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Film Finishing Fund Information: The
Women In Film Foundation's Film Finishing Fund (FFF) offers grants on
an annual basis to assist filmmakers who make thoughtful and
provocative films by or about women. In order to apply for a FFF grant,
a filmmaker must have completed principal photography and be well into
post-production by a given date (specified in the application each
year). The program has funded filmmakers working in both short
and long formats in all genres--documentary, dramatic, educational,
narrative, animated and experimental—whose films demonstrate advanced
and innovative skills and whose work relates to the goals of Women In
Film. These goals include: increasing employment and promoting equal
opportunities for women; enhancing the media image of women; and
influencing prevailing attitude and practices regarding and on behalf
of women. You do
not have to be a Women In Film member to apply for the FFF. The
application is posted online in December of each year, so please visit
the Women In Film homepage at that time to review the criteria and
download the application. The application gives complete
information about the eligibility requirements and procedures. Please
note that student projects are not eligible to receive Film Finishing
Funds.
Women In Film Foundation
Film Finishing Fund 2005 Winners Announcement
The
Women In Film Foundation (WIFF) is pleased to announce the completion
of the 2005 Cycle of the Film Finishing Fund (FFF). The only one
of its kind, the WIFF Film Finishing Fund is now its 20th year of
existence and has awarded more than $1.6 million in cash and in-kind
services over the years. Cash awards range from $1,000 to
$5,000. In-kind grants for post-production services vary
according to the needs of the recipient. This year’s Film
Finishing Fund is generously being underwritten by Women In Film’s
National Presenting Sponsor, General Motors, with additional funding
provided by the Gretchen Bender Fund and additional support
provided by New York Women In Film and Television (NYWIFT). This
year, over 125 entries were submitted and reviewed by a wonderful team
of Foundation Board and WIF Board volunteers, including Diane
Asselin Baer (FFF Chair Emeritus), FFF Chair Susan Baerwald, Debbi
Bossi, Jill R. Cohen, Loraine Despres, Linda Feferman, Jane Fleming
(WIF Vice President), Deborah Goldberger, Iris Grossman (WIF
President), Judith Parker Harris (Foundation Board Vice Chair), Sharon
Lawrence, Carol R. Peters, Ilene Kahn Power, Pamela Rodi, Marion
Rosenberg, Paula Silver, Marion Spiegelman (Foundation Board Chair),
Holly Thro (WIFF Coordinator), Lucy Webb (WIF Vice President), and
Margot Winchester. The
entries were winnowed down to 19 semifinalists, and a jury comprised of
many of the above-listed Foundation Board members, along with
Stephanie Austin, Anna Baum, Johnna Levine, Lynne Littman
(Director), Mark McCoy (Director of Post Production at Lion’s
Gate Films), Patty Meyer (Professor of Film at Chapman University),
Richard Cartwright (Photographer), and Scott Thaler (Production
Manager) met at Cinespace in Hollywood to review and judge the films on
May 5. This
year, 9 finalists were chosen from a field of 125 applicants from 18
states and two foreign countries. Their works include six feature
documentaries, one narrative feature, one dramatic short and one
experimental short. Our winners this year came from: New York,
NY/ Albany, CA/ Los Angeles, CA/ Waltham, MA/ Charlotte, NC/ Bala
Cynwyd, PA/ and Chicago, IL. Plans for a showcase of this year’s awardees will be announced shortly. Following is the list of the nine grant recipients.
Bloom
A
112-minute narrative dramatic feature by Rosie Vargas Goldberg,
Chicago, Ill., about two women, one Latina and one Jewish, who deal
with unhappiness and frustration through therapy and find that similar
problems plague very diverse women. Vargas Goldberg is a
first-time filmmaker who has enlisted support and advice from Chicago’s
IFP and film community.
 We Also Dance/ courtesy of: Nancy Stevens
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We Also Dance
A
59-minute documentary by Nancy Stevens, New York, N.Y., about four
blind and vision-impaired people who transcend their disability and
pursue their shared passion for dancing. This film has been
selected as the recipient of the “Gretchen Bender Fund” out of New
York, which was started by the family of Bender, a WIFTI member who
passed away last year.
Rosita
A
film about a nine-year-old girl from Nicaragua who is raped on her way
to school in Costa Rica and becomes pregnant. A 60-minute
documentary by Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater, Bala Cynwyd, Penn.,
the film traces the difficulties the girl’s parents encounter
attempting to obtain an abortion. The government, medical
establishment and church all forbid it, but the family
perseveres.
A Question of Guilt
Melissa
Mummert, Charlotte, N.C., has dealt with the consequences of
overly-harsh sentences for drug conspiracy convictions for women in
this 58-minute documentary. An African-American woman is serving
two life sentences for living in a house with a felon. The film
explores the consequences of her absence on her family.
Absolutely Safe
This
58-minute documentary takes an in-depth look at the controversy over
the safety of breast implants and the role that beauty plays in our
culture. The FFF recipient is filmmaker Carol Ciancutti-Leyva,
New York, N.Y.
One Balloon
Aruna
Naimji and Aram Hekinian, New York, N.Y., have made a 20-minute
experimental short narrative film, a surreal tale about a woman whose
biological clock forces her to make a choice between sexuality and
intellect.
 Beautiful Sin/ courtesy of: The Tico Times
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Beautiful Sin
This
hour-long documentary by Gabriela Quirós, Albany, Calif., follows three
couples from Costa Rica whose efforts to have children through in-vitro
fertilization pit them against the country's unique ban on
this assisted reproductive technique.
No. 6 (formerly Slaved) A
25-minute dramatic short telling the real-life story of the tragedy and
liberation of a young Ukrainian woman who survives sex trade
trafficking between Eastern Europe and Los Angeles. The filmmaker
is Robin Larsen, a student Academy Award-winning filmmaker from Los
Angeles.
At Home in Utopia
This
60-minute documentary by Michal Goldman, Waltham., Mass., deals with a
radical utopian community in the Bronx founded in the 1920’s with
subject matter centered partially around the women of this community. ****************************************************************************** Many
thanks to all who volunteered time and expertise in reviewing the
submissions and making the final selections. We could not have
functioned without your input. We
are also grateful to Foundation Board Vice Chair Candace Block for
arranging the Cinespace venue, and to General Partner Marvin Epstein
and host and Principal Partner Kimberly Roussel for their kind donation
of Cinespace.
2004 Winners
2003 Winners
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