Awesome Foundation - Projects

Washington, DC – Good In Our Neighborhood Film Festival

2018-03-28T00:00:00Z

The majority of our students at Washington Global Public Charter School are from Southwest and Southeast, DC. Since they realize no matter which ward they reside in there is so much good in their neighborhoods, students collaborated with their teacher to test concepts for showing other DC residents (as well as the entire DMV community) the good that makes their neighborhoods unique and beautiful. Students also decided a film festival displaying both their talents as well as the great things in their communities would be one of the best ways to give back to the communities they love. Therefore, their goal is to create a series of documentary, short films, and animations that highlight exciting residential and commercial areas of both Southeast and Southwest as well as the residents and rich history in both areas of DC. It is their hope that creating a series of positive documentaries, short films and animations about the Southwest and Southeast communities will bring those communities together and show everyone who attends the good in their neighborhoods.

Ann Arbor, MI – Ward 1 Productions, Ypsi's Youth Creative Agency

2018-03-05T00:00:00Z

Ward 1 Productions is Ypsilanti's youth-driven creative agency. Our mission is to teach youth marketable skills in the new creative economy. We are supported in part through MichiganWorks! job training programs and the incredible support of our partner/ customers. Our Beliefs: We are a team of adult and youth coaches who share certain basic beliefs: We believe stories from seldom-heard communities have particular and extraordinary power; We believe the best stories come from within the story's own community; We are practical people who believe in the power of good jobs and see ever-growing demand for production expertise in the new media economy Our Work: We produce authentic, beautiful and prideful media content. Along the way, we also teach youth leadership and job skills through our project-based training program called the Ward 1 Productions System: Project Management, Budgeting, Documentary Writing, Storyboarding, Interviewing for Film, Videography, Lighting, Sound & Staging, Editing, Social Media Management, Event Planning Our Home: We are based in Ypsilanti Michigan's Ward 1, the traditionally African-American voting district in the heart of town. Our pride runs deep: Ward 1 was a major stop on the Underground Railroad where African-American churches organized the final leg into Canada - just a short river trip away During WW II, Ward 1 was home to African-Americans working at the nearby Willow Run bomber plant - a huge force in the Arsenal of Democracy. Today Ward 1 is still home to people who make things and make things happen. We are now all sorts of colors, ethnicities and races who live by the beautiful Huron River and work everyday to advance justice and find joy Our First Project; We started with a project for the Ypsilanti Housing Commission telling the story of the historic Parkridge neighborhood. Check it out on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=38Oy4M2aWEA

Tallahassee, FL (Inactive) – Tallahassee Film Festival

2018-02-27T00:00:00Z

We are reviving the old Tallahassee Film Festival, which first launched a decade ago and fizzled out in a mere four years. Original artistic director Chris Faupel and I managed to produce some 25 one-off shows between 2013-15. Now we want to stage a full weekend festival (March 23-25) of new independent film, modeled on some of the many successful and beautifully idiosyncratic regional festivals that have become enduring and nurturing mainstays of their community's cultural life (Sidewalk in Birmingham; Indie Memphis; Cucalorus in Wilmington, N.C.; and many others). We have secured All Saints Cinema and FSU's Student Life Center cinema, and will partner with bars, clubs, galleries and other businesses in the All Saints/Gaines Street area. Films, mostly by undiscovered talents and festival faves, will include shorts, docs, fictional features, experimental and cult revivals. We'll be looking to spotlight as much regional flavor as possible, and introduce audiences to a wide and diverse array of styles, genres, perspectives and intentions. Mostly, it should be provocative, stimulating and fun – and unlike anything that's happened here before under a film festival banner.

Melbourne (Inactive) – Kids' Urban Dreaming

2018-02-01T00:00:00Z

A child-led project that embraces kids creative wackiness and allows them to take over spaces and install their own flavor. Kid's are given the tools to design and create their own amazing creations within public space. We have a series of projects coming up that really need funding out in Northern Geelong, in Corio to be exact. Corio is an extremely underfunded community with little in the way of creative outlets for kids. Over 12 months we are working at 4 different (2 primary schools and 2 community centers) locations to allow the kids of Corio to add their bit of spice to their community, some color and help them to make their mark. Based on the original concept of the adventure playground we are collaborating with local kids to create a series of pop up and permanent works. Kids will be the lead artists, we will give them both the skills and the tools to build cubby houses, skateboard ramps, create short films, cook up a storm in the kitchen or just host a community gathering. The kids are taking over. Our two schools are our permanent sites where kids will design and build structures i.e. they will be creating their very own adventure playgrounds on the school grounds. This may include the building of a cubby house, setting up a kitchen garden or just creating some cool outdoor structures from recycled timbers and whatever else we can get our hands on. The two community centers will work slightly differently, they will be more pop up projects. We have designated public spaces located at the back and front (respectively) at the two sites. We will host pop up junkyard playgrounds, mini-festivals, performance days the list goes on. The kids will decide on exactly what happens. This project is an extension of our original Pop Up Junkyard Playground project and is also being run as a research project (which unfortunately apart from my basic scholarship which covers living expenses they don't fund) and with the hope of extending further afield.

Miami, FL – Before It's Too Late

2018-01-04T00:00:00Z

Before It's Too Late (BITL) is a non-profit climate action prototyping lab founded out of MIT to leverage arts and technology to awaken and unite society to take action on climate change. BITL is partnered with The CLEO Institute and City of Miami to launch pilot programs that shed light on sea level rise impacts and solutions. Our programs include virtual reality, team workshops and activist art. We are also collaborating with research centers across MIT, FIU and UM to develop and share our social theory of change, which incorporates the latest research on climate communication, behavioral science and design. VR Lab Pilot: We are engaging a team of 9th and 10th graders at Cushman High School in Miami, FL to produce and market virtual reality pieces to raise awareness and motivate action on local climate change issues. We will widely distribute the VR experiences to K-12 schools, public libraries and target audiences across South Florida. The VR Lab is conducted in partnership with Genius Plaza and CLEO Institute. The VR lab projects include: “Miami Rising: The People Fighting Climate Change” - 360 short films and photos will build climate change narratives for real people in Miami among three target audiences in Greater Miami - businesses, vulnerable/ low-income communities and faith/spiritual base. These films share these communities’ attitudes about climate change, solutions already underway and hopes for the future. “Miami Year 2050” - VR prototypes will feature the students’ visions for a green Miami city of the future through immersive VR.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Hard Tellin' Women in the Fishing Industry

2017-08-09T00:00:00Z

The Maine Coast Fishermen's Association seeks funding to create a series of short videos that will be used to tell the story of issues such as climate change, fishing heritage, the future of fishing, and local seafood. We are working with the Knack Factory, a production company based in Portland, Maine, to develop a thoughtful and cohesive story-line. Knack will also be producing the videos. These videos will be used via social media, shared with colleagues and partners, and screened at MCFA events. The project will culminate with a longer documentary, as well as, a virtual reality film where people will be able to follow a fish from the boat to a processor to a market to a restaurant – from the fish’s perspective. We chose videos to tell these stories because video inherently resonates and moves people to action more frequently and visual content resonates more strongly and creates a strong sense of empathy. Ultimately, videos are a preferred avenue for receiving information when it comes to education. Our goals are: 1.) Portray climate change impacts via a fisherman’s perspective to engage other fishermen and alter the story being told of fishermen and climate change; 2.) Engage consumers in a more relatable and accessible way; 3.) Share stories from various parts of the industry to develop a more well-rounded view of the industry. (This will include women in the industry, arts, trends, culture, restaurants, conservation efforts, and community.) About the nam: Hard Tellin' is common nomenclature amongst fishermen in Maine. It means "I"m not sure" or "it's hard to tell without more information." When asking people about the future of fishing this is often the answer from fishermen. It's a nod to fishermen, the uncertainty of their future, and the efforts they are making to conserve their industry. Maine Coast Fishermen's Association works with small-boat, community-based fishermen that live and work in Maine.

