11 Filmmakers Selected For 2013 TFI Documentary Fund
Today TFI has the pleasure to announce the grant winners for the 2013 TFI Documentary Fund, which includes the new TFI/ESPN Prize.
Providing financial support and furthering the development of exceptional character-driven, in-progress documentaries, 11 filmmakers (from 550 submissions) have been chosen this year to receive a total of $160,000 in grants toward their documentary projects, including the inaugural TFI/ESPN Prize, a new extension of the TFI Doc Fund that will award an annual grant of $30,000 to a feature-length work-in-progress documentary that presents sports, competition and athleticism as a backdrop for a character-driven story.
The projects—ranging from an exorcism, gay illegal aliens, an artist named Peaches and a Hollywood veteran's influence on minor league baseball (we're also awarding a grant to Jeff Malmberg & Chris Shellen's Teatro for a second straight year)—will receive year-round guidance and consultation from TFI. Including festival and distribution strategy session and fundraising support.
Congrats to the grantees. Read about their projects below.
Recipient of the TFI/ESPN Prize:
The Battered Bastards of Baseball
Directed by Chapman Way and Maclain Way Produced by Juliana Lembi
When Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the most popular minor league baseball team of the decade, it revolutionizes the possibilities for independent sport in America.
Five grants will be awarded to films in various stage of development:
The Arrivals (Las Llegadas)
Directed by Heidi Ewing Produced by Rachel Grady
Two young men leave their lives in Mexico City and make the dangerous journey to the United States so they may be together as an openly gay couple. Today, they are successful business owners in New York… but with no path to legalization, they must decide if they should leave it all behind and return home.
The Battle With Satan
Directed by Konrad Szolajski Produced by Ewa Zukowska
A rebellious teenager doesn’t want to attend religion lessons, and her teacher views this is as a sign of demonic possession. The teenager is then subjected to exorcisms, and her faith in God doesn’t return; instead she acquires an intense fear of the power of Satan…
Peaches Goes Bananas
Directed by Marie Losier Produced by Martin Marquet
Peaches Goes Bananas takes an intimate look at artist and musician Peaches' playful and intoxicating creative world.
Wind on the Moon
Directed by Seung-Jun Yi Produced by Min-Chul Kim
In Seung-Jun Yi's (Planet of Snail) latest film, young deafblind girl Yeji can only express herself by crying, screaming, laughing and smiling. In order to understand her daughter's form of communication, Yeji's mother keeps a diary, like a secret code, in order to better understand her daughters needs and desires.
The Wonderful Kingdom of Papa Alaev
Directed and produced by Noam Pinchas & Tal Barda
A story about a famous and hot-tempered Tajik musical family, led by the charismatic, funny and controlling Papa Alaev, who at the age of 80 is starting to lose his grip on his family, sending them on a rigid and unsure transition from Monarchy to Democracy. - Recipient of the TFI Award at the 2012 Greenhouse Pitching Forum
Four grants will be awarded to films in various stages of production:
Art and Craft
Directed by Sam Cullman & Jennifer Grausman
Examining the curious story of a prolific art forger just as his thirty-year con is publicly revealed, Art and Craft uncovers one of the most intriguing cases of deception in art history and opens an unlikely window onto questions of mental health, art, and philanthropy in the 21st century.
Garnet's Gold
Directed by Ed Perkins Produced by Simon Chinn
Follow one extraordinary man’s quixotic and recklessly brave adventure in search of hidden treasure, in a belated rite of passage to reclaim his soul and rediscover the meaning of his life.
The New Czar
Directed by Alejandro Alvarez & Ulrik Wivel Executive Produced by Talal Al-Muhanna
After two decades leading Madrid's Compañía Nacional de Danza and transforming it into one of the most successful dance companies in the world, Spanish dance icon Nacho Duato is fired. Devastated, his all-consuming need to create takes him to St. Petersburg as he accepts the challenge of modernizing a Russian ballet troupe, even as it plunges him into cultural and social isolation.
Teatro
Directed and produced by Jeff Malmberg & Chris Shellen
Teatro is a documentary fairy tale about a tiny Italian farming village that turns their lives into a play in order to confront their issues and save their way of life.
One grant will be awarded to a film in post-production:
One in a Billion
Directed by Geeta V. Patel and Ravi Patel Produced by Geeta V. Patel & Janet Eckholm
One in a Billion is a romantic comedy documentary about an almost-30-year-old Indian-American man who enters a love triangle between the woman of his dreams and his parents. The story is funny, touching, and sheds light on the challenges that first-generation young people face in love and cultural preservation.
