The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) and Pond5 have partnered together to create a program to help filmmakers with their projects. TFI is a nonprofit arts organization that partners with storytellers to help break through the barriers of exposure, access, and sustainability in the media landscape (www.tfiny.org). Pond5 is the world’s largest stock-video marketplace, which shares its licensing revenue with their contributors (www.pond5.com).
The program awards selected filmmakers: grants, mentorship, content, and education. The program is funded by tax-deductible donations that Pond5 is matching. Donations can be made here.
I was able to talk with one of the TFI alumni, Caitlin Mae Baker, a producer who helped fill me in on the earlier networking event that took place. The networking event was set up as a kind of “speed dating” design where filmmakers and TFI alumnae rotated around to meet and discuss current and future projects. The event was designed more to help develop connections and relationships and get some insight from the alumni that were participating. Unfortunately Caitlin couldn’t tell me any of the specifics the projects, but did say that there were some she was looking forward to seeing now that they were complete and that there were others that she would like to see as a movie in the future.
I was also able to speak with the Tom Cary the CFO of Pond5. He told me how after the announcements were made of the recipients for the grants; one grantee, Pawel Nazaruk, has been a contributor to Pond5 since almost the beginning; numbering in the top 500 of the first contributors. And how proud they were of Pawel and that they “couldn’t ask for a better ambassador.” Pawel is both a contributor and customer of the Pond5 marketplace. Tom also talked about how the fund is donation based and how every little bit helps.
Below is a list of the first six grantees for 2019. Each was chosen based on the project they are working on and were given a grant to help with certain aspects of the project.
TFI and Pond5 Filmmaker Fund Grantees:
499 AÑOS (499 YEARS)
Creative Documentary Feature
Directed by: Rodrigo Reyes
Producers: Inti Cordera and Andrew Houchens
499 Years examines the brutal legacy of colonialism nearly five centuries after Cortez arrived in the Aztec Empire. Bold, unique, and strikingly cinematic, the film uses magical realism, combining documentary and fiction to show how past traumas continue to affect contemporary reality while challenging us to overcome our histories of violence.
DEATH OF NINTENDO
Scripted Feature
Directed by: Raya Martin
Writer/Producer: Valerie Castillo Martinez
Executive Producer: Whitaker Lader
Co-Producers: Jeremy Chua, Nikolo Juban
Set in 90’s suburban Manila, the story takes us into the colorful pop-culture world of four 13-year old friends, back in the days when videogames were still a novelty. Mimaw and her friends Paolo, Kachi, and Gilligan go on a journey of self-discovery together as they play games and wrestle with new dilemmas – puppy love, circumcision and other horror stories.
A HOLE TO HELL
Documentary Short
Directed by: Pawel Nazaruk & Tomasz Adamski
Producer: Pawel Nazaruk
The Cold War race to dig the deepest into the Earth reveals an entrance to Hell in arctic Russia. Forty years later, Yuri Smirnoff is the last man standing.
NO FAULT
Scripted Short
Director: Myna Joseph
Producers: Amy Lo, Lucy Owen, Lizzie Shapiro
Executive Producer: Lana Yang
Following a near-fatal car accident, Lu wrestles with creeping invisibility as she approaches the second half of her life. On this long winter day, she finds her physical identity fractured, ignored, misunderstood, and judged – but with wry humor and stubborn resilience, she’s determined to be seen.
SOLACE
Scripted Feature
Directed by: Tchaiko Omawale
Producers: Hope Olaide Wilson, Maya Emelle, Sophia Solomon
Co-Producers: Sabine Hoffman, Sascha Brown Rice
A 17 year-old orphan is shipped off to her estranged grandmother and she plots her escape while navigating a foreign environment, new friendships and a hidden eating disorder.
SURVIVOR LOVE LETTER
AR Experience and Installation
Lead Artist & Executive Producer: Tani Ikeda
Lead Artist & Creative Director: Jess X. Snow
Additional Lead Artist: Layqa Nuna Yawar
Producer: Kevin Tsukii
Through a network of augmented reality murals centering Survivors of sexual assault, Survivor Love Letter presents a galaxy where survivors are not only believed and supported, but also loved unconditionally. Using our AR app, users can watch the mural and the love letter come to life through animation and read a library of love letters from survivors and allies all over the world, and ultimately have the option to add to the galaxy by writing their own.
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