San Antonio, TX – Cinema on Tap

2017-08-01T00:00:00Z

Cinema on Tap is a free film series in San Antonio, TX exclusively featuring independent films and local shorts paired with craft beer. Every feature film we show is a unique, bold and passionately made independent film and is always preceded by a short film shot in San Antonio or made by a San Antonio filmmaker. We have had every event at a craft beer taproom or a local distillery, where we promote equally passionately made beer and small batch spirits. Previously, we have had homes at Big Hops and Edwards Ridge Distillery where there was a projector and screen available for us. We are now looking to turn our series into a true pop-up, where we have the ability to travel to different craft beer locations around San Antonio, regardless of set up, and put on amazing events. To do this, and to keep this series free, as every event has been thus far, we are looking for funding for equipment and licensing costs. In the future, we hope to expand beyond just craft beer and be able to have events in random, unannounced locations or in established venues like parks, art galleries, or anything else we brew up. We also plan to share our equipment. We will partner not only with local filmmakers, but with San Antonio-based student filmmaking programs to provide them our equipment for their own events. We also want to spread the word through fundraising for these programs at some of our events.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Stories & Songs of the Amazon, 360° Documentary

2017-06-19T00:00:00Z

In July, my partner and I will travel to Peru into the Amazon rainforest. We’ll be filming a series of short 360° documentaries about the stories and medicine songs, or ikaros, of Shipibo healers indigenous to the Ucayali region of the Amazon. The Shipibo have deeply artistic and spiritual cultural traditions that are still very much alive today, but are rapidly being marginalized in the wake of Westernization, urban sprawl, environmental destruction, and increasing poverty. As protectors of the Amazon rainforest for millennia, Shipibo healers, or curanderos, possess vast wisdom relating to environmental stewardship and physical, mental, and emotional healing through their knowledge of medicinal plant remedies. They also continue to practice their traditions of textile art, pottery, and singing, whose masterful techniques have been passed down for countless generations. We are 2 independent filmmakers and sound designers who want to create a new platform for Shipibo voices. We’ll be living in the Amazon rainforest for 2 months, filming interviews with Shipibo healers and recording them singing their ikaros. We’ve already obtained permission from interviewees and have our accommodations figured out. To truly capture the magic of the Amazon, we will be creating a 360° film series on YouTube so that viewers can experience a level of immersion and emotional connection impossible to achieve with traditional audiovisual methods. We believe that by documenting songs and stories of Shipibo healers, we can bring attention to their culture, the Amazon rainforest, and the challenges they both face today.

New York City, NY – 1 Minute Meal: A Documentary Portrait of NYC

2017-05-31T00:00:00Z

1 Minute Meal uses short documentaries about food to create a more representative picture of people in New York City. Each 60-second story is an intimate glimpse into a food, cook, business, or community in the five boroughs. Following themes of ownership, adaptation, local legacies, and unseen forces, these stories go beyond the consumption-oriented focus of mainstream food media. Among the project's 60 subjects are a Buddhist monk who cooks for his temple as a way to reduce the killing of animals, a Bronx restaurant owner who must shut down and reopen her business across town after a 300% rent increase, a group of street vendors who protest at City Hall for the right to work, and a coffee shop that sparks a fierce debate over the idea of “self-gentrification.” 1 Minute Meals has established an exciting partnership with the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) in Brooklyn. MOFAD is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing public understanding of the culture, history, science, production, and commerce of food and drink, working toward building the world's first large-scale museum with exhibits you can eat. 1 Minute Meal will be their first ever pop-up exhibit and will be kicking off with a special opening night exhibit on July 27th that brings together cooks, community members, and patrons for a curated screening, discussion, and tasting. Through this exhibit and its opening night programming, 1 Minute Meal will give New Yorkers an affordable and tangible way to meet the people behind the stories, learn more about their success and struggles, and engage with the subject of food in a way that builds human connection. Visit the 1 Minute Meal website to view the films, check out MOFAD.org, and mark your calendars for the opening night exhibit.

Liverpool (Inactive) – Around The World in 80 Films!

2017-04-03T00:00:00Z

In 2018 I'm aiming to travel the world and produce 80 short films. I'd like the first of these films to be made in my home City of Liverpool. Along my route I want produce interesting and engaging short video projects with creative and unique organisations. I will be visiting 5 continents and dozens of countries, painting a picture of some of the incredible events, people, places and organisations that occupy this wonderful planet we all share. I would like my first project to be a short film about some of the amazing projects YOU have funded, in exchange for your £500 donation. This would then be the first of my 80 films.

Asheville, NC (Inactive) – The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival

2017-03-06T00:00:00Z

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, which I founded in 2011, is an annual video contest in which kid filmmakers create weird short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in about 90 seconds. On April 22, 2017 we plan to bring the festival to the Pack Memorial Library in Asheville! Ever since 1922, the Newbery Medal has been recognized as the most prestigious award in children’s literature. But any classic book, no matter how worthy and somber, turns into something fresh and bonkers when compressed into 90 seconds. Here are 25 standouts from the 100s of kid-made videos we've received over the years: http://bit.ly/2cbDC1r The best of each year's movies are shown at FREE yearly screenings across the country, in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Minneapolis, and starting in 2017, ASHEVILLE -- co-hosted by me and other children's authors. These free shows combine screenings of the kids' movies with comedy cabaret bits, and have been "sold out" from the start, with crowds of hundreds, including the young filmmakers themselves. Our mission: 1) Entice students into reading and discussing classic Newbery-winning books. 2) Encourage the close reading necessary to write a script that wittily sums up a book in 90 seconds. 3) Give opportunity for students to use new technologies, such as video equipment and editing software, in a constructive way that promotes literacy. 4) Throw awesome screening parties to celebrate the kids' great movies! I'm looking forward to bringing the 90-Second Newbery to Asheville! We already have a team of enthusiastic supporters. The organizer in Asheville is local Elliot Weiner. The Pack Memorial Library has offered use of their auditorium for the 4/22 screening. North Carolina author Alan Gratz will co-host with me. Carolina Day School has contributed many great movies to the festival over the years. With these allies plus more, we plan to put on an unforgettable show at the library.

Adelaide – When Rosie Died

2017-02-01T00:00:00Z

My name is Stacey Hargroves and I am an independant filmmaker in Adelaide currently filming a short film about a young wife and mother of three who gets run down to the point where she literally turns into a Zombie... and nobody notices! This movie will hopefully give an insight into how it feels to live with post-natal depression or a mental illness and, similar to the movie 'Warm Bodies', show that there is hope at the end to return to the living. All who have read the script have related to Rosie and have been moved by her struggle and I am excited and determined to make something which will give others a new perspective on post-natal depression and mental illness.

