AWARD AND GRANT RECIPIENTS
Park Slope Moms
A dark comedy set in an affluent, progressive neighborhood in Brooklyn. Foul play ensues when a Haitian-American, power-attorney and closeted Republican, Carley Fuller-Fowler transitions into a stay-at-home mom. Initially, she reluctantly takes on the role of PTA president, at the insistence of her "mom-friends." Things take a foreboding turn when Carley realizes she can use the PTA for her own agenda. The other moms, including a CIA plant, will stop at nothing to bring Carley down. But, Carley never loses.
Filmmaker: Alexandra Foucard
Award: $1,000
A Man of His Time
Two descendants of the infamous 1857 Dred Scott Decision meet in a cafe off the New Jersey turnpike. Jim Taney, a descendant of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney who penned the opinion, offers an apology from his family to the family of Walter Scott, a descendant of the formerly enslaved Dred Scott. Through a vulnerable conversation about racism in America, Jim awakens to his own ignorance and discovers why an apology alone just won’t cut it. This film is an adaptation of a short play written by Kate Taney Billingsley.
Filmmaker: Estelle Parsons
Award: $500
Saint Marks
The film follows four friends as they play hooky in pursuit of the legendary original 4 Loko formula in New York City's East Village. Along the way, the girls find their friendships put to the test when they encounter colorism, after trying to get matching tattoos. Can Keisha, Rani, and Lakynn’s friendship survive? Will they ever get their hands on the original 4 Loko? You’ll have to watch Saint Marks to find out!
Filmmakers: Katrina Montgomery and Sheherzad Raza Preisler
Award: $250
Women Behind the Wheel
Cat and Hannah, two British women in their twenties, take on the gruelling 3000km drive along Central Asia’s Pamir Highway – the second highest international road on Earth. Their route brings them to the doorsteps of women from all walks of life, revealing a women’s movement that’s had as many ups and downs as the drive itself. But despite the evident patriarchal oppression in these countries, it’s certainly not the whole picture. Stories of female empowerment against all odds emerge, from a group training Tajikistan’s first ever female trekking guides to a feminist collective running workshops on sexual pleasure.
Filmmakers: Hannah Congdon and Catherine Haigh
Award: $5,000
Lies & Oblivion:
Session's Vocal Unit
From the writer/creator of Cassanova Was A Woman comes a short film comedy (with a Law & Order twist) about two sisters, who never get a long - yet never grow apart - and a malnourished therapist, who needs a slice of pizza. Two sisters, a dead father, a jailbird mother and a dieting therapist are in a room together.......what can go wrong?
Filmmaker: Jezabel Montero
Award: $2,000
Her Turn
A mature woman’s coming-of-age story, HER TURN follows the day of an overly devoted mother as she packs up her family home of 25+ years for the inevitable downsize - she finds herself in a full-on face-off with her past, her abandoned dreams, and her bearing with her beloved family. She barely comes to terms with the gravity of her own situation before she must make a life altering choice. Charged with humor, this poignant drama represents themes of family, marriage, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+, and getting older.
Filmmaker: Rachel Black Spaulding
Award: $1,000
Hell Week
This film combines the truth of hormone impacted mental health with a comedic dialogue. It showcases some of the various symptoms of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder while maintaning a creative and entertaining edge.
Filmmaker: Mirejah Cruz
Award: $500
Compassionate Release
Jasmine and Janet are twins raised in a loving home until their father dies. Their mother, Carol, is left with the responsibility of sole provider.
Carol takes a part-time job to send Janet to a prestigious university, while her sister, Jasmine, falsely confesses to a petty crime she did not commit in order to spare her boyfriend the long sentence mandated for a repeat offender.
Filmmaker: Lynn Dow
Award: $500
Rising Lotus
A Punjabi immigrant woman stuck in an abusive arranged marriage finally escapes when her estranged son's life is in danger. Mother and son quickly learn, however, that life is not necessarily easier on the streets.
Filmmaker: Gurinder Singh
Award: $1,000
Smothered
Devastated by the absence of their wife and mother, a father struggles to reconnect with his son while harboring a hidden secret.
Filmmaker: Faryar Hosseini
Award: $250
Maya
A queer NYC stage manager reflects on her break-up while trying to manage the rehearsal of a play about a gay couple falling in love.
Filmmaker: Maren Lavelle
Award: $250
