFoundation.
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