WOMEN IN FILM – PORTLAND ANNOUNCES 2024 VISION GRANT
Apply here: https://forms.gle/Yhy62jiyPUUMJfb39
We are excited to announce the 2024 Vision Grant! This year WIF-PDX will be awarding two filmmakers $5,000 each for their narrative or documentary short film in post-production.
The Vision Grant, now in its 12th year, has been a cornerstone of Women in Film – Portland’s mission to foster creativity, innovation, and inclusivity within the film community. The grant is designed to provide financial support to emerging female and nonbinary filmmakers in the Portland Metro area, enabling them to bring their unique visions to the screen and contribute their diverse voices to the world of cinema.
This year, the Vision Grant provides financial support ($5,000) to two women and non-binary media creators in Oregon and SW Washington (Clark County). This project-based grant aids in a current production while fostering the artist’s professional and personal development.
Finalists will be asked to participate in a pitch session to determine the grant recipient. Two grant awardees will be selected to receive $5,000 and the opportunity for mentoring.
ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY:
– WIF-PDX active membership (Join or renew at www.wifpdx.org)
– 50% women and non-binary crew
– Current resident of Oregon or SW Washington
– Production and post-production takes place primarily in Oregon
– Final run time of project is 40 minutes or less
– Project is a narrative or documentary
Deadline to apply is 11:59pm on September 30th, 2024
Finalists will be notified in November 2024
Recipients will be announced to the community at the annual WIF holiday party on November 15th, 2024.
If you have any questions about the application process, please email: whatsupwif@wifpdx.org
We also encourage you to join us at the Pitching Panel on 9/5 at Only Today (details coming soon!)
WOMEN IN FILM – PDX AWARD $10,000 VISION GRANT TO LOCAL FILMMAKERS FRAN BITTAKIS AND BETTY ALCARAZ
Women in Film Portland (WIF-PDX) announced that local filmmakers Fran Bittakis and Betty Alcaraz are the recipients of the WIF-PDX 2023 Vision Grant, a signature program that supports production of a film by a local female or nonbinary storyteller every year. Over four dozen people applied for the 2023 funds. A committee made up of WIF-PDX board members and two award winning filmmakers, Alicia J. Rose and Dawn Jones Redstone, then reviewed applicants and narrowed it down to four finalists. Finalists presented their pitches to a selection committee, after which Bittakis and Alcaraz’s short film Yo No Soy Mi Mama was selected as the winner and announced at the WIF-PDX Annual Year-End Party.
“Receiving the WIF-PDX Vision Grant marks a pivotal step in our journey to create Yo No Soy Mi Mama,” Bittakis said. “It validates our commitment and motivates us to bring vital Latino narratives to the forefront, challenging Hollywood’s historical underrepresentation of these stories. This grant represents a shift towards decolonized storytelling, enabling us to reclaim marginalized voices and disrupt industry stereotypes.”
After winning, Alcaraz said, “After spending 11 years working in the film industry in the sound department, I’m ready to continue to push out more diverse storytelling into the world as an up and coming Chicana director. I’m dedicated to representing and uplifting the rebellious Brown girl who just wants to be heard and accepted for who she is, in a society that has already made their mind up about their existence. I want to show a different side to our diverse culture that isn’t really seen on the big screen. This short film is dedicated to young women of color. This one is for my cultura Mexicana. This Story will be made for us, by us.”
“We are honored to be part of the community supporting Fran and Betty’s important work. The grant review panel were collectively moved by their unique approach to storytelling and passion for un-doing generational traumas through art,” said WIF-PDX president, Stephanie Hough. “We are equally thrilled to support Fran on her producing journey, and Betty as she moves from below the line as an audio recordist to above the line as a director. This team demonstrates the value and importance of mentorship and community, as they will also be crewing with diversity and inclusion as a priority. All four finalists had tremendously powerful stories to tell and we are eager to find more ways to support and uplift the ever-growing creative community in Portland.
Yo No Soy Mi Mama, the winning short film, is a coming-of-age dramedy. Set in a traditional immigrant household in suburban Portland, Oregon, during the early 2000s, it follows a teenager named Ale as she navigates a delicate balance between tradition and forging her own path. Fran Bittakis is the film’s producer and its writer and director is Betty Alcaraz. A requirement of the grant is that the production be crewed by at least 50% women and BIPOC individuals, and be produced primarily in Oregon.
This year’s grant was generously supported by Oregon Film, the state film office, and Film Science (on behalf of Anish Savjani), an esteemed local independant film production company. These partner filmmaking entities matched the WIF-PDX initial funds of $5000 and brought the total grant available in 2023 to $10,000.
In 2024, Bittakis and Alcaraz plan to supplement the WIF-PDX Vision Grant with a constellation of other funding sources, including a crowdfunding campaign, and leveraging their memberships in other local filmmaking organizations like Catalyst Film Collective, Open Signal, the Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA), and Desert Island Studios, which they hope will amplify their campaign to additional potential backers.
Courtney Hermann, Julianne Sato-Parker, and Roxy De La Torre were the WIF-PDX 2023 Vision Grant finalists. Hermann’s project Outliers and Outlaws is a feature documentary uncovering the history of the large, vibrant lesbian community of Eugene, Oregon. Sato-Parker’s project Symphony of Silence is the story of a man who spent years recording soundscapes of the world’s quietest places in an effort to conserve their natural silence, but who himself now confronts going deaf. De La Torre’s project Yemayá, Yemayá, Sebastian explores the intricate dynamics of Latino families in the USA, diverse spiritual beliefs, and the enduring power of love.
Applications for our 2023 Vision Grant are now closed. Our 2024 Vision Grant will open in Summer 2024.
Thanks to our Friends at Oregon Film and the Oregon Made Creative Fund, our annual Vision Grant is increased from $5,000 to $10,000!
The Vision Grant, now in its 11th year, has been a cornerstone of Women in Film PDX’s mission to foster creativity, innovation, and inclusivity within the film community. The grant is designed to provide financial support to emerging female and nonbinary filmmakers in the Portland Metro area, enabling them to bring their unique visions to the screen and contribute their diverse voices to the world of cinema.
The Vision Grant provides financial support ($10,000) to women and non-binary media creators in Oregon and SW Washington (Clark County). This project-based grant aids in a current production while fostering the artist’s professional and personal development.
Finalists will be asked to participate in a pitch session to determine the grant recipient. One grant awardee will be selected to receive $10,000 and the opportunity for mentoring.
ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY:
– WIF-PDX active membership
– 50% women and non-binary crew
– Current resident of Oregon or SW Washington
– Production and post-production takes place primarily in Oregon
Deadline to apply: 11:59pm on October 6th, 2023
Finalists will be notified in November 2023
If you have any questions about the application process, please email: grants@wifpdx.org
We also encourage you to join us at the Fundraising For Your Indie Film event on 8/31/23