Flies Collective, a Brooklyn-based production company that champions the independent filmmaking community, announced today that they have awarded over seventeen thousand dollars in financial and production support to five projects in their second annual film grant. The announcement was made by Flies Collective principals Daniel Patrick Carbone, Matthew Petock and Zachary Shedd.
Says Zachary Shedd, “Two years in a row we’ve been floored both by the level of talent within the grant proposals we reviewed and the sheer number of submissions, which more than doubled from last year. The ability and heart shown by our winners and by so many of the filmmakers who submitted was overwhelming and made us all proud to be working in this industry. Our hope with these five films is to give them the small leg up they more than deserve.”
This year, Flies Collective enlisted the help of a grant review committee:
Anna Rose Holmer, writer and director of THE FITS (2015).
Michael Raisler, co-founder and former Creative Director of Cinereach. Executive Producer of MATANGI/MAYA/MIA, WE THE ANIMALS and the upcoming feature adaptation of MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON.
Raven Jackson, filmmaker, poet and 2017 recipient of the Flies Collective Film Grant, for her short film NETTLES.
This year, Flies Collective received over five hundred applications. The winners of this year’s grant are as follows:
FEYATEY | Director: Jessica Beshir | Experimental Documentary Feature
FEYATEY is a spiritually poetic and intimately political depiction of contemporary Ethiopia under a repressive regime, a window into the fantasies that the mysterious mild narcotic leaf Khat has afforded millions of Ethiopians who seek to escape their grim realities. This seventy-minute immersive documentary tells the story of the fantasy world induced by Khat chewing against the backdrop of the Khat industry workers who work around the clock to fuel the country with the mighty leaf of fantasy. Currently in production.
PILLARS | Director: Haley Anderson | Narrative Short
PILLARS is a non-linear experimental short that explores transgenerational trauma and genetic memory through coming of age experiences across three generations of a family in the American South. Currently in pre-production
DON’T EVER LET GO | Director: Fabian Molina | Animated Short
DON’T EVER LET GO is a 7 minute animated film about a teenage Mexican-American brother and sister who are both trying to figure out their place in the world. Walking home from school one day they come upon a powerful stone, and both of them have different ideas about what to do with it. Currently in production.
WHO CAN PREDICT WHAT WILL MOVE YOU | Director: Livia Huang | Narrative Short
WHO CAN PREDICT WHAT WILL MOVE YOU is about two Asian-American boys from Queens caught in a rivalrous, too-close relationship between friendship and romance, spending one last night together in the summer before college. Currently in pre-production.
A BLACK RIFT BEGINS TO YAWN | Director: Matthew Wade | Narrative Feature
A BLACK RIFT BEGINS TO YAWN is a tone poem that teeters between being a pure mood piece and a mysterious narrative; exchanges of dialogue between the two women, Laura and Lara, working to uncover a conspiracy regarding the work of a deceased teacher and his obsession with an alien satellite, slowly reveal their intentions. One appears to have nefarious motives while the other tries to make sense of a puzzle she feels they have both been placed in, feeling out the danger which her former colleague presents. Currently in post-production.
Matthew Petock adds, “I’m again humbled and honored that so many talented storytellers and creators took time to share their work with us — it makes me very proud to be a member of this community. The outstanding projects we selected are daring and unique, and the filmmakers behind them have singular, inspired voices. We’re thrilled to be able to support their work.”
Wanting to find and support independent filmmakers like themselves, Daniel, Mathew and Zachary established the grant in order to pay forward the support they had received. In its first year, Flies Collective awarded over thirteen thousand dollars in grants and services to projects from Raven Jackson (NETTLES), Joshua Gleason (WHERE THE BOYS ARE), Lana Wilson (THE CURE FOR FEAR) and Jared Hutchinson (EARTHENWARE HEAD).
Flies Collective was established in 2012, but the principals at Flies Collective have been collaborating since they all attended NYU Tisch School of the Arts together. The team has been behind films like HIDE YOUR SMILING FACES, COLLECTIVE:UNCONSCIOUS, A LITTLE CLOSER, AMERICANA, as well as 2018’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere PHANTOM COWBOYS and Aaron Schimberg’s CHAINED FOR LIFE, which will soon screen at Austin’s Fantastic Fest and BFI London Film Festival.
For more information on the Flies Collective Film Grant, please visit: http://fliescollective.com/film-grant/