Washington, DC – Women in Horror Month- D.C.

2017-01-31T00:00:00Z

Hello! I was shocked, maybe even *horrified* to recently discover there was no D.C. event for Women in Horror month! As of yesterday, I have secured a venue (Northeast Library, where I was a volunteer yoga instructor) and a locally-made, women-fronted horror film to screen. The event is February 28th. To go alongside the screening, I am working to compile short horror stories written by D.C. area women to go into an anthology. I want to represent as broad of a base of women as possible. The anthology would be an eBook which would be for sale for $5 leading up to the event and during. The proceed will be donated to Planned Parenthood Metropolitan Washington--of which I am volunteer. Readings from this anthology will serve as the "opener" for the film. For after the screening, I am working on a reception hosted at a local bar. There, patrons can enjoy discussion with the filmmakers, authors, and one another.

Jumbos (Inactive) – ATTILA

2016-11-28T00:00:00Z

In 2014, my father was courageously battling cancer. As his primary caregiver, I found myself meditating on legacy and what we leave behind. He had been an actor in his youth, before giving up that career to be present as a loving father to my brother and me. As I looked at my ailing hero, I realized the greatest gift I could give him was a return. A comeback. Impulsively, I wrote a one-act play to submit to the Samuel French Short Play Festival in Manhattan. Set during the Civil War, ATTILA was based on the Home Letters of Major General William T. Sherman. It was a bristling two-hander between Sherman on the eve of his climactic March to the Sea and an escaped slave turned contraband soldier. The piece demanded exceptional actors for a journey of intense emotional substance set in the past but very much about the pressing issues of our country today. A topical, incisive piece with great ambition. We made it into the Sam French festival and premiered at Playwrights Horizons in NYC. My father and I drove into the city from Pennsylvania every week to rehearse with the other actor. Dad gave everything he had and slept on the car ride home. It exhausted him and kept him alive and vibrant all at once. It was a transformative, emotional experience, two years before this election cycle came around. We talked about making a short film adaptation of the play at the time. A month ago, we pressed ahead. We have secured incredible locations, including: Widener University (previously the Pennsylvania Military Academy), which will stand in for Michigan Military Academy, where Sherman gave his famous "war is hell" speech to graduating cadets in 1879, along with Valley Forge Military Academy, and two 19th century preserved historic homes on the Delaware River. We filmed "b-roll" in Virginia a month ago, embedding our cameras at a reenactment with hundreds of infantry, cavalry, and artillery units. All that's left is to film the principle scene.

Miami, FL – The Little River Project #HappinessIsAwesome

2016-10-17T00:00:00Z

Miami’s Little River is a habitat home to migrating bird species and a manatee breeding ground running through El Portal, a village where peacocks, native plants and a Tequesta ancient burial ground create a distinctly vibrant neighborhood. Little River is also rapidly developing and attracting the attention of developers and businesses. A flood of new businesses, galleries, restaurants and cafes are beginning to transform the area. All this change will inevitably have significant impact not only on the residents living within the neighborhood but the Little River’s ecosystem as well. The Little River Project will highlight the natural beauty, vulnerability and cultural heritage of the Little River, reimagining the world beneath the river through experimental film and music. The project will include the screening of a ‘work in progress’ of Zenú, a surreal short film shot on the Little River about a musician that embarks on a journey on the river, where he meets natives in a Gauguinesque scene and receives a gift from a shaman under the I-95 Bridge, An augmented reality sound installation with sounds capturing the river’s ecosystem will complement the film and a resource guide/map will be developed to promote local efforts to keep the river clean.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – CHIPPED

2016-09-19T00:00:00Z

I‘m Joey Ally, the writer and director of CHIPPED, a short film selected for the American Film Institute Directing Workshop for Women. The story of CHIPPED came to me after reading a series of articles about the nail salon industry published last fall, including the Pulitzer Prize nominated NY Times expose ―Unvarnished. The coverage detailed rampant human rights abuses in an industry that thrives largely on the powerlessness of undocumented workers, many of whom are housed in tenements throughout five boroughs and taken in vans to remote suburban locations. I was horrified to discover racial caste systems and indentured labor in salons just like the ones I frequented when growing up in Connecticut, and living in Manhattan as an adult. Horrified to realize that it‘s happening somewhere, right now. Their treatment in the entertainment industry would have us believe all that concerns the women who staff these salons is mocking the clients at their pedicure chairs, but these are human beings with spouses, parents, children...they have better things to talk about than a regular‘s cellulite. CHIPPED was written to explore the interiors of these women‘s lives, through the lens of a uniquely female story. I told what is essentially a twisted take on the classic story of popular girl versus unpopular girl, but in the salon setting - the familiar highlighting the universality of the events through a day in the life of Korean, front-of-house manager SARAH, and Chinese, manicurist-in-training MIA. Despite the neo-realist tone and the darker themes at play, as with the bleakest moments of life, this film will balance tragedy with comedy. In CHIPPED, I‘ll be asking the audience to sit where these women sit, eat where they eat, and sleep where they sleep...or, many nights, where they lie sleepless, worried, and waiting for chances and changes that never come. I think if you laugh, cry, and cringe with someone your story becomes bound with theirs.

Adelaide – Digital Storytelling for Social Change

2016-08-09T00:00:00Z

Digital literacy is often considered to be lacking in Aboriginal communities, yet even on the most remote communities smartphones can be seen everywhere. Additionally, arts centres often have laptops, iPads and cameras available for community use which is often only hampered by a lack of skills and confidence in those wanting to use them. Storytelling is seen as being at the heart of social change and yet despite the recent increase in solidarity for Aboriginal communities under threat of closure, most Australians still have no idea what it’s like to live on country with very few having had the privilege of visiting in person. This project aims to bring these two strands together, utilising the technology that you carry in your pocket (or whatever is readily to hand) to build a legacy of strong Aboriginal digital storytellers for social change. Using the reallybigroadtrip bus, homeJames, we will travel to ten regional and remote Aboriginal communities over a four month period, April-August 2016. At each community we will begin by screening social change films such as “Talking Straight Out”, a short documentary about the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta women from communities near Coober Pedy who fought - and won - a campaign against uranium waste dumps between 1998-2004. Then, at each of our ten locations, we will run a week of free digital storytelling workshops/production processes leading to at least one screening per community of the films they have made locally. Alongside these production processes we will run digital literacy (social media, blogging, privacy etc) and grassroots organising workshops. The most enthusiastic producers from each location will be invited to come to the next location to help run the program. Anticipated outcomes: * ten communities better equipped in digital literacy, digital storytelling and grassroots campaigning; * increased networking between Aboriginal communities; * short films for international distribution.

