Today, the University Film and Video Foundation announced the very first cohort of winners of the UFVF Faculty Research and Production Award. The judges awarded each of the five winning productions a $1000 to support their proposed production.
THE WINNERS
Heaven in a Wild Flower—Jesseca Ynez Simmons (University of Dayton)
Bumblebees are facing population depletion at unprecedented levels. Enter a hidden world, made visible through a microscope, to see humanity’s role in their disappearance.
The Venezuela of My Heart—Jaime Jacobsen (Colorado State University)
Set against the backdrop of the largest wave of human migration on record, Venezuelan migrants and asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the Rocky Mountain West reflect on their liminal identities, experiences with displacement, and evolving notions of home via a co-created, interactive online documentary.
Body Parts—Kristy Guevara-Flanagan (UCLA) and Helen Hood Scheer (CSU-Long Beach)
Body Parts is a critical––at times playful––80-minute documentary feature film investigation into the making of Hollywood “sex” scenes, revealing movie magic processes and candidly exploring the toll on those involved. From a kaleidoscopic range of perspectives, the film traces how a cinematic legacy of exploitation and ingenuity have shaped the entertainment industry and audiences.
Qatar Stars—Danielle Beverly (Northwestern University in Qatar)
What’s it like to be a girl in Qatar, where tradition and modernity clash? In Doha, a girls’ rhythmic gymnastics school led by a former Russian gymnast provides a space for empowerment and freedom.
Hope of Escape—Amy Gerber-Stroh (Hollins University)
A filmmaker retraces her forebear's harrowing escape from slavery and tells the story, through historical reenactments and newly researched documents, how her family took their steps towards freedom with hopes for a better life and a better country.
UFVF thanks all of the grant applicants, we look forward to supporting even more faculty work next year and years in the future.