Academy awards $455K to US film festivals
November 28, 2011

Academy awards $455K to US film festivals

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has awarded $455,000 to 25 US film festivals for the 2012 calendar year. The Cleveland International Film Festival will be the recipient of a multiyear grant for its Focus on Filmmakers program and will receive a total of $150,000 over a three-year period.  

The Chicago International Film Festival is in its second year of a multiyear grant, receiving $150,000 in total for its World Cinema Spotlight program. While the grants are awarded for a variety of festival programs, organizers are encouraged to submit proposals intended to make festival events more accessible to the general public, provide greater access to minority and less visible filmmakers, and help strengthen the connection between filmmakers and the general public. 

The 2012 film festival grants allocations are as follows: 

$50,000 
Chicago International Film Festival – World Cinema Spotlight program 
Cleveland International Film Festival – Focus on Filmmakers 

$30,000 
Los Angeles Film Festival – Free Screenings program 
San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival – World Cinema Spotlight program 

$20,000 
Ann Arbor Film Festival (MI) – 50th Anniversary Archival program 
Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Directors in the Schools, Educational Curriculum Development and free tickets 
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (Durham, NC) – Thematic program 
Outfest: The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival – "30 Years of Outfest" retrospective program 
Palm Springs International ShortFest – Filmmaker Forums 
Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Field Trip to the Movies program 
True/False Film Fest (Columbia, MO) – Visiting Filmmaker program; SWAMI Mentoring program; Film Academy Student Track; Outreach to Students and Minorities 
Virginia Film Festival (Charlottesville) – Community Outreach and Education program 

$15,000 
RiverRun International Film Festival (Winston-Salem, NC) – 2010 Spotlight program: Landmark Science Fiction Films 
St. Louis International Film Festival – Women in Film Sidebar 

$10,000 
Athens International Film and Video Festival (Ohio) – "Let's Talk About Water" screening and seminar program 
Berkshire International Film Festival (Great Barrington, MA) – Talent Campus 
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (Missoula, MT) – Retrospective Programming and the Reel Sounds Sidebar 
Cucalorus Film Festival (Wilmington, NC) – Voices program 
Indie Memphis Film Festival – Visiting Filmmakers and Community Outreach 
Maryland Film Festival (Baltimore) – New Waves in World Cinema program 
Pan African Film Festival (Los Angeles) – StudentFest 

$5,000 
New York Arab and South Asian Film Festival (New York City)