For several years now, Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program has supported a wide variety of projects: shorts, features, both narrative and nonfiction. Not to mention the occasional new media project, special event or advocacy initiative. Each month’s Fiscal Spotlight column announces three new projects taking part in the program.
But maybe you’re curious how some of those prior subjects have turned out. Well hey, you’re in luck! Once again it’s time for another FiSpo Update highlighting the recent achievements of previous Fiscal Spotlight subjects.
Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. The projects and makers participating in the program express a uniqueness of vision, celebrate diversity and advance the craft of filmmaking through the creation of these special works. To see the full range of projects that are part of our program, visit our Sponsored Projects page.
But maybe you’re curious how some of those prior subjects have turned out. Well hey, you’re in luck! Once again it’s time for another FiSpo Update highlighting the recent achievements of previous Fiscal Spotlight subjects.
Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. The projects and makers participating in the program express a uniqueness of vision, celebrate diversity and advance the craft of filmmaking through the creation of these special works. To see the full range of projects that are part of our program, visit our Sponsored Projects page.
- 5/31/2023
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
Snehal Desai has been named the next artistic director of Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, becoming the first person of color to serve in this position in the organization’s history.
Desai has worked as producing artistic director of L.A.’s historic East West Players since 2016. He will start at Center Theatre Group in August and make his first public appearance as incoming artistic director at Center Theatre Group’s “Light Up Los Angeles” Gala on April 15.
Desai was appointed to the position after a nationwide search led by Arts Consulting Group and an internal search committee, with the goal of making the process the “widest and most equitable search possible.” After wide-ranging discussions on the needs of the position, Ctg crafted a job description and received more than 100 applicants. Thirty applicants were interviewed and eventually Desai was referred to Ctg’s Board of Directors, who voted unanimously for the appointment.
Desai has worked as producing artistic director of L.A.’s historic East West Players since 2016. He will start at Center Theatre Group in August and make his first public appearance as incoming artistic director at Center Theatre Group’s “Light Up Los Angeles” Gala on April 15.
Desai was appointed to the position after a nationwide search led by Arts Consulting Group and an internal search committee, with the goal of making the process the “widest and most equitable search possible.” After wide-ranging discussions on the needs of the position, Ctg crafted a job description and received more than 100 applicants. Thirty applicants were interviewed and eventually Desai was referred to Ctg’s Board of Directors, who voted unanimously for the appointment.
- 4/14/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: CAA has signed actress and producer Kate Mara for representation.
Mara perhaps is best known for her Emmy-nominated work as Washington Herald reporter Zoe Barnes on David Fincher’s political thriller series House of Cards, which became a Netflix signature drama and was the first title to be produced by a studio for the streamer.
Related Story Pulitzer Prize Finalist Kristina Wong Signs With CAA; Solo Show ‘Sweatshop Overlord’ Playing Kirk Douglas Theatre Related Story Pamela Adlon, Dorothy Fortenberry & Author Roxane Gay Named As Mentors For 2023 Nrdc Climate Storytelling Fellowship Recipients Related Story 'Workaholics' Alum Blake Anderson Signs With CAA
She more recently exec produced and starred opposite Nick Robinson in the FX limited series A Teacher, adapted by Hannah Fidell from her 2013 film, which landed an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best New Scripted Series.
Mara also was a series regular in the first season of Ryan Murphy’s FX series Pose,...
Mara perhaps is best known for her Emmy-nominated work as Washington Herald reporter Zoe Barnes on David Fincher’s political thriller series House of Cards, which became a Netflix signature drama and was the first title to be produced by a studio for the streamer.
Related Story Pulitzer Prize Finalist Kristina Wong Signs With CAA; Solo Show ‘Sweatshop Overlord’ Playing Kirk Douglas Theatre Related Story Pamela Adlon, Dorothy Fortenberry & Author Roxane Gay Named As Mentors For 2023 Nrdc Climate Storytelling Fellowship Recipients Related Story 'Workaholics' Alum Blake Anderson Signs With CAA
She more recently exec produced and starred opposite Nick Robinson in the FX limited series A Teacher, adapted by Hannah Fidell from her 2013 film, which landed an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best New Scripted Series.
