Tribeca Film Institute Announces Winners of Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Grant
Tribeca Film Institute Announces Winners of Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund Grant
The Tribeca Film Institute has announced the winners for this year’s Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. The Fund aims to produce documentaries that will highlight critical domestic and international social issues. Out of 540 submissions, 10 were selected and will split $150,000 to help with costs, guidance and getting the films out to the public. This year, AOL paired to present four of the winners with the AOL Charitable Foundation Award, which specifically focused on issues with women, while the other six will receive grants from Gucci.
“We’re so proud of our grantees this year and believe that the selection of works addresses compelling and personal stories that bring attention to various domestic and international social issues,” said Jose Rodriguez, Director of Documentary Programs at Tribeca Film Institute. “We’re also grateful for the continuous support that we have from our partners, including Gucci and our new presenting partner, the AOL Charitable Foundation. It is with their support, that we are able to bring these incredible works to life.”
The 2015 Recipients of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund:
“Acorn and the Firestorm”
Directed and Produced by Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard.
ACORN, a national community-organizing group devoted to empowering lower income communities, is attacked. The story involves a fake prostitute and voter fraud, and cuts to the heart of the political divide.
“Angels are Made of Light”
Directed and Produced by James Longley; Produced by Basil Shadid; Executive Produced by Joslyn Barnes.
“Angels are Made of Light” reveals the daily struggles and inner lives of students and teachers at a school in Kabul, Afghanistan during the closing years of America’s longest war.
“Beitar” (Working Title)
Directed and Produced by Maya Zinshtein; Executive Produced by John Battsek and Nicole Scott; Produced by Geoff Arbourne.
In January 2013 a historic transfer deal transported two Muslim players into the heart of Israel, Beitar Jerusalem F.C. One season and one football team in crisis, and behind the story lurks the money and power that will send the club spiraling out of control.
“Roll Red Roll”
Directed & Produced by Nancy Schwartzman; Produced by Jessica Devaney.
A whistle-blowing hacker uncovers disturbing social media evidence documenting the gang rape of a teenage girl. The story of a football town divided, “Roll Red Roll” is an immersive mystery thriller examining rape culture in the 21st century.
“Survivors”
Directed by Arthur Pratt & Banker White; Produced by Anna Fitch.
Through the eyes of Sierra Leonean filmmaker Arthur Pratt, “Survivors” presents a portrait of his country during the Ebola outbreak, the most acute health crisis of our time. Amid unthinkable tragedy, Arthur focuses his lens on unfolding stories of Sierra Leonean heroism all around him.
“The Oakland Police Project”
Directed by Peter Nicks; Produced by Linda Davis; Executive Produced by Jon Else; Edited and Produced by Lawrence Lerew.
This is a film about police power and restraint unfolding deep inside the famously troubled Oakland Police Department. We observe in intimate detail the rare perspective of beleaguered officers who are often viewed as oppressors in the community they serve, even as they and their young chief struggle to rebuild trust in the face of mass protests, budget cuts, and more violent crimes per officer than any city in America.
The 2015 Recipients of the AOL Charitable Foundation Award:
“Audrie and Daisy”
Directed and Produced by Jon Shenk & Bonni Cohen; Produced by Sara Dosa & Richard Berge; Edited by Don Bernier.
In two towns on different sides of America, two teenage girls pass out while intoxicated at high school parties, and, while unconscious, both are sexually assaulted by boys they call their friends. In the aftermath, the girls each endure online harassment, both attempt suicide, and tragically, one girl dies. “Audrie and Daisy” explores this new public square of shame from the perspective of the teenagers and their families – including the boys involved in the assaults and the girls willing to speak out publically for the first time.
“Belly of the Beast”
Directed and Produced by Erika Cohn; Executive Produced by Geralyn Dreyfous and Mark Lipson
The significance of “Belly of the Beast” lies in the banality of the evil it exposes, intimately chronicling the journey of women fighting reproductive injustice in their communities.
“A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers”
Directed and Produced by Geeta Gandbhir & Sharmeen Chinoy; Executive Produced by Perri Peltz.
“A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers” follows three women in an all female, predominantly Muslim unit of police officers sent to post-earthquake Haiti as UN Peacekeepers for one year. The mission challenges these women while shattering commonly held stereotypes.
“The War to Be Her”
Directed by Erin Heidenreich.
Her home is “the most dangerous place on earth,” where sports are decried as un-Islamic, and girls rarely leave their homes. But she did. She’s a world-renowned athlete and a flashpoint in her country’s battle over feminine identity. She is Maria Toorpakai Wazir, a young woman known as Genghis Khan.
All synopses are courtesy of the Tribeca Film Institute.
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