Announcing Film Outreach and Engagement Project Grants
Our new rolling application cycle opened in July 2015! We are thrilled to announce grants to the following projects:
DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST
Directed by Samantha Grant
Daughters of the Forest follows girls attending perhaps the most revolutionary high school in the world, Paraguay’s Mbaracayú Forest Girls’ School. Here students are transformed into some of the most financially literate young people on earth, studying economics and immediately applying what they learn to operating sustainable businesses which fund the school and ensure both the girls’ future and that of the reserve. The film follows the first class of girls to attend the school, exploring their challenges – shared by poor girls around the world–and their ultimate triumphs.
>>Fledgling committed $15K to support Latin American outreach.
DEATH BY DESIGN
Directed by Sue Williams
Consumers love – and live on – their smartphones, tablets and laptops. A cascade of new devices pours endlessly into the market, promising even better communication, addicting entertainment and instant information. But this revolution has a dark side, hidden from most consumers. Death by Design explores how even the smallest devices have deadly environmental and health costs. From factories in China, to a ravaged New York community and the high tech corridors of Silicon Valley, the film tells a story of environmental degradation, of health tragedies, and the fast approaching tipping point between consumerism and sustainability.
>> Fledging committed $30K for outreach and engagement planning.
EAGLE HUNTRESS
Directed by Otto Bell
Eagle Huntress, premiering at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl who is fighting an ingrained culture of misogyny to become the first female Eagle Hunter in 2,000 years of male-dominated history. Through breathtaking aerial cinematography and intimate verite footage, the film captures her personal journey while also addressing universal themes like female empowerment, the natural world, coming of age and the onset of modernity.
>> Fledgling committed $25K to support the launch of their outreach and engagement.
LITTLE WHITE LIE
Directed by: Lacey Schwartz
Little White Lie is a film about dual identity, race, family secrets, and redemption. Filmmaker Lacey Schwartz documents her story of growing up in a typical upper-middle-class Jewish household, with loving parents and a strong sense of her Jewish identity—despite the questions from those around her about how a “white” girl could have such dark skin. Daring to ask the questions that her parents had been silent about, Lacey confronts her family’s secret —her true racial identity—and documents her process of discovery and acceptance. Through the PBS premiere, film festivals, and screenings, the film has sparked conversations on unspoken truths about identity and race across the country.
>>Fledgling committed $15K to support the rollout of the Truth Circle Game, a tool for intelligent dialogue on race and identity.
NINE TO NINETY
Directed by Alicia Dwyer
Nine To Ninety is the love story of Phyllis and Joe Sabatini, who at age 89 and 90 live in the home of their daughter and son-in-law, where they relish time with their young granddaughter Jacqueline. But as the family struggles to make ends meet and the grandparents’ health problems escalate, Phyllis becomes determined to free her daughter from the burden of caring for everyone from nine to ninety. When Phyllis makes a difficult decision to move 3,000 miles away to live with their other daughter, she faces parting from Joe, her husband of 62 years. While Joe has become resigned to his ailments, Phyllis yearns to live with agency and independence even with limited resources, and the couple’s surprising choices ignite bigger conversations about how to age with dignity.
>> Fledgling committed an additional $25K to support their engagement strategy.
RADICAL GRACE
Directed by Rebecca Parrish
Radical Grace follows three fearless nuns who risk their place in the Catholic Church to follow a higher calling: social justice. These sisters are spiritual activists – they commune with the divine in and through the struggle for social justice. Filled with love and hope, they challenge sexism and other injustices, even when perpetrated by their own faith leaders. The social impact campaign aims to reclaim faith and spirituality from the Religious Right, creating a space for people of all faiths and no faith to be “spiritual activists,” to live our inner calling to act for justice, and to transform patriarchal religious institutions. Radical Grace is poised to build bridges between change makers, infuse social justice movements with nourishing hope, and support the growing movement for women’s religious equality.
>>Fledgling has committed an additional 25K to support the campaign.
TINY: THE LIFE OF ERIN BLACKWELL
Directed by Martin Bell
Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell is a follow-up to the 1984 Academy Award-nominated film Streetwise, which captured the story of runaway children in Seattle. The film, also directed by Martin Bell, grew out of the work of acclaimed photographer Mary Ellen Mark. Every few years for 30 years, Bell and Mark revisited Tiny, a “Streetwise” main character, to document important moments and everyday life. Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell tells this story.
>> Fledgling committed $25K to the film’s impact campaign.
THE HOMESTRETCH
Directed by Kirsten Kelly and Anne de Mare
The Homestretch follows three homeless teens as they fight to stay in school, graduate, and build a future. Each of these smart, ambitious teenagers – Roque, Kasey and Anthony – will surprise, inspire, and challenge audiences to rethink stereotypes of homelessness as they work to complete their education while facing the trauma of being alone and abandoned at an early age. As their stories unfold, the film connects us deeply with larger issues of poverty, race, juvenile justice, immigration, foster care, and LGBTQ rights.
>> Fledgling committed an additional $15K to support the regional policy roundtables.