Mara also was a series regular in the first season of Ryan Murphy’s FX series Pose,...
- 2/24/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Raquel Welch died Thursday at 82 and leaves a legacy of a career that spanned more than 50 years. The actor who is known for starring in Fantastic Voyage, One Million Years B.C. and American Family, among many others, appeared in 30 films, 50 TV series and multiple appearances on late-night shows. Scroll through the videos posted below and remember some of Welch’s most notable performances.
Related Story Raquel Welch Dies: ‘Fantastic Voyage’, ‘One Million Years B.C.’ & ‘Myra Breckinridge’ Star Was 82 Related Story Pulitzer Prize Finalist Kristina Wong Signs With CAA; Solo Show 'Sweatshop Overlord' Playing Kirk Douglas Theatre Related Story 'Flip The Strip': Thunder From Down Under Performers Score HGTV Series
Welch made an appearance alongside Janis Joplin on The Dick Cavett Show in June 1970 where the host points out that people get surprised at how bright she is adding, “Because everyone that is a sex symbol automatically has to be dumb...
Related Story Raquel Welch Dies: ‘Fantastic Voyage’, ‘One Million Years B.C.’ & ‘Myra Breckinridge’ Star Was 82 Related Story Pulitzer Prize Finalist Kristina Wong Signs With CAA; Solo Show 'Sweatshop Overlord' Playing Kirk Douglas Theatre Related Story 'Flip The Strip': Thunder From Down Under Performers Score HGTV Series
Welch made an appearance alongside Janis Joplin on The Dick Cavett Show in June 1970 where the host points out that people get surprised at how bright she is adding, “Because everyone that is a sex symbol automatically has to be dumb...
- 2/15/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Performance artist, comedian, actress, playwright and elected Koreatown Los Angeles representative Kristina Wong has inked with CAA in all areas.
Wong has mounted several solo shows here in Los Angeles, and her latest Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama last year. Sweatshop Overlord, a co-production between Center Theatre Group and East West Players, is currently playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 12.
Sweatshop Overlord follows Wong as she launched an 800 member group called the Auntie Sewing Squad during the pandemic comprised mostly of Asian women who sewed and donated more than 300K masks for front-line workers and at risk communities when Covid PPE was rare. The show had a highly acclaimed premiere at the New York Theater Workshop and was a New York Times “Critics Pick.”
Yesterday Wong was awarded a 550K grant from The Doris Duke Foundation, bestowed to individuals for excellence in their field.
Wong has mounted several solo shows here in Los Angeles, and her latest Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama last year. Sweatshop Overlord, a co-production between Center Theatre Group and East West Players, is currently playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 12.
Sweatshop Overlord follows Wong as she launched an 800 member group called the Auntie Sewing Squad during the pandemic comprised mostly of Asian women who sewed and donated more than 300K masks for front-line workers and at risk communities when Covid PPE was rare. The show had a highly acclaimed premiere at the New York Theater Workshop and was a New York Times “Critics Pick.”
Yesterday Wong was awarded a 550K grant from The Doris Duke Foundation, bestowed to individuals for excellence in their field.
- 2/15/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Fat Ham, playwright James Ijames’ comedy-drama reinvention of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, received the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama today, just days before the acclaimed play is to make its New York debut at the Public Theater Off Broadway.
“A funny, poignant play that deftly transposes Hamlet to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility and honesty,” said Pulitzer Prize Administrator Marjorie Miller in announcing the prize. Fat Ham took the honor over two other finalists, Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury and Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord by Kristina Wong.
Fat Ham, which premiered last year in a filmed production for the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, begins its New York engagement at the Public Theater on May 12, running through June 12. A co-production with National Black Theatre, Fat Ham will be directed by Saheem Ali.
Watch a trailer for the Wilma Theater production of Fat Ham above.
“A funny, poignant play that deftly transposes Hamlet to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility and honesty,” said Pulitzer Prize Administrator Marjorie Miller in announcing the prize. Fat Ham took the honor over two other finalists, Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury and Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord by Kristina Wong.