Orlando, FL – Art Is Moving Orlando

2016-07-29T00:00:00Z

One car (or more) of the SunRail would feature art by local artists: visual art exhibits (framed art, temporary seat covers, translucent window film, videos... ); as well as performance art; theatrical; musical, etc. I imagine this being an ongoing endeavor, maybe monthly, perhaps on 3rd Thursdays tying in with downtown Orlando's gallery hop,* or on 1st Thursdays coinciding with OMA's monthly evening event,* and/or other events in Orlando and surrounding communities along the SunRail's tri-county service area. (*Both examples are conveniently located near Orlando SunRail stops, which is awesome.) The SunRail's designated "art car" becomes a truly "moving" exhibit and pop-up traveling performance space. This not only gives creative individuals and organizations a new, well... "vehicle" for their creativity, it also entertains and enhances commuters' travel experience, potentially increasing ridership, and exposes SunRail commuters to arts, culture, and creative goings-on in our area. Local theaters and musical organizations could do short skits that are enticing previews of their upcoming shows, potentially increasing their attendance – a win/win/win proposal. In coordinating this I would make special efforts to be inclusive – extending creative opportunities to a wide and diverse range of people, especially those who may have fewer opportunities, such as kids & students, people of color, seniors, vets, and so on. While this awesome project is centered in Orlando, it's also meant to expose Orlandoans to art and cultural endeavors in other nearby communities beyond the city beautiful and vice versa, building partnerships between communities, which is even more awesome. I am thrilled that SunRail is finally here and am exited to build on its current momentum of bringing people together, giving people greater access to Central Florida's diverse offerings, and building community through public commuting.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – ByKids

2016-07-18T00:00:00Z

BYkids is a non-profit organization pairing master filmmakers, including Albert Maysles and Ric Burns, with youth (ages 8-21) from around the world to create short documentaries that educate Americans about globally relevant issues. By giving kids the tools and mentoring to make documentary films about their lives and packaging those films for a wide American audience, BYkids gives voice to youth from diverse cultures, and encourages international understanding and engagement by giving viewers concrete ways to respond. Each year, the Story Selection Committee — UNICEF and a group of nationally-recognized journalists, filmmakers, teens and non-profit leaders — creates a list of potential stories from which five are chosen. These five stories carry the universal values of courage, perseverance and dignity. Each story is given to a BYkids' Film Mentor who spends one month helping the young person make the film. UNICEF provides transportation, lodging, communications, security, local networking and other diplomatic resources in each project country.

Pittsburgh, PA – The Long Song

2016-03-21T00:00:00Z

The Long Song is a song that stretches one mile, or twenty city blocks. It is a song for 21 performers to perform, and is created on a public street for the public to witness and experience, for free. It is a song, a performance, a walk, a scene in a film, and public art - all rolled into one. It is a great example of the type of work I create as an artist and director based in Pittsburgh. The Long Song is part of a series of site-specific performances for public spaces that I direct and turn into short films. This work has not been made yet, although it has existed in my sketchbook as an idea for years. The performers stand, or sit, one block apart, on each of the 20 consecutive corners. They each sing, play, and/or perform one verse of a song that I have prepared and written for them. One can only experience The Long Song by walking, slowly riding a bike or skateboard, being pushed in a wheelchair or stroller. The Long Song will debut on May 22 along Butler Street in Pittsburgh, PA. It has been accepted to be included in the Pittsburgh Festival of New Music 2016 (pghnewmusic.com), produced by Alia Musica Pittsburgh. The Festival runs through the month of May, and includes outdoor and theater events featuring new music artists of local, national, and international stature. The Long Song is one of three festival events in non-conventional venues, the others being a flashmob performance in Market Square, and a roving performance of Cornelius Cardew's modernist piece The Great Learning, on texts by Confucius, performed by as many performers as possible. Theater events include performances by local ensembles (Alia Musica, ELCO, Kamraton, and others) and guest artists like soprano Tony Arnold and guitarist Dieter Hennings. Festival events are supported among others by The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Portland, OR – Taylor Electric Retrospective

2016-01-26T00:00:00Z

The Taylor Electric Retrospective will be an interactive art event and public engagement platform, documenting and displaying community-contributed photos, videos, media, and artwork of the former ruins of Taylor Electric in SE Portland. Taylor Electric was a burnt-out industrial building that served as a unique hub for street art for the past decade. A short documentary film exploring the space’s history and impact will be premiered at the event. The event will include an interactive temporary free-standing wall where the public can reminisce, reconnect, and share memories by leaving personal “eulogies” for Taylor Electric. An archival project website will provide a centralized space to document Taylor Electric’s history and art, and serve as a platform for the community to share their lived experiences interacting with and creating this unique public art gallery. The central focus of the project is to create spaces for public learning and dialogue. At the event, local artists, community leaders, and academics will lead discussions engaging with the community on various topics such as the politics of public space, insurgent public space-making, and the impacts of development, gentrification, and urban change on the arts community. The goal is to build relationships and facilitate dynamic dialogue between a diverse and often under-represented group of communities to help increase their input and impact on public decisions that involve art and urban development. With this project, we aim to capture and document some of this unique Portland history and energy, and encourage people to explore, appreciate, and positively engage with the spaces around them.

Raleigh, NC (Inactive) – Raleigh Film Underground

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Raleigh Film Underground was born out of a desire for alternative film to have a place in our city. As independent theaters close and industry funding is cut off, the message seemed to be that there isn't a market for filmmaking or independent movie fans. This couldn't be further from the truth, in fact the growth of our city is mirrored in the growth of our incredible creative community. It's important to invest in these people, which is what this project sets out to do. Each month, a new film and venue will be chosen and announced via social media. Fans of John Waters, Gus Van Sant, Lisa Cholodenko, Cassavetes, Antonioni, Maya Deren, Gordon Parks, and Pedro Almodóvar (just to name a few) will find something to love, and curious fun-seekers may discover new interests. Folks looking for free fun, film buffs coming out for one of their favorites, creative boundary-pushers getting a fix: there's a lot for our great city in a humble evening of movie-screening. Often it is the conversation, laughter, and reflection that comes from sharing a film together that makes it the most valuable. Like going to any movie, the Raleigh Film Underground will show previews (one per event). Regional filmmakers and video artists are welcome to submit a short work or music video to screen before the feature. This series aims to support both the people here who love film and those that create it.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – The Youth and Gender Media Project

2015-12-30T00:00:00Z

The Youth and Gender Media Project is a series of four short documentaries about transgender and gender expansive youth that are being used throughout North America in thousands of classrooms to create safe and inclusive environments for youth across the spectrum of gender identity and expression. The first two films of the series, I’m Just Anneke and The Family Journey came out in 2011. The second two films, Creating Gender Inclusive Schools and Becoming Johanna are in post production. We have raised much of the money to complete the films as well as some funding for audience outreach and engagement. However, we are still raising funds for some crucial aspects of post production, including music composition, color correction and sound mixing. This is where The Awesome Foundation could make a big difference. The film for which we are requesting funding is Becoming Johanna, a half hour documentary that tells the story of a trans Latina from ages 16 to 21. Johanna confronts bias at school and rejection at home. Eventually, her mother’s lack of acceptance lands her in foster care. Fortunately, her foster family, with a gay son, loves and accepts her for who she is. Around the same time, she enrolls in a new school for students who haven’t succeeded elsewhere. The school’s principal is a butch lesbian who takes Johanna under her wing and helps her to graduate, get scholarships for college and thrive. The film demonstrates that love and acceptance is the crucial ingredient for transgender youth to succeed in life. We are excited to get Becoming Johanna into the hands of the educators, families and other audiences who so desperately need to see portraits of successful transgender youth. The film’s trailer on our youtube page has nearly 300,000 views and we are in discussion with broadcasters like HBO and PBS’ POV about a broadcast in 2017. To watch the fine cut, please go to: vimeo.com/144590637; PW: Johanna.

