October News
Short Film Showcase Event
Our short film showcase was a hit! Winners were announced and all the filmmakers were interviewed on Zoom. It was a wonderful community experience, which included a Q & A with each filmmaker.
Filmmaker and Honorable Mention Olia Oparina started the event with a moment of silence and a touching tribute to DP Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer of her insightful film I Am Normal, and a long-time collaborator. Hutchins was a Ukrainian cinematographer of over 30 films who was tragically killed behind the camera last year, a victim of negligent firearm management on the set. Olia attributed her own rise in filmmaking to her creative partnership with Halyna, highlighting the importance of supportive collaborations. Halyna's Hutchins’ memory will live on through her incredible films.
2nd place went to Ally May for her film The Last Picture, a reimagining of a true crime, known as the “truck stop killer.” She spoke about the importance of filmmaking as a way to process evil in the world, and to loosen its grip on us.
The 1st place audience award went to Nil Unerdem for her short Pearl in the Window, a heartwarming story of an elderly woman and her caretaker. She talked about the joy of working with actors, admiring their contribution to character development and story. Congratulations to all the filmmakers!
Short Film Showcase Full Line Up
PEARL IN THE WINDOW, by Nil Unerdem
OLD SPELLER, by Kathleen Antonia Tarr
I AM NORMAL, by Olia Oparina
THE LITTLE MASTERS, CARVED IN TIME, and HEARTBEAT ON THE STRINGS, by Nan Su
ROUNDUP, by Carolyn Scott
THE LAST PICTURE, and A DRESS FOR RACHEL, by Ally May
We would like to thank all the filmmakers for coming out and our enthusiastic audience for participating in our first Short Film Showcase. It was an evening of tears, laughter and true community supporting one another’s talents, hard work, and creative voices. We look forward to many more events to come. Great work, filmmakers!
The winners of The Short Film Showcase are:
First Place: Pearl in the Window, by Nil Unerdem
First Runner Up: The Last Picture, by Ally May
Honorable mention: I Am Normal, by Olia Oparina
Winners received digital and hard-copy laurels and certificates. All the participants also received Peet's gift cards.
Upcoming Events
Conversations and Connections
Join us on October 19 at 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Zoom for a lively discussion with some of the Bay Area’s top post-production talent about how work has changed in the past couple of years. Do you have questions you’d like answered? Submit them in advance to bod-admin@wifsfba.org.
This event is FREE for members, $10 for the public. Use a button below to REGISTER.
Plan Like a Boss
Coming in November, the next segment in our popular Financial Education series, Plan Like Boss. Registration information will be coming soon.
Grants Corner
CAAM Documentary Fund
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) provides production funding to independent producers who make engaging Asian American works for public television. Documentaries are eligible for production or post-production funding and must be intended for public television broadcast. Awards typically range between $10,000 and $50,000. See the CAAM Documentary Fund website for more information.
Deadline: October 20, 2022
BlueCat Screenplay Competition
When a filmmaker submits to BlueCat, they are guaranteed a complete read of their script, and BlueCat provides a written analysis of the submission at no extra fee. In addition, the cash awards total $18,500.
Deadline: October 30, 2022
Frameline Completion Fund
The Frameline Completion Fund provides grants to emerging and established filmmakers, providing much-needed financial contributions to artists who often struggle to secure funding to complete their works.
Deadline: October 31, 2022
California Humanities Documentary Project Grant
The California Humanities grant supports documentary film, audio, and digital media productions that explore California in all its complexity and tell stories from every corner of the state.
Deadline: November 1, 2022
Short Film Fund | Fall
The Shore Scripts Short Film Fund offers an opportunity for emerging screenwriters and filmmakers to have their short films financed and produced, and create a calling card to help them progress in the industry as a writer, or writer/director. Two short films will be financed and produced through the Fall Season of the Fund.
Previous winners have gone on to write and direct for Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC, AMC, NBC, HULU, & Others.
Deadline: October 31, 2022
Member Directory Update
We are happy to report that 36 of our 91 eligible members have opted in to our Public Member Crew List, and are now visible to the public via our website! To locate the crew list from our website, use the navigation at the top of the page:
wifsfba.org>More>Member Crew List
These members can be seen by producers, casting agents, and other companies looking for filmmakers, actors, editors, etc. to hire onto their projects. If you are a member at the Individual, Corporate, or Student Levels, you are eligible to be a part of this growing list.
If you’d like to opt-in to our publicly searchable Member Crew List, please take the steps outlined below to adjust your profile settings in Wild Apricot. If you have any questions, please email Carol Hall at bod-admin@wifsfba.org with the subject line “Opt-In Question.”
Log in to Wild Apricot using the password you created when you became a member.
Find your name at the top of the page and click on it. You will see your Member Profile.
Click “Edit Profile.” Check your information for accuracy. Scroll all the way down. You will see the Opt-In choices of “Yes” and “No”. Please choose “Yes” if you would like to be listed in the public directory. Click “No” if you would not.
Click “Privacy” to choose which details to show members, non-members (anybody) or no one. Note that there is a “Send Message”button so you don’t have to provide people with email addresses or telephone numbers for them to contact you. The email will automatically be forwarded to you.
Save your changes.
Check to see how members see your profile by going back to the home page and click “Member Directory.” Find your name and click on it. If more changes need to be made, repeat steps 2-5.
Check to see how the public sees your profile by logging out and clicking on "Public Member Crew List” on the main login page (Note that “Member Directory” cannot be seen unless you are logged in). If changes need to be made, repeat steps 2-5.
Is your expertise represented on our checklist? If not, let us know how you would like to represent yourself and your skills, and we will consider adding it. We want to represent our membership as accurately as possible. Send an email to Carol Hall at
bod-admin@wifsfba.org with “Expertise” in the subject line.
Members in the News
Credit: imdb.com
Bay Area filmmaker C.M. Conway's witty and poignant indie, "How to Successfully Fail in Hollywood," will screen at the renowned American Film Market in Santa Monica the first week of November, 2022. This is Conway's first feature in all roles of executive producer, director, writer, editor and lead actor.
The film was also recently selected by the Sonoma Film Institute, known for featuring award-winning films and filmmakers. Screening dates are Friday, Nov. 4th at 7:00 pm; and Sunday, Nov. 6th at 4:00 pm, 2022. Q&A with the filmmaker after the screenings.
Synopsis: Ellie (C.M. Conway) is a bottom-feeder actress at the end of her rope in Hollywood, when a life-changing event happens with her gay, Latinx friend, Ben (Adrian Gilbert). A surreal twist unfolds with comedic results, blurring the lines of fantasy and reality, as she unwittingly becomes the key to a new take on Tinseltown where failure is the star.
The big-hearted bootstrapped film made in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, has its remarkable journey featured in the Press Democrat, LIVE! in the Bay (KRON4), NPR (KRCB), The Drive with Steve Jaxon and Harry Duke (KSRO),U.S. News and World Report, OwlGuru and CircleAround.
Visit FunnyFailureFilm.com for more information.
Newsletter designed by Lina Indeeva and edited by Amy Harrison
We're looking for guest editors. Join the newsletter team! bod-admin@wifsfba.org