Fat Ham, which premiered last year in a filmed production for the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, begins its New York engagement at the Public Theater on May 12, running through June 12. A co-production with National Black Theatre, Fat Ham will be directed by Saheem Ali.
Watch a trailer for the Wilma Theater production of Fat Ham above.
- 5/9/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Winners of the 2022 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were announced in a ceremony on May 1, 2022, at NYU Skirball. New musicals “Kimberly Akimbo” and “Oratorio for Living Things” tied for the most wins, with three trophies each. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by Tdf.
The cast of Ars Nova’s “Oratorio For Living Things” took home the inaugural award for Outstanding Ensemble, while the Broadway-bound “Kimberly Akimbo” nabbed the two individual musical acting categories, with Lead Performance going to Victoria Clark and Featured Performance going to Bonnie Milligan.
Special honorees this year included Deirdre O’Connell (“Dana H.”), who was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Heidi Schreck; and David Henry Hwang, who was inducted onto the famed Playwrights’ Sidewalk by Jeanine Tesori.
Find the nominees and recipients of the 2022 Lucille Lortal Awards below.
SEEAlfie Allen (‘Hangmen...
The cast of Ars Nova’s “Oratorio For Living Things” took home the inaugural award for Outstanding Ensemble, while the Broadway-bound “Kimberly Akimbo” nabbed the two individual musical acting categories, with Lead Performance going to Victoria Clark and Featured Performance going to Bonnie Milligan.
Special honorees this year included Deirdre O’Connell (“Dana H.”), who was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Heidi Schreck; and David Henry Hwang, who was inducted onto the famed Playwrights’ Sidewalk by Jeanine Tesori.
Find the nominees and recipients of the 2022 Lucille Lortal Awards below.
SEEAlfie Allen (‘Hangmen...
- 5/2/2022
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (Laapff), presented annually by Visual Communications (Vc), Southern California’s leading showcase for new Asian Pacific American and Asian international cinema, announced today the program for the 38th edition of the festival. The festival returns May 5th to 13th in Los Angeles and will feature an exciting lineup of in-person programming, along with virtual programming for our audiences at home in Southern California and beyond.
As Visual Communications premiere annual event, Laapff continues to build connections between peoples and generations through the amplification of Asian and Pacific Islander film, video, and media.The festival celebrates Asian Pacific American filmmakers and Asian international artists with profound, important and entertaining films and content from the new voices of cinema while honoring the legends and leaders who keep this cultural movement going forward. Important themes of representation, authorship, responsibility and ethics are at the forefront of content creation.
As Visual Communications premiere annual event, Laapff continues to build connections between peoples and generations through the amplification of Asian and Pacific Islander film, video, and media.The festival celebrates Asian Pacific American filmmakers and Asian international artists with profound, important and entertaining films and content from the new voices of cinema while honoring the legends and leaders who keep this cultural movement going forward. Important themes of representation, authorship, responsibility and ethics are at the forefront of content creation.
- 4/18/2022
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
Nominations for the 37th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were announced April 7, 2022 by Lilli Cooper and Lea DeLaria, stars of Broadway’s “Potus.” The Lortel Awards were created in 1985 to honor outstanding achievement Off-Broadway. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by Tdf. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on May 1, at NYU Skirball.
Tony Award hopeful Deirdre O’Connell is the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She won a Lortel Award for her riveting solo performance in “Dana H.” at the Vineyard Theatre last year. That production transferred to Broadway in the fall.
Acclaimed playwright David Henry Hwang is this year’s Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee. His name will be added to a star on the sidewalk outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Christopher Street, a permanent monument to Off-Broadway playwrights.
New musicals...
Tony Award hopeful Deirdre O’Connell is the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She won a Lortel Award for her riveting solo performance in “Dana H.” at the Vineyard Theatre last year. That production transferred to Broadway in the fall.
Acclaimed playwright David Henry Hwang is this year’s Playwrights’ Sidewalk Inductee. His name will be added to a star on the sidewalk outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Christopher Street, a permanent monument to Off-Broadway playwrights.
New musicals...