Sarnia (Inactive) – Dan Does It For Sarnia

2015-10-02T00:00:00Z

In 2011 Sarnia's youth went through multiple suicides. Students suffering from depression were calling it quits due to a struggle with mental health. The night I fell my family and friends sent out a call for help and that call was answered by the community of Sarnia. The city fundraised $150,000 to help with medical supplies, home renovations, and things to improve the quality of my life after the accident. Now there's another call going out and I intend on answering this call but I'm going to need your help to do so. Today is my 9th anniversary and ever since my first year I've always reflected on & celebrated this day for what it truly is, A BLESSING. For my 10th year anniversary I will be putting on an event at the Imperial Theatre to commemorate the "Do It For Dan" campaign. The proceeds for this event will be going to towards Mental Health initiatives through The Bluewater Health Hospital here in Sarnia. Here's where I NEED your help!! I'm putting together a short film of several interviews of people that shared or shares a part of my story. I'll have a set of questions ready and the interviewees will sit and tell their side of my story. I believe that this could impact the lives of everyone who sees it in a positive way! Many people don't know this but by definition, what happened here in Sarnia 9 years ago was a miracle. I want to share that miracle with as many people as possible. 9 years ago my dream was to be a professional football player and that was taken away from me. Today my dream is to change and inspire my city the same way it changed and inspired me. And I'll die before that dream is taken away from me.

London, ON (Inactive) – 48 Hour Film Frenzy

2015-09-29T00:00:00Z

Have you ever wanted to create a movie? What if you took a weekend and dedicated it to becoming the next Spielberg? The 48 Hour Film Frenzy is a weekend where local filmmakers are challenged with creating a film in 48 grueling hours. Each filmmaker is presented with a required set of criteria that must be included in their film; such as a required line of dialogue, location in town, prop, etc. London has not has a film showcase in over two years. We have an abundance of local talent that are capable of creating some incredible short films over the span of a weekend. The submitted films will be viewed by a panel of judges who will declare the winner of the competition. The plan is to have a screening event the following weekend at the Hyland theatre where every film is screened and the winner is presented an award. To encourage filmmakers to bring their friends, an audience’s choice award will also be presented. My hope with this $1000 is to start this as a yearly event in London.

Seattle, WA – Virtual Assistant Movie

2015-06-14T00:00:00Z

Jobs are getting outsourced. But, can creativity be outsourced? And, if so, what would it look like? I am exploring this by outsourcing an entire short film through virtual online assistants in India. How? So far, I have 2 virtual assistants who, independently, are writing a script together one line at time. I give them prompts. But, the prompts are written by the other virtual assistant. So, while I am the middle person, the two virtual assistants are actually the ones providing each other with new prompts as they keep the script dialogue going with their writing. After they finish writing the outsourced script, I will then have virtual assistants film the dialogue that virtual assistants wrote. Maybe the final film will be horrible. Maybe it will be great. Either way, I feel this process is unprecedented and the results will be a unique and entertaining moment for film making. On a larger scale, I believe this will start conversation about creativity and the creative process. Details: I'm currently using Habiliss.com and AskSunday.com The 2 virtual assistants have been told that a client would like them to create natural and/or dialogue based on provided prompts. At the conclusion of the writing process, I will explain to both companies the bigger picture. I will ask for consent and approval to produce a short film based on their writing. Of course, I will credit the 2 separate virtual assistants with the complete writing credits. There has been some interest from experimental film festivals and Seattle International Film Festival to accept this unique film and its process.

Kitchener-Waterloo – 12 Angry Filmmaker

2015-04-07T00:00:00Z

The 12 project has began making 12 short films to be screened at GRFF 2014.

Portland, OR – The Incredibly Short Film Festival

2015-04-01T00:00:00Z

What would you do if you saw a little pig driving an ice cream truck down Foster Boulevard? Or a psychedelic Sasquatch skating through your favorite burger place? It would be incredible- even more incredible if these scenes were paired with music, food, and neighborhood pride. This is what the Incredibly Short Film Festival (ISFF) does. For one night, projectors are set up through a neighborhood in unexpected places. They’re showing GIF animations from artists around the world or around the block. Originally started in Sydney, Australia, the festival has also appeared in Croatia. This summer we want to bring it to Foster Boulevard. The ISFF re-imagines what the .GIF file format is capable of. Most people have seen silly looping clips floating around the internet. But what happens when you bring them offline? The GIF becomes a showcase for emerging animators. It adds fun and color to city streets. Maybe it just makes someone laugh pretty hard. We’re confident these are worthy goals for an Awesome Portland project. This event will be free and 100% volunteer run. We've already reached out to local animators who are stoked about this totally unique venue for showcasing their work. We’re working with the business community to find sites and host mini-parties. The event is going to reach a lot of people; both those who make it a destination and those who are just passing by. Even though it will be a one-night event, there is a lot that will stick around. The community that comes together to pull something like the ISFF off creates new collaborations. The stoke and good vibes from unexpected art in public space can not be discounted. Finally, the attention on a street that hasn't been known for art will last beyond the event. In the end, we hope to surprise people, take the internet offline, create wild video graffiti (with permission from owners!), and bring an incredible idea from abroad back to our hometown.

Miami, FL – Hand Built Boat

2015-03-28T00:00:00Z

"Hand Built Boat" is a short documentary film about a 70-year-old man who teaches high school kids to hand make boats at the oldest house in Miami. It's a story about one man's willingness to mentor youth, teach through the introspective patience and discipline that is fostered through craftsmanship, and the positive influence one person can have by sharing their gifts with others. Documenting this story is important because our community is all too often portrayed as vice-ridden, backwards, and hedonistic. However, the story of Miami being a place that fosters community and develops youth, at a historic landmark no less (which is also a state park), is also a Miami story as well. Telling this story is an opportunity for both Miami natives and visitors can be inspired to identify with Miami as a place where great community engagement is possible.

Liverpool (Inactive) – Disco-Scouse

2014-10-07T00:00:00Z

Disco-Scouse will be a joyful, communal food event that brings awareness to food waste and poverty. The simple ethos is to create a big, free meal out of donated food, whilst having a cool disco-boogie! Disco-Scouse will bring people together in a creative, meaningful, focussed and fun activity, with a great process and brilliant outcome for all involved. Volunteers and members of the public will come together in Toxteth to wash, peel, chop, cook fresh but unwanted vegetables, donated by local farms, allotments and food producers, to make delicious scouse for all who come along! The meal will be prepared to music provided by funky food DJs, encouraging a dance celebration whilst making a taste sensation! Disco-Scouse is based on Disco-Soup - the international grassroots movement that catalyses action on food waste and works to “fill bellies, not bins”, with a Liverpool twist. We tried out a Disco-Soupe pilot in March, which worked amazingly well. Together, we made loads of soup and salad and fed approx 200 people. We think it would be great to do Disco-Scouse during Food for Real festival (November 20th-23rd) as it will be part of a wider food-focussed series of events, with greater opportunity to publicise it to as wide an audience as possible. We'd also like to make a short film about the event to share even wider. We think it would be awesome to make a Disco-Scouse for up to 500 people!

