Monday, January 25, 2016

Lili Elbe Fellowship to be awarded to a transgender filmmaker

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the LA Film Festival, has selected 30 filmmakers for Project Involve, the organization’s signature diversity mentorship program which fosters the careers of talented filmmakers from communities traditionally underrepresented in the film industry.

Film Independent also announced major new studio support of the program, with two new donor-named fellowships in Project Involve: Focus Features’ Lili Elbe Fellowship, which will be awarded to a transgender filmmaker in the 2016-2017 program, and will provide the filmmaker with a $10,000 grant; and The Walt Disney Studios will support a female director in the current class with a $10,000 grant through The Walt Disney Studios Fellowship. Additionally, the 5th annual Sony Pictures Entertainment Diversity Fellowship in Project Involve will provide a $10,000 grant to a current Fellow, and the second annual Sony Executive Track Fellowship will provide a year-long paid executive training fellowship in development and production with Columbia Pictures along with participation and mentorship through Project Involve.

This year’s mentors include producer Nina Yang Bongiovi (Fruitvale Station, Dope), writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12 ), writer/director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines), casting director Kim Coleman (Chi-raq, Dope), writer/director Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler, The Bourne Legacy), cinematographer Michael Gioulakis (It Follows, Split ), writer/producer Misha Green (Underground, Sons of Anarchy), writer/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Apocalypse, Fantastic Four), writer/director Tina Mabry (Mississippi Damned), cinematographer/director Reed Morano (Meadowland, Vinyl ), writer/director Justin Simien (Dear White People), producer Christine Vachon (Boys Don’t Cry, Carol ), and cinematographer Bradford Young, ASC (A Most Violent Year, Selma).


“We are thrilled to welcome the 23rd class of Film Independent’s Project Involve,” said Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development. “Through Project Involve and across all of our programs, we are working to change the landscape of the industry by discovering and nurturing unique and underrepresented talent. Our commitment to diversity stems from our desire to see the richness of human experience represented in film and television; it is through the stories we tell that we create empathy, dialogue, and deeper cultural understanding. We are thrilled to have Kiehl’s Since 1851 returning to support the Project Involve shorts this year. This funding will allow our fellows to bring their visions to life.”