- 4/8/2022
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
Kimberly Akimbo, Assassins, Prayer for the French Republic and The Chinese Lady were among the Off Broadway productions receiving multiple nominations for this year’s Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off Broadway, announced today.
Among the innovations in this year’s 37th Annual Lortel Awards are the first non-gendered performance categories, and the first-ever Lortel for Outstanding Ensemble. In the new Ensemble category, the inaugural nominees are the casts of English, Oratorio For Living Things, and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.
Kimberly Akimbo and Oratorio For Living Things scored the most nominations, with six each, while Black No More and On Sugarland received five. Assassins, Prayer for the French Republic and The Chinese Lady each have four nominations.
The awards will be handed out on Sunday, May 1, at NYU Skirball in Manhattan. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by Tdf.
Among the innovations in this year’s 37th Annual Lortel Awards are the first non-gendered performance categories, and the first-ever Lortel for Outstanding Ensemble. In the new Ensemble category, the inaugural nominees are the casts of English, Oratorio For Living Things, and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.
Kimberly Akimbo and Oratorio For Living Things scored the most nominations, with six each, while Black No More and On Sugarland received five. Assassins, Prayer for the French Republic and The Chinese Lady each have four nominations.
The awards will be handed out on Sunday, May 1, at NYU Skirball in Manhattan. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and Lucille Lortel Theatre, with additional support provided by Tdf.
- 4/7/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Pixar’s Pete Docter reminisced about his days as a student at CalArts on Saturday night at the 2019 CalArts Redcat Gala, where he received the Distinguished Alumni Award.
For the wide-eyed boy from Minnesota, where life was more routine, attending CalArts “was a free-for-all. It was eye-opening in a lot of ways,” he recalled. “But it was also a place to play around and see what you could do.”
Docter, who is now chief creative officer at Pixar and the director and/or writer of some of its biggest hits, has come a long way from those days and this award has touched him deeply because his time at CalArts meant so much.
“Growing up, the land of Disney and Warner Bros. and all the movies seemed so far away,” he said. “Coming to CalArts was like being adopted by the animation family. It was a place where we got exposed to all this information.
For the wide-eyed boy from Minnesota, where life was more routine, attending CalArts “was a free-for-all. It was eye-opening in a lot of ways,” he recalled. “But it was also a place to play around and see what you could do.”
Docter, who is now chief creative officer at Pixar and the director and/or writer of some of its biggest hits, has come a long way from those days and this award has touched him deeply because his time at CalArts meant so much.
“Growing up, the land of Disney and Warner Bros. and all the movies seemed so far away,” he said. “Coming to CalArts was like being adopted by the animation family. It was a place where we got exposed to all this information.
- 3/17/2019
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
One Cut Of The Dead Wins Audience Choice At The 22Nd Edition Of Reel Asian
The festival announces its 2018 award winners including Finding Big Country, Dead Pigs, A Time To Swim and Menkes Audience Award winner
(Toronto – November 20, 2018) The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian) closed its 22nd edition on Friday, November 16 following a successful 9 day run in downtown Toronto and North York. As Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, Reel Asian continues to celebrate Asian representation in film and media and fuel the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada. This year, the festival took place from November 8 to 16 with 62 titles from 17 regions, over 50% of which directed by women. Reel Asian announced the award winners for the juried features and shorts prizes, the So You Think You Can Pitch? live competition, and the Menkes Audience Award.
Feature films honoured include the dark comedy Dead Pigs, the debut...
The festival announces its 2018 award winners including Finding Big Country, Dead Pigs, A Time To Swim and Menkes Audience Award winner
(Toronto – November 20, 2018) The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian) closed its 22nd edition on Friday, November 16 following a successful 9 day run in downtown Toronto and North York. As Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival, Reel Asian continues to celebrate Asian representation in film and media and fuel the growing appreciation for Asian cinema in Canada. This year, the festival took place from November 8 to 16 with 62 titles from 17 regions, over 50% of which directed by women. Reel Asian announced the award winners for the juried features and shorts prizes, the So You Think You Can Pitch? live competition, and the Menkes Audience Award.
Feature films honoured include the dark comedy Dead Pigs, the debut...
- 11/21/2018
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
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