Kitchener-Waterloo – 12 Angry Filmmakers

2014-09-23T00:00:00Z

We are aiming to cross collaborate with four more short films that include Night Shift and theatre practitioners.

Delhi (Inactive) – 1001 Breast Cancer Nights

2014-07-29T00:00:00Z

1001 Breast Cancer Nights is a mosaic of audio-visual diaries of Indian breast cancer experiences: vibrant tales of medicine, myth, stigma, survival, romance, tragedy, comedy, artistry, burlesque and even erotica. Taking the form of an online portal, the project will facilitate exchange of information that initiates public dialogue, significantly improving the understanding of the disease, compliance to medical treatment and better quality of life for survivors. Why is this project important? By 2020, 70% of the world’s cancer cases will be in poor countries, with a fifth in India. Breast cancer will be the most common type of cancer among women in India. Living in a patriarchic and stigmatized society, women in India struggle to “come out” publicly about their breast cancer in fear of abandonment; they silently suffer the medical and emotional consequence of the disease alone. The likelihood of dying of cancer is much higher among these women because of age-old barriers such as illiteracy, stigma, shame, religious beliefs, misconceptions, cost and poor access. Social and gender inequities severely hamper their ability to seek medical help. This results in delayed medical intervention and high mortality. What will the project have? The portal will feature: i) Audio/video diaries made by cancer survivors educated on participant storytelling using tablet devices; ii) Professionally made short films; iii) Stories of men who are gatekeepers to woman’s health; iv) Messages uploaded by the public via video and photo booth; v) Geo-coded information on demographics, treatment centers, support groups and other resources; vi) Thorough integration of social media and search capabilities. Summer 2014: First phase of filming will include the following: 1. Video interviews of several hundred people to explore and document the perceptions of breast cancer among Indians 2. First person narratives of cancer patients told using tablet devices Day

Ottawa – Dau

2014-06-14T00:00:00Z

The first of June's two Awesome Ottawa awards goes to Magill Foote to support a short video about a Russian film called by some the most insane such project ever undertaken. “Nearly a decade ago,” explains Magill, “a Russian filmmaker named Ilya Khrzhanovsky began shooting a highly ambitious biographical film about physicist Lev ‘Dau’ Landau. Most of the filming was done on a 12,000 square meter recreation of a 1940’s Russian city, complete with a functioning newspaper and university. Over 300,000 extras were employed to live on the set and be filmed with hidden cameras. Fines were imposed for anachronistic items, clothing, and language. Pre-production for the film took two years, and filming lasted for three.” Although the film was originally set to be released in 2010 at the Cannes Film Festival, it has not yet seen the light of day. Recent reports suggest that the film could finally be released as soon as this summer. “My project is an informative short video,” says Magill, “that uses kinetic typography and 1940's-era Soviet iconography to educate the people of the world about this fascinating film project, which has gone largely unreported outside of Russian media.” He shared a short preview to whet appetites. Magill is an independent filmmaker based in Ottawa.

Nairobi (Inactive) – Y-FI Africa 48 Hour Film Challenge

2014-05-26T00:00:00Z

Y-FI Africa is a non profit initiative whose mission is to inspire the next generation of African filmmakers. We are doing this through launching filmmaking clubs in high schools. Since 2012, we have launched clubs in the following schools; Precious Blood, Riruta, MaryHill High School, Thika High, Chania Boys and Gaichanjiru High. Combined, all the schools have produced over 10 shorts films, some of which can be viewed on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/yfiafrica. Our vision is to launch these clubs in high schools throughout Kenya and eventually, Africa. Our goal is to create avenues in schools where youth who have an interest in filmmaking can develop and nurture their skills so that they are well positioned to take up opportunities in Kenya's and Africa's growing film and video content industry. To reward and enhance continuos learning and development of our current students, we are planning an exciting challenge for them in august 2014 dubbed The 48 Hour Film Challenge! The idea is to bring all the students together at a venue in Nairobi, divide them up in groups, assign a mentor to each group and then present a filmmaking challenge that they must accomplish within 48 hours. They must then present their final video/film for a screening ceremony, after which the competition judges will award the winners in different categories. We see this an excellent opportunity to expose the young aspiring filmmakers to industry standards by partnering them with seasoned filmmakers as their mentors in this challenge, propelling them much closer to their dreams of working in the film industry. By limiting the challenge to 48 hours, the students will be under immense pressure to complete their film. This process will demand of them (and thus develop) high levels of discipline, team work, leadership, critical thinking, organizational and execution skills. We would be delighted to partner with you in this project.

Yerevan – Who Bought Yerevan in 1264?

2014-03-07T00:00:00Z

My awesome idea is the following: to produce a max 3-minute documentary on the oldest inscription (1264 A.D.) in Downtown Yerevan, located on the northern wall of St. Katoghike Church, and to screen the film on the very same wall for the public. The inscription is very interesting and unique. Many people cross Sayat-Nova and Abovyan streets every day, yet very few (if anybody) know that there is such an artifact -- probably the oldest Armenian document stating that Yerevan has been bought and that if anyone refuses to recognize the owner's right will be subject to several curses. Thus, my goal is to produce a short documentary on this inscription and screen it to the public to raise awareness on this unique treasure. I'm going to organize this in partnership with Tsirani NGO in order to pass them all rights toward the documentary and use its channels for disseminating the clip.

Awesome Without Borders (Inactive) – Babies In Space (working title)

2014-02-12T00:00:00Z

'We are currently living in a world dominated by technology forcing us to re-define our boundaries and limitations. This ‘no rules’ era is one where technology can corrupt natures ballot, break down biological limitations and compel us to colonise new planets'. I run an artistic laboratory that works on the fringes of magic, emotion and intuition deploying a new vocabulary on the body, beauty, health and the impact major world challenges will have on the mind and body. "Babies in Space" (working title) is a speculative artistic project that looks at the complications of growing a foetus in altered gravity environments. This research project will usher in a new era of procreation; a world in which children are created in the laboratory, gestated in artificial womb-like environments and brought “to term” without ever really being “born.” Set in interstellar conditions, where gravity is expensive to simulate, this project looks at travel between stars. The artistic outcomes intended from this project are a short ten minute film, with various aesthetic artefacts including performance, academic workshops and future prototypes developed alongside experts in the medical and life science fields. I am developing this project alongside architect, biologist and TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong in corporation with the Institute for Interstellar Studies. Themes included in this project include: – SEXUALITY, BEAUTY, ATTRACTION: The new beauty continuum If beauty is lost what are the (new) assets for generating social race and its impact on survival, sexuality, desire, love, loneliness, the mind and the human species? – RELATIONSHIP OF NEWBORN WITH ‘PARENT’: What is the relationship of the ‘hatchlings’ to the AI or other parent? – EMOTIONAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, BIOLOGICAL ISSUES: What are the emotional and physiological issues that will confront the newborn. "If you don't know what the future looks like, create it"....

