San Francisco Film Society in Partnership with San Francisco Film Commission Announces Recipients of Inaugural SFFS FilmHouse Residencies

Courtesy of the Film Commission, Film Society Makes Production Office Space Available Free of Charge to Ten Local Independent Filmmakers

October 27, 2008

San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco Film Society announced today the first ten filmmakers who have been awarded SFFS FilmHouse Residencies. This innovative new program, developed in partnership with the San Francisco Film Commission, supports local independent filmmaking by making office space available free of charge to filmmakers actively engaged in various stages of film production. The initial recipients include writers and directors, working on narrative features and documentaries, from the earliest stages of development to postproduction. FilmHouse, opening on November 1, will function as a vibrant workshop and community-builder for local filmmakers of all stripes. 

Dina Ciraulo: six-month residency, postproduction, narrative feature
Opal is a narrative feature about a young woman who catapults to fame with the publication of her nature diaries, then to infamy when readers suspect a hoax in this true story of mystery and intrigue. Ciraulo is an award-winning filmmaker who creates poetic work with striking visuals. For more information visit http://www.opalthemovie.com.

Arwen Lee Curry: six-month residency, preproduction, documentary feature
Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, Curry’s first feature documentary, examines the life work of the prolific and groundbreaking science fiction author. Curry is a San Francisco native and graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism who has worked with award-winning filmmakers Justine Shapiro and Nancy Kates. For more information visit http://leguindocumentary.blogspot.com.

Sara MacPherson: six-month residency, postproduction, documentary feature
Also Ran explores the unseen immigrant communities living and working on American racetracks, focusing on a family that gambles its future on the intensely competitive sport of horse racing. MacPherson’s short documentary Jornalero (Day Laborer 2004) explored the world of San Francisco day laborers and one man’s decision to return to Mexico after 14 years in the U.S. Prior to filmmaking, MacPherson worked as an immigration lawyer specializing in political asylum and family immigration issues.

David Munro: three-month residency, writing, graphic novel adaptation
The Inferiors is a post-punk satiro-drama about a group of misfits who become low-tech vigilantes in order to combat a fascist high school administration bent on eliminating the weak and different. Munro is a San Francisco–based filmmaker whose debut feature Full Grown Men premiered theatrically in summer 2008 after winning the Undiscovered Gems Sundance Channel Audience Award. For more information visit http://www.theinferiors.com.

Tamara Perkins: six-month residency, postproduction, social documentary
The Trust is a character-driven exploration of the path to prison and, for a few men, how a jail cell offered a way to be free. Combining creativity, service and activism Perkins' work showcases the talent of women and minorities and tackles tough, yet poignant subjects through raw and intimate videos and film. For more information visit http://www.trustcommunity.org.

Yoav Potash: one-month residency, writing, documentary feature
Crime After Crime takes viewers into the largest women’s prison in the world to tell a harrowing story of abuse and redemption. Potash, a filmmaking instructor at the Bay Area Video Coalition, has made films that have aired on numerous PBS stations and earned awards including the San Francisco International Film Festival’s Golden Gate Award. For more information visit http://www.summitpictures.com.

Kate Schermerhorn: three-month residency, postproduction, documentary feature
To Have and to Hold is the filmmaker’s personal quest to discover what makes a marriage thrive, why 95 percent of us marry in a lifetime and whether marriage is just an outdated concept. Schermerhorn has worked with directors Michael Moore and Tamra Davis, among many others.  Her directorial debut, the KQED coproduction Seeking 1906, won a Northern California Emmy. For more information visit http://www.lunaparkproductions.org.

Tiffany Shlain: six-month residency, production, documentary feature
Connected: A Declaration of Interdependence: A New Conversation About the Birds and the Bees mixes powerful visuals, humor and serious messages in an exhilarating stream-of-consciousness journey into the interconnectedness of humankind, nature, progress and morality at the dawn of the 21st century. Shlain is an award-winning filmmaker, founder of the Webby Awards and one of Newsweek’s Women Shaping the 21st Century. For more information visit www.tiffanyshlain.com.

Greg Sirota: three-month residency, writing, narrative feature
New Eyes tracks Mark’s travels with his two sisters to attend the funeral of their estranged reformed-alcoholic father. The damaged siblings must find a way to forgive and move on with life. Sirota’s writing, directing and editing work has appeared at film festivals around the world and on television and the Web. He has an MFA in directing and editing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate film program. For more information visit http://gregsirota.com.

Lise Swenson: six-month residency, preproduction, narrative feature
Saltwater follows a woman on a journey into her family’s history and to the Salton Sea, to look squarely at her past in order to move into her future. Swenson creates documentaries, experimental documentaries, feature-length fiction and short experimental video art works that have been exhibited nationally and internationally and she has received numerous awards and grants including a Creative Work Fund grant. For more information visit http://www.saltwaterthemovie.com.

Applications for the second term of FilmHouse Residencies (February 1– July 31, 2009) are due 5:00 pm, December 1, 2008.
For more information, http://www.sffs.org/filmmaker_services/filmhouse-residencies.html

Since 1989, the San Francisco Film Commission has served to encourage the recognition of film as an art form with widespread economic benefits for the city. While recognizing filmmaking as a major emphasis of the city’s economic and cultural base, the Film Commission supports a variety of film activities in the city and promotes San Francisco as a film destination. While stimulating community awareness of the film art form, the Commission is also interested in promoting long-range investment in projects originating in San Francisco, is the liaison with groups, councils, organizations and institutions related to the film industry and provides perspective for both the mayor and the board of supervisors with respect to long-range promotion, development and planning for a significant film arts base in San Francisco. For complete information, visit FilmSF.org.

The San Francisco Film Society is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to celebrating film and the moving image in all its glorious forms. SFFS year-round programs and events are concentrated in four core areas: Celebrating Internationalism; Inspiring Bay Area Youth; Showcasing Bay Area Film Culture; and Exploring New Digital Media. The Film Society shows the best of world cinema year-round on its SFFS Screen at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas; presents the longest-running film festival in the Americas, the SF International (April 23–May 7, 2009), publishes a daily online magazine, SF360.org, with broad-ranging news and features on Bay Area film and media; and annually reaches more than 7,000 students ages 6–18 with its acclaimed media literacy programs, among many other activities.

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