Durham, N.C. – Oct. 17, 2022 – Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) has selected five projects to receive a total of $50,000 in production grants. Recipients include a diverse group of filmmakers across the South, with awards going to first-time and emerging makers currently in-production. The 2022 SDF Production Grant cycle is made possible thanks to generous support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Southern Documentary Fund Executive Director Kristy Garcia Breneman said, “2022 marks a 20-year milestone for the Southern Documentary Fund in service of Southern storytellers. The submissions we received this year reflect the richness and diversity of stories that could only be found and inspired by the South.”
SDF received a record increase in the number of submissions from first-time and emerging filmmakers. This year’s grantees tell a wide range of stories with themes encompassing immigration, climate change, family histories, identity politics, and issues buried deep within the American South.
“We’re excited about this year’s recipients of the 2022 SDF Production Grant. These stories represent the spirit, the diversity, and the essence of the South that touch on a wide variety of topics and subjects. We’re proud to be a part of each film’s journey as these projects move forward through production,” says Southern Documentary Fund Program Manager Christopher Everett.
SDF PRODUCTION GRANTEES – (5) $10,000 GRANTS
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
EJ LEE: ALL-AMERICAN | Jason Rhee – Louisiana
Before Jeremy Lin and Yao Ming, there was Eun Jung Lee. EJ Lee, a Louisiana legend nicknamed the “Korean Magic Johnson of NCAA women’s basketball,” has been overlooked her entire career. But finally, at the age of 60, EJ receives her first opportunity to become a college head coach and lead an underdog team in West Texas.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
IRANIAN HILLBILLY | Andy Sarjahani – Arkansas
Raised in a working-class community outside the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, the son of a Muslim Iranian immigrant father and Southern Baptist mother reflects on his childhood—finding contradiction, conflict, and a grounding sense of community in the traditions that shaped him.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
SOUTHMONT DRIVE | Ashley O’Shay – Alabama
A docu-series reflecting on the life and legacy of a Black family from Tuskegee, Alabama, strongly influenced by Ashley O’Shay’s late grandfather, Melvin Lewis Sr.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
THE FIRST PLANTATION | Jason Fitzroy Jeffers – Florida
When Barbados’ Drax Hall, the oldest continuously-operated sugar plantation in the Americas, is inherited by a British MP descended from the slave master who first built it, cries arise demanding it be turned over to the island’s citizens.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
THE RIVER | Caitlyn Greene – Louisiana
A character-driven documentary feature in Louisiana about the Mississippi River and the control of nature.
2022 Final Jury
Sherard Duvall: Documentary Filmmaker
Alexis Galfas: Film Acquisitions
Bo McGuire: Documentary Filmmaker
2022 First-Round Reviewers: Sabrina Davis, Samantha Rae Lopez, Babacar Ndiaye, Lauren Rector, and Kate Rogers.
The post SOUTHERN DOCUMENTARY FUND ANNOUNCES ITS 2022 PRODUCTION GRANTEES first appeared on Southern Documentary Fund.