Leading screenwriting education and talent-discovery organization ScreenCraft and Santa Monica-based media financier BondIt Media Capital have announced four recipients of the Spring 2021 ScreenCraft Film Fund Grant Program.

The first recipient is Women On The Outside, a feature documentary that captures four years in the life of Philadelphia native Kristal Bush and her family, one of the families of the 2.3 million people incarcerated in this country on any given day. It is one family’s deeply American story about the legacy of mass incarceration. After seeing nearly every man in her life disappear to prison, Kristal Bush channels the pain of those losses into “Bridging the Gap” a van service to keep families connected with their incarcerated loved ones. As the men begin to come home, Kristal must figure out how to piece her family back together without breaking herself apart. The project is helmed by writer/ producer Kiara C. Jones.

The second recipient is Sacrifice: The Man Who Built a Cathedral, a documentary film recounting the story of Justo Gallego. For 60 years, with no help or prior architectural expertise, one man builds a cathedral the size of Sagrada Familia using waste and recycled materials. He works mostly alone, without ever drawing a single sketch, while his community labels him a madman. The project is helmed by filmmaker team, Denis Dobrovoda and Matthew Bremner. Denis is a UK-based Slovakian director whose films have screened at multiple festivals. Matthew is a Scottish investigative journalist and producer who was nominated for the American National Magazine Award. 

The third recipient is Maybe I'll Be Brave, an animated short film about elderly, love-struck agoraphobics Douglas and Lillian, who live next door to each other, but can’t walk outside to meet. When fire ravages Douglas’ home, can Lillian summon the bravery to leave her home and save him? The project is helmed by Sam Gill, New Zealand’s most experienced and acclaimed video game storyteller. 

The fourth recipient is Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché, a documentary biopic by the daughter of punk pioneer and X-Ray Spex singer/songwriter Poly Styrene, who journeys across three continents to explore the artistic and cultural legacy of her late mother. The project is helmed by directors, Celeste Bell and Paul Sng, and producer Matthew Silverman. 

Congratulations to these winning writers and finalists, and thank you to our judges and to everyone who submitted projects; we read a number of remarkable submissions.

View the Quarterfinalists, Semifinalists and Finalists here.  

The ScreenCraft Film Fund is administered biannually in amounts up to $30,000 to talented filmmakers with projects that display singular talent, originality, vision, impact and development potential. The program accepts documentary and feature submissions in addition to short films and online series.

ScreenCraft provides ongoing creative development and BondIt (with sister company Buffalo 8 Productions) offer guidance and resources throughout the project’s production. 

Previous ScreenCraft Fund recipients include filmmakers KEFF (Kevin Kai Ming Wang) whose film was selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, Samira Shackle and Owen Kean whose film was acquired by VICE, BAFTA nominated producer, Nick Taussig, and Danny Madden who has subsequently gone on to debut two films at the Sundance Film Festival. 

The Fall 2021 ScreenCraft Film Fund Grant Program is open for submissions. Early deadline ends on March 31st. Applications should be submitted via the ScreenCraft Film Fund Page page here.

And be sure to check out more of  ScreenCraft's recent success stories here. 

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