Ann Arbor, MI – FUSE: Mobile Microcinema

2013-11-20T00:00:00Z

With AF's support I will launch the first year of FUSE, a quarterly mobile microcinema event in our community. There are two primary focal points for the project a) experimentation with the cinema-going experience, especially how audiences and artists can interact; b) a collaborative hosting model, with a different artist helping co-organize each FUSE. Conceptually, FUSE aims to short-circuit expectations for the typically static relationship between artists, presenters and audience. Why is experimentation important for the cinema-going experience? I believe most of our viewing options – whether paying to see feature films in a theater, a home viewing of streaming/DVDs, or link-hopping online – lend themselves to a passive, consumer relationship that's reductive in how we digest ideas and art. What if the artists' whose work is shared are present (virtually and/or physically) and the audience encouraged to contribute feedback, ideas, screening fees as they feel inspired? What if the whole event is transparent in terms of revenues/expenses, time involved and programming choices? What if content is choreographed for audience participation? FUSE will focus on ways that artists, presenters and audiences can interact to generate deeper experiences of sharing cinema. Collaboration with rotating co-hosts is also a critical piece of this project. It's a way to weave through cross-sections of our community, bridge gaps and bring new audiences together. It's a way for artists to gain experience in presenting work in new contexts. And it's also a way to avoid a curator's built in blind spots and biases. I hosted a test FUSE on June 8th at the studio of Roos Roast. We showed short films by local makers in attendance for audience Q&A. We setup an interactive video installation and held a "PopOff" contest to decide whose popcorn seasoning recipe was supreme. Attendance was 50 people, double the expectation, and feedback was enthusiastic for further FUSE events.

Kingston – The Limestone City Cellphone Video Challenge

2013-05-16T00:00:00Z

My proposal is that with the help of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and the Awesome Foundation, we launch "The Limestone City Cellphone Video Challenge", a miniature film festival. If marketed well, this event would create year round excitement in celebration of Kingston and Canadian culture and film. KCFF's established reputation would lend to the Video Challenge's homegrown brand and recognition. The competition I have in mind is accessible to most Kingstonians. Submission must be a 3 minute video, shot on a cellphone, displaying a unique aspect of Kingston or Kingston's culture. Each video would be submitted with a registration form for the person or team involved in its creation in mid July. A team of KCFF staff would judge the films and select one based on this criteria. We could host an event screening the films, providing food and drinks to the filmmakers and selling tickets through the KCFF website to the general public. The winning filmmaker or team would receive a larger prize (like an iPhone or equivalent), passes to K14, inclusion in the K14 local shorts program, and an advanced screening at Springer Market Square's "Movies in the Square". We would have to work closely with KCFF, the Awesome Foundation Kingston, Downtown Kingston! and the City. This competition would bring together Kingston's community of filmmakers and watchers in one of our City's most beautiful seasons. The Limestone City Cellphone Video Challenge would showcase the best parts of Kingston as seen by the city's most innovative artists.

Seattle, WA – Gender Odyssey Youth Video Project

2013-03-22T00:00:00Z

We'd love to make a short film highlighting all the youth programming events, workshops, and activities that we can post on our website, Facebook, and YouTube pages. We have an experienced filmmaker that would donate her time and skills to this project. While our conference is over ten years old, the rapidly growing teen program is only five years old. We've ramped up our social media presence but this short film would be incredibly helpful in reaching more and more transgender teens across the country. These youth are often very isolated in their schools and communities. They are often at risk for teasing and bullying because of their gender differences. There are very few accessible resources for them or their families anywhere in the country. Families often go to great lengths to get their kids to our conference because the power that comes with seeing others like yourself is immeasurable for these teens. They leave with their heads high and new friends for life. The impact of a short film where youth could see kids like them and also very different from them would serve to 1) simply reflect their existence in our society and 2) give them a window into what they might expect at the conference ultimately relieving any initial anxiety they might have about attending. Our conference is funded by the people who attend. Some families can afford to pay while others need full scholarships. We have a very lean budget and only one paid year round staff member. Our conference has no frills but simply serves to bring families, kids, and resources together in one place for the weekend. This film would make a definite, powerful impact on our local Seattle Gender Odyssey Teen Group as we would empower them to frame and articulate the script for the film. Additionally, it would help more Seattle area transgender teens become aware of our youth programs.

Boulder, CO (Inactive) – The Diver

2012-12-19T00:00:00Z

My project is a short 13 minute HD film titled "The Diver". It is the follow up film to my 2011 Student Academy Award nominated film "The Dust Machine" which has screened in numerous national and international film festivals and was created while I was earning my MFA degree at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "The Diver" is a mixture of miniature sets, live action, computer generated imagery, still photography and animation. I have been working on the project for the last seven months and it is 85% complete. Much of the project was shot in my editing studio in Louisville, Colorado on a miniature stage in which props could be intricately set up and arranged. As well, the project was filmed in California, North Carolina and underwater in a pond located in Northwest Pennsylvania. "The Diver" is about the life of an inanimate object, a plastic toy diver, who is trying to find the meaning of his existence and his place in the world. The film starts with a voiceover while we see images of galaxies swirling amidst the shore of the ocean at night. "Where did I come from?" "Why was I created?" Soon after, we realize the voice is coming from the bodiless head of a plastic toy as comes down an assembly line in a factory. The story then follows this head as it is attached to the plastic body of a toy diver and eventually ends up sitting on a store shelf. From there the story continues as the diver is purchased and taken to a house where he encounters all manner of hardships and joys. Note: I currently teaching drawing at Front Range Community College in Longmont Colorado, although the pay is extremely low I enjoy working with the community and teaching something that I am passionate about. The Awesome Foundation grant would be incredibly helpful in getting this project out into the world!

Calgary, AB (Inactive) – 2nd Annual Log Drivers Waltz Gala: A Plaid Party!

2012-10-25T00:00:00Z

I’m writing on behalf of GIRAF Animation Festival, a super awesome grassroots festival run by Quickdraw Animation Society (a local Artist-Run Center). This is our 8th year as a Festival, and we’re presenting an event that we think is awesome – hopefully you will too! We love retro Canadiana and nostalgic community bonding! In that spirit, GIRAF is pleased to present the return of Calgary’s most fun plaid-themed party of all time: The Log Drivers Waltz Gala! Based on the NFB short from 1979:

The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is a family-friendly event featuring GIANT retro-animations on the side of the Jubilee (5-storeys tall!), fire-pits, hot chocolate, animation workshops, DJs, honky-tonk bands, food trucks, and so much more. Prepare to laugh, learn, and re-discover your love of early NFB films, as played on CBC television in the 1960s. Audiences are invited to wear their plaid and bring their toques – animated fun awaits, snow or shine! The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is all about nostalgia and community. Do you remember “The Sweater”? What about “The Cat Came Back”? Many Canadians don’t realize it, but Canada is celebrated internationally for our amazing animations, and a lot of that has to do with the National Film Board. We want to create an excuse for families and friends to huddle together over a burn barrel, roast marshmallows, and watch nearly-forgotten animations from a Canada-past. The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is the perfect opportunity to create awesomeness for so many people – and $1000 from The Awesome Foundation would help us do just that! One of GIRAF’s primary goals is to make our festival accessible to audiences in all income brackets. The Log Drivers Waltz Gala is probably the cheapest event you will ever attend at the Jubilee Auditorium (outdoor events are FREE, indoor events cost $5). That being said, we don’t think inexpensive events should be cheap – not to toot our own horn, but we throw a hell of a party for the price of admission! $1,000 from the Awesome Foundation would help us pay for the huge projector we’re renting in order to show giant animations on the side of the Jubilee. This projector is approximately the size of a smart car, and requires its own box-truck and generator to power. I’m not going to tell you how much it costs to rent, but you can imagine… GIRAF Animation Festival is a non-profit festival run by an Artist Run Center. Our budget is unbelievably small, but we’ve never let our lack of money keep us from dreaming big. $1,000 would help us create an amazing event for a diverse community of Calgarians – and we think that’s pretty awesome!

