Independence Public Media Foundation recently announced a sizable investment in the local filmmaking community with grants totaling $1.3 million to filmmakers, festivals, and film organizations, with an emphasis on supporting artists from underrepresented communities, and films with a commitment to social justice. 

Included in the awards are:

•  A grant of $100k to the BlackStar Film Festival founded by FMA Alum Maori Karmael Holmes ('05)

• A $35,000 grant for Childless, directed by FMA Alum Iris Devins (MFA '16)
  The film is a sci-fi/drama feature about a trans woman who pursues an alternative fertility treatment at a rogue lab in Denmark, where she uncovers a plot to revive eugenics through gene editing and must fight to save her new son and the universe. Childless not only explores the ethics of science but is deeply committed to illuminating trans motherhood and developing a character arc that moves from a need for biological motherhood to chosen motherhood through adoption. In doing so, the film hopes to create a piece that all women—no matter their background.

• A $25.000 grant to FMA Professor Rea Tajiri for her film Wisdom Gone Wild , a personal documentary following a sixteen year caregiving journey into dementia for Rose Noda, a Japanese-American woman and her filmmaker-daughter Rea. The film follows a non-linear structure going between hospice, early onset, and mid-term dementia; mirroring Rose’s own erratic travels through time. 

We are so proud of these incredible filmmakers and glad to see this wonderful news! For more on the Independence Public Media Foundation awards check here.