Finalists Selected for Indie Film Grant Awards Ozark Foothills FilmFest is pleased to announce the finalists in the Indie Film Grant Initiative. Twenty-seven Arkansas filmmakers submitted applications for one of three available $30,000 grants. Filmmakers were asked to submit work samples and complete a rigorous application. They also agreed to shoot their film primarily in Arkansas and have a 75% Arkansan cast and crew. Applications were reviewed by Bob Pest, President of Ozark Foothills FilmFest; Christopher Crane, Arkansas Department of Economic Development Film Commissioner; and producer/director Tim Jackson of Fried Green Media and Category-One Entertainment.
Finalists will attend a review panel to discuss their proposed films before the three judges. Panels will be held June 3 in Batesville and June 10 in Little Rock. Following the panels, each judge will select one project to receive a grant. If two judges select the same project, the trio will caucus and make an additional choice. Grant recipients will be announced on June 15. The three funded films will premiere at the 2012 Ozark Foothills FilmFest or, if not finished by that time, at a special screening in Batesville at a later date. Recipients are also required to perform an in-service film workshop for young filmmakers in their communities or as part of the 2012 T Tauri Movie Camp for aspiring filmmakers age 18 and under. The finalists and their projects are: Gerry Bruno (Little Rock), The Bloodstone Diaries–Drama Taylor Feltner (Los Angeles), Man Shot Dead–Documentary Zac Heath (Paragould), Out of the Ashes–Drama Michad Holliday (Conway), Come Rescue Me–Documentary Juli Jackson (Paragould), 45 RPM–Drama Sarah K. Moore (Fayetteville), Witch Hazel Advent–Documentary Brent Renaud (Little Rock), My Brother’s Heart–Documentary Nick Rogers (Little Rock), Tomorrow Is Another Day–Documentary Kate Siegenthaler (Marionville MO), A Place to Call Home–Documentary Hans Stiritz (Russellville), Mar Dulce–Documentary Siegenthaler and Feltner are native Arkansans currently living out of state.
The Arkansas Indie Film Initiative is funded by the Arkansas Cultural Regional Grants project, with technical assistance from the Arkansas Arts Council. Ozark Foothills FilmFest, Inc is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit corporation founded in 2001 and based in Locust Grove.
