Film Grant Recipients Announced

8/9/2011
Film Grant Recipients Announced  

The Idaho Film Office has announced the recipients of its 2011-2012 film grants. 

This program, entering its 2nd year, is intended to advance the filmmaking workforce in Idaho through hands-on production experience on an eligible project. Three seasoned filmmaker judges were empanelled to score and comment on the applications.  Each application could score a maximum of 100 points. The scores from each judge were averaged and the highest scoring projects were chosen to receive grants of $5,000 each.  

Karen Ballard, Administrator – Idaho Division of Tourism remarked, “I am very impressed with the creativity and talent of the applicants and the value they place in these small grants.  The professional opinions of the judges really lend their quality to this still-new program, which will provide valuable workforce training and resume-building experience for aspiring filmmakers in Idaho. “  

Peg Owens of the Idaho Film Office reported, “We were pleased to receive 21 applications for grants, with a nice balance of project types from around the state.  There were documentaries, narrative features and shorts and an online learning application. We wished we could have funded them all.” The recipients of this year’s grants will be:

kNIFVES organization, for “Without A Ladder”  Concept: Narrative Short. Good things can come in small packages – a family holiday film from north Idaho. Judges’ comments:  “Professional growth put first”. “Warm, fun Capra-esque story”.  “Excellent mentoring plans for good workforce training”.  

Lara Media, for “The Tell-Tale Heart”  Concept:  Narrative Short. Edgar Allan Poe’s famous short story.  Intended as the first of a series of classic short stories. (Received minimal funding in 2010; results stunning enough to warrant a grant again.) Judges’ comments:  “Already completed lots of workforce development in production and will continue with editing process.”  “Several high school students were on the crew.”  

Andrew Ellis, for “Honor Among Thieves”  Concept:  Feature Film. A film noir heist movie from the team that made “The Highly Contested Election for Payette County Sheriff” and runs the i48 competition in Boise. Judges’ comments:  “Well-written script with adequate budget.” “Well-prepared, creative and ready to go.”  “Lots of workforce development from top-notch local producers.”  

Zack Voss, for “Mandrake Estate”  Concept:  Short Film - Comedy. A golf course groundskeeper fights to prove his worth against a larger company.     Judges’ comments: “Innovative and creative with thorough prep.” “Using i-48 winnings as matching funds.”  “Great young team has good growth potential.”  

David Butterfield, for “The Sun Valley Story”  Concept:  Documentary Feature. Celebration of the founding of Sun Valley Resort in 1936 to the present day. Judges’ comments:  “Likely to get wide distribution; samples professional quality.”  “Great, grand candidate; well thought-out with good supporting documents.”   “Very worthwhile project”.  

Seth Randal, for “Sergeant Paine”  Concept:  Documentary Short Film. An Army whistleblower touches a nerve all the way to the Pentagon. Judges’ comments:  “Professional budget and schedule.” “Good mentoring planned.” “Powerful interview material with Paine.”  

Total granted:  $30,000.  

Grant recipients will work with the Idaho Film Office to complete their projects prior to December 31, 2012, providing written reports of progress along the way.  

The progress of the 2010-2011 grants has been very encouraging for the program. “Jens Pulver | DRIVEN” was the first to be completed, screened at the Egyptian Theater in Boise, achieved a Video-on-Demand sale and has screened across the country.  “Nobody Cares” premiered recently at The Flicks to a full house of laughter and will continue tweaks before marketing.  Three other grant projects are in post-production and one dropped out of the program. The 2010-2011 grantees have until December 31, 2011 to complete their projects.  

The Idaho Department of Commerce Film Office is a Project 60 partner, a comprehensive initiative to grow Idaho's Gross Domestic Product.  The media production industry in Idaho is valued at $41 million with a payroll of $16 million, according to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

Peg Owens Idaho Division of Tourism 208-334-2470 x 2151 peg.owens@tourism.idaho.gov     

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News tag(s): Travel