The first round of “Made in NY” Women’s Film, TV & Theatre Fund grants have been awarded, a press release has announced. New York Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) Acting Commissioner Anne del Castillo revealed that $1.5 million in grants were presented to 63 women-made projects today. This marks the first wave of a planned three-year, $5 million fund program for filmmakers, playwrights, and theater producers developing projects by, for, and about women.
Fourteen theater productions, 11 documentary features, and four narrative features received $50,000 each. Ten narrative shorts and nine doc shorts were given $25,000 each. Nine narrative webisode/web series projects and six doc webisodes/web series projects were awarded $20,000 each.
“Today, exceptional women creators, directors, and producers are still not getting the recognition and professional success they deserve,” said Glen. “As a leading entertainment capital, New York City is no longer willing to accept this status quo. With our groundbreaking Women’s Fund for Film & Theatre, more women will be able to fund their creative ventures and secure the resources they need to see their work on the big screen or stage.” She continued, “We are proud to close the industry’s opportunity gap and open doors for women of all backgrounds.”
The winning projects were selected from 544 applications by industry experts such as playwright and “The Americans” EP Tracey Scott Wilson, actors Daphne Rubin-Vega (“Rent”) and Kathleen Chalfant (“House of Cards”), “Equity” screenwriter Amy Fox, and Film Society of Lincoln Center exec director Lesli Klainberg. Winners include Isabel Sandoval’s “Lingua Franca,” a narrative film following an undocumented Filipina trans woman as she pursues a legal immigration status and embarks on a new relationship; Aisha Jordan’s web series “#HashtagTheShow,” a sketch comedy exploring modern culture through the perspective of American people of color; and “An Act of Worship,” Nausheen Dadabhoy’s doc about Muslim-American women activists.
In order to qualify for the fund, 75 percent of audiovisual projects’ shooting days needed to take place in New York City or 75 percent of its below-the-line production costs had to be incurred in the city. Theater projects must have been rehearsed and performed in NYC.
“By making significant investments in women-led projects, the Women’s Fund seeks to increase the pipeline of female-identified creatives in front of and behind the camera, and on stage,” explained del Castillo. “The 63 projects receiving this first round of grants portray the complexity and variety of human experience as told by an incredibly diverse group of women. This milestone affirms New York City’s commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry.”
Head over to the Women’s Film, TV and Theatre Fund’s webpage to check out all the “Made in NY” winners.
