IFP Announces the 36th Edition of Independent Film Week

by Erik Luers on July 23, 2014

September 14-18, 2014

July 22, 2014 (New York, NY) –Today, IFP announced its 2014 slate of 133 new films in development selected for its esteemed Project Forum at Independent Film Week.

This one-of-a-kind event brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new projects and support the future of storytelling by nurturing the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers. Through the Project Forum, creatives connect with the financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. Under the curatorial leadership of Deputy Director/Head of Programming Amy Dotson & Senior Director of Programming Milton Tabbot, this one-of-a-kind event takes place September 14-18, 2014 at Lincoln Center supporting bold new content from a wide variety of domestic and international artists.

“As we set to embark on our 36th Independent Film Week, we are impressed by the outstanding slate of both U.S. and international projects selected for this year’s Project Forum,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP. “We know that the industry will be as impressed as we are with the accomplished storytellers and their diverse and boundary pushing films.”

Featured works at the 2014 Independent Film Week include filmmakers and content creators from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. From documentarians Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle), Pamela Yates (Granito: How To Nail A Dictator), and Penny Lane (Our Nixon) to international innovators such as Michelangelo Frammartino (Quattro Volte) and Alexis Dos Santos (Unmade Beds), as well as new work from critically acclaimed artists and directors Aurora Guerrero (Mosquito y Mari), Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy), Travis Matthews (Interior. Leather. Bar) and Yen Tan (Pit Stop).

Independent Film Week brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new documentary and narrative works-in-progress and support the future of storytelling. The program nurtures the work of both emerging and established independent artists and filmmakers through the facilitation of over 3,500+ custom, one-to-one meetings with the financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences. In recent years, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Rama Burshtein (Fill The Void), Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), Marshall Curry (If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth LIberation Front), Laura Poitras (The Oath), Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) .

New For 2014

Evenly split between documentary and narrative features, selected projects hail from throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada, as well Africa, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. New this year, IFP will be including web series in it programming, as well as spotlighting Latin & Central American artists and content with projects featured across all programs in the Forum.

In a joint effort to recognize the importance of career and creative sustainability, IFP and Durga Entertainment have partnered on a new $20,000 filmmaker grant for an alumnus of IFP. The grant is intended for active, working filmmakers who are also balancing a filmmaking career with parenting. The grant provides a $20,000 unrestricted prize to encourage the recipient to continue on her or his career path of making quality independent films. American directors or screenwriters working in narrative film who have participated in the IFP Filmmaker Labs or IFP Independent Film Week’s Emerging Storytellers or No-Borders International Co-Production market are encouraged to apply by the deadline of August 8, 2014

For a full list of the 2014 selected projects, click here.

Narrative Feature Highlights

Narrative features and webseries in RBC’s Emerging Storytellers and No Borders International Co-Production Market sections highlight new work from top emerging and established creative visionaries on the U.S. and international independent scene.

This year’s slate includes new feature scripts featuring directors Dev Benegal (Road, Movie), Alexis Dos Santos (Unmade Beds), Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin (Now, Forager), Michelangelo Frammartino (Le Quattro Volte), Terry George (Hotel Rwanda), Rashaad Ernesto Green (Gun Hill Road), Aurora Guerrero (Mosquito Y Mari), Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy), Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry), Travis Mathews (Interior. Leather Bar), Stacie Passon (Concussion), Yen Tan (Pit Stop), as well as up-an-coming actor/directors Karrie Crouse (Land Ho!) and Peter Vack (Fort Tilden, I Believe in Unicorns).

Producers and executive producers of note attached to participating projects include Jennifer Dubin and Cora Olson (Good Dick), Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams (Hellion), Laura Heberton (Gayby), Dan Janvey (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Kishori Rajan (Gimme the Loot), Adele Romanski (The Myth of the American Sleepover), Kim Sherman (A Teacher), Susan Stover (High Art), and Alicia Van Couvering (Tiny Furniture).

Web Stories Highlight

For the first time this year, IFP presents a dedicated spotlight within the RBC’s Emerging Storytellers program for creators developing episodic content for digital platforms. The inaugural slate for the Web Storytellers spotlight includes new works from filmmakers Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior, HBO’s Girls), Calvin Reeder (The Rambler), and Gregory Bayne (Person of Interest), as well as producers Elisabeth Holm (Obvious Child), Susan Leber (Down to the Bone), and Amanda Warman (The Outs, Whatever This Is). Two of the series participating are currently in post-production, and will be making their online debut in the coming months – Rachel Morgan’s Middle Americans, starring Scott Thompson, Carlen Altman, and Alex Rennie, and Daniel Zimbler and Elisabeth Gray’s Understudies, starring Richard Kind and David Rasche.

Spotlight on Documentaries

The documentary selection includes new work from seasoned non-fiction directors such as Emmy winners Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo (Made in LA), Pamela Yates (Granito: How to Nail a Dictator), Ramona Diaz (Imelda; Don’t Stop Believin’) Gini Reticker (Pray the Devil Back to Hell) Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle); from producers such as Court 13’s Benh Zeitlin and Dan Janvey (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Liran Atzmor (The Law in These Parts), Tim Williams (Once In A Lifetime) and Hilla Medalia (Web Junkie), and follow-up second features from recent doc world “breakouts” Steve Hoover (Blood Brother) Penny Lane (Our Nixon), Michael Collins (Give Up Tomorrow), and Michael Nichols and Christopher Walker (Flex is Kings).

Exciting new work from debut documentary directors previously known for fiction films include Alex Sichel (All over Me) with her personal doc The Movie about Anna, Lisa Cortés (producer, Precious) with Mothership: The Untold Story of Women and Hip Hop, and Daniel Patrick Carbone (Hide Your Smiling Faces) with Phantom Cowboys.

About IFP

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources at all stages of development and distribution. The organization fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Independent Film Week, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Independent Film Awards and the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, a new incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. IFP represents a growing network of 10,000 storytellers around the world, and plays a key role in developing 350 new feature and documentary works each year. During its 35-year history, IFP has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, including Debra Granik, Miranda July, Michael Moore, Dee Rees, and Benh Zeitlin. More info at www.ifp.org.

For more information on IFP, please contact:

Amy Dotson, Deputy Director & Head of Programming, IFP (212) 465-8200 x203

Milton Tabbot, Senior Director, Programming, IFP (212) 465-8200 x207

Jody Arlington, Director of Communications, IFP [email protected], 202.316.4316

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