Tel Aviv - קרן בקטנה (Inactive) – Halev - Independent Living Program, Social cinema

2012-09-25T00:00:00Z

Halev helps these youngsters at risk who are in the worst possible circumstances negotiate crucial phase of their lives. It helps to maximize their own interests and capabilities by providing learning tutoring, educational counselling, psychological therapy, skills development and empowerment by cinema workshops. Social cinema project: Film program – Empowering youth at risk. This program is designed to allow participants to express themselves through learning of cinema, watching movies and making a short documentary. Participation in this framework would lead to empowerment in terms of enhanced self-esteem, enhanced cooperation with others within a social framework, establishing social contact through chalanges bearing of frustrating conditions and enhanced capability of influencing one's environment. The workshops include a set of exercises that focus on the empowerment aspects in all stages of film production: scriptwriting, production, directing, acting, shooting and editing. At the end, making a short film by youth. Making the film teaches them to take responsibility, to develop self-efficacy, to place an internal locus of control, working as an individual within a group, to manage time effectively. Empowerment throughsocial cinema workshop may bring personal change in the aspect of preparation for independent living.

Kitchener-Waterloo – Berlin Shorts

2012-05-12T00:00:00Z

I grew up in KW but moved to Edmonton to do my Masters degree in Drama. My intention was to spend 3-5 years there, but ten years, 1 marriage and 1 kid later my wife and I decided to return to the land of free babysitting . . . I mean family. I wanted to return to Kitchener because I'd heard so much about the exciting things happening downtown and wanted to be part of the revitalisation. I wanted to lay down some roots, dig in and really focus some energy on planting seeds and watching them grow. And the thing I'm best at growing is creative opportunities. I stayed in Edmonton because of the vibrant arts scene. I produced sketch comedy shows and did a lot of arts admin, but toward the end of my stay I began presenting a short film competition that really excited me in the way it connected emerging and established film makers. I liked it so much that I decided to start a festival here just like it. And so Berlin Shorts was born. Berlin Shorts is a new and on-going adjudicated short film event presented in association with the Multicultural Cinema Club. Films are screened before a live audience and adjudicated by three industry professionals. Judges provide live feedback, and points are awarded based on audience and judge voting. Filmmakers whose films are selected for inclusion receive $50 IMAA screening fees. Top-scoring films get renewed for the next event and win prizes. The notion is to stimulate continued and sustained creativity by setting deadlines and commanding repeat performances from film makers. The Multicultural Cinema Club provides a free venue for screening (the Queen Street Commons Cafe), but I pay screening fees, the cafe employee, and related costs out of my pocket. It costs me about $500 per event; I've done two events so far, and have a third planned for May 26, 2012. I intend to keep investing my own money in this project because I believe in it. In the three years I ran a similar program in Edmonton I saw tremendous improvement in the quality of submissions, but even more exciting was how film makers met each other and started working together. Several of them now work professionally; one works for Kenny Hotz (Kenny vs. Spenny). After I get a few years under my belt, I'm certain that the funding I intend to seek from all three levels of government will come through to support this very worthwhile project. But until then, every little bit helps . . .

Kingston – 26 Shorts

2012-04-19T00:00:00Z

26shorts is a project to help creative people in Kingston make films. Starting in late summer 2012, a team of Kingston artists will spend 6 months releasing one short film a week for 26 weeks. All of the films will be shot in and around Kingston during the 6 month period of the project, using Kingston film makers, actors, musicians and crew. Some of the films will be simple and quick to create, some will be ambitious and produced over several months. Some will be spur-of-the-moment individual projects, some of them meticulously planned collaborations. Every week, one new film will be released online. The 26shorts project gets its inspiration from a popular type of photographic study called a "365 project", during which photographers commit to producing one photo a day that is outside their normal type of work. The focus of a 365 project isn't necessarily to produce outstanding new portfolio pieces every day, but to challenge the photographer to take risks and to expand her body of work. We've also been inspired by the idea of a "48 hour film festival" where random teams of film-makers collaborate to write, shoot, edit and submit a narrative film for judging in just two days. 26shorts retains that focus on networking and spontaneity but adds more time for for more ambitious projects, the opportunity to participate in more than one film, and the creation of a network of artists that can grow over time. The project will encourage artists to benefit from the process of making the films, always striving to achieve the best possible product and often choosing to take creative and technical risks where possible.

Detroit, MI – The Detroit Journal

2012-03-30T00:00:00Z

The focus of our project is creating and publishing high-quality short films that tell true stories about real people in Detroit. We created a web site to show the videos on a monthly basis but we also provide Detroit-centric news and stories in between the film premiers. We premier the videos on our website and offline with a showing at some sort of Detroit space. The stories range anywhere from our latest episode about Lightshow Bob (a 15 year veteran lighting guy for bands in the Detroit area) to the night guard at the DIA. We take suggestions from viewers about people with interesting stories and we either devote a 10-15 minute long short film feature to that story or include their story in some way on our website.

Ottawa – Burundi Film Center

2011-06-15T00:00:00Z

The grant for June goes to Christopher Redmond, the co-founder of a not-for-profit school in East Africa called the Burundi Film Center (BFC). The project was started in 2007 with a small group of volunteer filmmakers who brought our own equipment and trained youth, aged 18-25, the basics of film history, theory and production. They trained 36 students and the first 5 short films played in over 50 international film festivals around the world. In 2009, the BFC produced a 22-minute documentary called Home Free about Burundian refugees who have been living in Tanzania for 36 years and are only now returning home. That film is now used as a training tool at UN agencies around the world, as well as embassies and schools. They have recently held more workshops and produced more films, including their first documentary workshop in 2010 and their first animation workshop is scheduled for September 2011. They’ve been able to accomplish all this without any operational funding at all. The only money they receive is through individual donations from friends and family. Our teachers either pay their own plane tickets, or find individual grants to travel if they are lucky. Despite their financial difficulties, they’ve achieved some great successes – including having a number of their students work on the 2011 Academy-Award nominated short film Na Wewe. Christopher was personally selected as one of Canada’s Top 50 Champions of Change on CBC and even held a TEDx Talk in Ottawa a few months ago. Christopher will use the Awesome Grant to empower some of their near 100 graduated students to produce more awesome films and will match our contribution to create 4 separate grants of $500 for the students to apply for. That is certainly awesome, sir!