A fund at Johns Hopkins University for independent filmmakers is awarding $550,000 in seed grants to 15 film projects.
The Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund in Film and Media at Johns Hopkins University this year will support 15 projects out of a total of 21 projects that were submitted for consideration.
The projects that have been awarded seed grants this year include narrative films, documentaries, and even a film that uses extended reality.
“If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the human race perseveres and that it is ever more vital to speak out for the kind of world in which we want to live,” said Annette Porter, director of the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, in a statement. “This year’s grantees are creating stories that hold a mirror up to our collective experience, and all of them are told from uniquely personal perspectives. I don’t think we’ve ever seen projects with more grit and determination. We believe these projects are deeply emotional and reveal much about the world we now inhabit.”
In addition to awarding grants to kickstart the projects’ development and production, the fund pairs grantees with mentors in the industry and provides workshops on topics ranging from production concepts to editing and marketing.
The fund also aims to break down barriers that women and people of color experience in the filmmaking industry. In the 2022 class, 61% of grantees are women and 70% are people of color, according to the release.
The fund was founded in 2016 and named after the late film producer Saul Zaentz, who produced films such as “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and an animated version of “The Lord of the Rings.”
The 2022 grantees include:
Narrative film
- “Stealing Cars” Stephen Schuyler and Marly Hernandez
- “Senior” Toroes Thomas
- “Vacants” Cheyanne Zadia Givens
- “Cloud Nebula” Scott Patterson
- “McCulloh St” Krenée A. Tolson
- “Come Into My Arms” Zara Kahan
- “Under the Wolf Tree” Aisha Molake
Documentary
- “The Cost of Justice” Emily Thomas
- “Hard to Get and Dear Paid For” Savannah Wood
- “The Periscopic Gaze” Kalima Young
- “Everlasting Life” Paul K Oh
- “By Us, For Us” Dena Fisher & Amy Scott
- “Through the Eyes of Others” Meagan Lopez
- “Baltimore Ballerina” Josh Davidsburg and Bridget McGready
New media (extended reality)
- “There is No One What Will Take Care of You” Dina Fiasconaro
