Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Berkeley FILM Foundation Gives $130,000 in Grants to 16 Filmmakers for 2014

2014 Berkeley Film Foundation Awards

$130,000 in grants given to 16 East Bay filmmakers

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Berkeley FILM Foundation (BFF) announced that it has just awarded $130,000 from its 2014 film and video grant program to 16 filmmakers, including two student filmmakers. The BFF gave this year’s $25,000 Saul Zaentz Award to Ghost Town to Havana by filmmaker Eugene Corr.

    “In our six-year history, BFF has awarded nearly $800,000 to almost 90 film projects. We are extremely proud that several films funded by the BFF have found audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca, DocuWeeks, Silver Docs, and one has garnered an Oscar nomination”

The film is an intimate portrait of two coaches and their youth baseball teams. Nicolas Reyes, a coach in Havana, Cuba, and Roscoe Bryant, a coach in Oakland, CA, mentor their boys through the toughest of circumstances.

In May of 2010, the two coaches meet and their teams get the chance to play together in Havana. It is a celebration of life, community, boyhood and baseball.

At its core, Ghost Town to Havana is a film about poverty, mentorship, sports and race.

Corr and coach Bryant have been asked to speak at the annual Berkeley FILM Foundation gala fundraiser on October 1, 2014 at The David Brower Center in Berkeley. For ticket purchase: https://bff2014gala.eventbrite.com

“More than ever, our filmmakers are relying heavily on the Berkeley FILM Foundation for financial support as funding is drying up for independent films,” said David Bergad, executive director of the BFF. “In our six-year history, BFF has awarded nearly $800,000 to almost 90 film projects. We are extremely proud that several films funded by the BFF have found audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca, DocuWeeks, Silver Docs, and one has garnered an Oscar nomination,” he added.

The total list of 2014 BFF winners is:

Eugene Corr, Ghost Town to Havana ***Saul Zaentz Award

Amir Soltani, Dogtown Redemption: In Trash We Trust
Gregory Scharpen, Buchla
Karina Epperlein, Finding The Gold Within
Kim Anno, Water City, Berkeley
Marlene Morris, A New Color
Raymond Telles, A Photographer's Journey
Rick Goldsmith, Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw
Rick Tejada-Flores, The Road to Chulumani
Robin Fryday, Riding My Way Back
Sarolta Cump, The Gold Fish Casino
Sheri Shuster, Child Sex Trafficking: A Story About Love
Snitow-Kaufman Productions, Do Not Track
Judy Montell/Emmy Scharlatt, In The Image

Student Grant Winners:
Dorothy Atkins, The Battle Over Thompson Divide
Leah Dubuc, Zora

The Berkeley FILM Foundation, is a 501(c)3 grant program for independent filmmakers funded by the City of Berkeley, Wareham Development, and the Saul Zaentz Company with a mission to nurture, sustain and preserve the thriving local film community while attracting the next generation of filmmakers. The BFF focuses on supporting social, historical and innovative documentary and dramatic works. Many of the BFF grant winners have gone on to screen at U.S. and international film festivals, been recognized with prestigious awards, received television broadcasts, and are making a difference around the world.

For more information on these awards and on the October 1, 2014 annual gala fundraiser, please e-mail David Bergad, Executive Director BFF at david@berkeleyfilmfoundation.org. Visit us on the web: www.berkeleyfilmfoundation.org, www.facebook.com/BerkeleyFilmFoundation and https://twitter.com/berkeleyfilmfdn

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