IF/Then Shorts American West 2019

Six projects focusing on the American West were selected to enter the IF/Then Shorts pitch competition at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival on February 21, 2019 from 3:00 - 5:00 PM at the University of Montana UC Theater.

The winner was selected by a professional jury consisting of:

Monika Navarro, Senior Director of Programs, Tribeca Film Institute
Drew Xanthopoulos, Independent Filmmaker
Poh Si Teng, Senior Producer for Al Jazeera English
Andrew Blackwell, Supervising Editor for The New York Times Op-Docs 
Pam Torno, Series Producer for Indie Lens Story Cast

The jury chose "Untitled Immigration Lawyer Project" by Priscilla González Sainz as the competition winner, to receive $25,000 in project funding and the opportunity to participate in TFI’s IF/Then Shorts Program, which provides year-round mentorship and career development opportunities. 

"Untitled Immigration Lawyer Project" was selected from the following six projects:

SELECTED PROJECTS:

BALANCING ACT
Director, DP: Joseph Van Eeckhout
Location: Wyoming
A young woman in Wyoming embarks on a journey to impact the narrative around conservation and hunting through her work in politics, the environment, and women in the outdoors.

STATUS PENDING
Director: Priscilla González Sainz
Location: California
A chronicle of the professional and personal lives of six first-generation immigration lawyers who call themselves “The Tribe” and who strive to help immigrants obtain safety and status in the United States. They keep each other supported and sane as their work is increasingly under attack by the current administration. (Formerly known as Untitled Immigration Lawyer Project.)

MAGGIE’S KITCHEN
Director/Producer: Dylan Howell
Producer/DP: Carlo Di Blasi
Location: Colorado
Ouray, Colorado (population 1,000, elevation 8,000 ft) used to be a mining town, but its economy now relies on a surge of summer tourism. Tom is known for making the best burgers in town, and for hiring the folks that no one else does. But will his renegade restaurant be ready for the Fourth of July, the busiest day of the year?

SKATING FRIENDS
Director: Quyên Nguyen-Le
Producer: Anh Phan
Location: California
Weaving through the rigid boys club culture of skateboarding, a group of queer Asian American skateboarders traverse across California, carving out spaces of belonging and cultivating tender networks of kinship, love, and support.

IMMUNE
Director: Jessica Bernstein-Wax
Location: California; Arizona; Indiana
A team of doctors in San Francisco, an Amish father in Indiana, and a 5 year old Navajo girl in Arizona all pursue a cure for a genetic illness that causes infants to be born without an immune system.

TEAM MERYLAND 
Director, DP: Gabriel Gaurano
Producers: Jason Phillips, Julia Elihu
Location: California
Four years after suffering a seizure that left her with no motor skills and complete memory loss, the nation’s second best twelve-year old female boxer, Meryland Gonzales, fights to become number one with the support of her family and community of Watts, South Central Los Angeles.