The Independence Public Media Foundation (IPMF) announces $500,000 in grants awarded to 30 film projects through its Local Filmmaker Fund.
The fund aims to support Greater Philadelphia emerging and professional storytellers with the development of their films and gaining additional skills to hone their craft. The foundation has awarded more than $2.3 million in grants to Greater Philadelphia filmmakers since the fund’s inception in 2020.
IPMF partners with a panel of local filmmakers and film advocates each year to select the fund grant recipients. Through this community-led grantmaking process, IPMF is shifting power to communities harmed by systems of oppression and media erasure.
SIFTERS GRANT RECIPIENTS:
TONIGHT, WE EAT FLOWERS, directed by Bettina Escauriza. “Tonight, We Eat Flowers” is a romantic comedy that centers the lives of Luis, a recent immigrant, and Jamilah, a foodie stuck in a hellish 9 to 5 job. The two fall in love as they navigate the struggle for connection in a highly individualized world and the soul crushing grind of working at underpaid and uninspiring jobs. ($10,000)
YOU WERE DEAD YESTERDAY, directed by Destiny Cox. At the height of a zombie apocalypse, a resilient Black rural family discovers the outbreak that is destroying their community was a conspiracy led by the federal government. Amid the chaos, each family member questions their faith and struggles to reconcile their beliefs with the harsh realities they face. ($20,000)
A SONG FOR NIA, directed by Eboni Zamani. “A Song for Nia” is a digital dramedy series about Nia, a Los Angeles-based creative’s homecoming to Philadelphia. This series will be an intimate look into the personal life of a Black woman and the Black communities she was part of in Philadelphia. ($30,000)
THE UNKNOWN TALES OF LEWIS and MARY LATIMER directed by Nadine Patterson. “The Unknown Tales of Lewis and Mary Latimer” reveals the hidden story of innovation and triumph as 19th century Americans of African descent emerge from enslavement after the Civil War. The story of Latimer’s creation of the modern day light bulb serves as a metaphor for the emergence of a people from darkness into light. ($15,000)
FRIENDS OF SIFT GRANT RECIPIENTS:
Animal, directed by Eunice Levis. “Animal” is an environmental science fiction horror short that follows two siblings who befriend a genetically altered rat and use it to defend their Kensington, Philadelphia neighborhood from sinister land developers who carelessly dump poisonous materials into the Delaware River. ($15,000)
The Dennis Boys, directed by Stephen Schaffer. “The Dennis Boys” is a film about two brothers—a realist and a dreamer—who struggle to find common ground when their sick mother’s condition worsens. ($20,000)
The Local Filmmaker Fund, in addition to a grant, includes a 12-month cohort that will provide filmmakers with capacity-building workshops to gain more industry knowledge. To gain more public interest and following, filmmakers can also screen their projects at IPMF’s annual Fall Film Screening.
For more information or if you have questions or feedback, contact Enni Aigbomian, enni@independencemedia.org.
Sisters in Film & Television - SIFTMEDIA 215 