FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Emily Foster, communications & press manager
emily@mkefilm.org; 414-755-1965 ext. 216
Milwaukee Film Announces Jury Award Winners and Brico Forward Fund Recipients
More than $145,000 in cash and production services awarded
MILWAUKEE - October 29, 2018 - The 10th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival, presented by Associated Bank, announced this year’s jury award winners and Brico Forward Fund recipients at the annual Filmmaker Brunch yesterday. Among the top awards include RaMell Ross’s celebrated feature debut Hale County, This Morning This Evening, winning the Herzfeld Competition Award, Milwaukee Film alum Qasim Basir’s A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. winning the Black Lens Feature Jury Award, and Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap, winning the Documentary Jury Award.
The inaugural Cream City Cinema Emerging Voices award, created with support from HBO, was awarded to Yen Ching. Director Yinan Wang will receive a $2,000 travel stipend to visit the HBO offices to meet with key industry professionals.
Carol Brandt’s narrative film Pet Names received the Cream City Cinema Award; the project had previously received funding from the 2017 Brico Forward Fund, Milwaukee Film’s annual granting program.
In total, the 2018 Brico Forward Fund jury awarded 12 projects over $110,000 in cash and production services. This year’s Brico Forward Fund jury was comprised of independent film director and writer, Bob Byington (Infinity Baby, MFF2017), senior creative member of Oscilloscope Laboratories, Debra McClutchy, and the crowdfunding director at Seed&Spark, Christina Raia.
“The number of recipients of this year’s Brico Forward Fund is a wonderful indicator of the depth and breadth of our local filmmaking community’s creativity and talent,” states Milwaukee Film CEO and artistic director, Jonathan Jackson. “The strength of the work and impact of these local filmmakers is proof positive of the immense potential for the continued growth and viability of our region’s film economy.”
The Allan H. (Bud) and Suzanne L. Selig Audience Awards for Best Feature and Best Short and the Women in Film Audience Award presented by Live Wire Productions will be announced after the 10th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival concludes on November 1.
10TH ANNUAL MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
Abele Catalyst Award
Christine Symchych
Black Lens Jury Award - Feature ($4,000 cash)
A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. (dir. Qasim Basir)
Honorable mention: MR. SOUL! (dirs. Sam Pollard, Melissa Haizlip)
Black Lens Jury Award - Short ($1,000 cash)
Suitable (did. Thembi Banks)
Honorable mention: Baby Steps (dir. Eric Dyson)
2018 Brico Forward Fund Recipients ($50,000 cash and $95,000+ in production services)
Black Girl Training (dir. Santana Coleman)
$10,000 cash, $4,000 North American Camera, $5,000 Electric Sun Corporation, 7 studio days at Big Chair Studio, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
The New Extinction (dir. Kyle Arpke)
$10,000 cash, $5,000 Independent, $5,000 Electric Sun Corporation, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Ringolevio (dir. Kristin Peterson)
$5,000 cash, $5,000 North American Camera, $5,000 Electric Sun Corporation, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Among Wild Beasts (dir. Ryan Reeve)
$5,000 cash, $5,000 North American Camera, $5,000 Electric Sun Corporation, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Latino Wisconsin (dir. Ralph Pabst)
$7,500 cash, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
The Floating World (dir. Janelle VanderKelen)
$6,000 North American Camera, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
The Cost of Freedom (dir. Erik Ljung)
$5,000 cash, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Pink Moon (dir. Carol Brandt)
$5,000 cash, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
The Mistake of the Third Chimpanzee (dir. Colin Sytsma)
$5,000 Independent, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Pass On (dir. Maeve Jackson)
$5,000 Independent, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Real Soul: A Gospel Music Story (dir. Daniel Andera)
$5,000 Independent, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Yene Fikir, Ethiopia (My Love, Ethiopia) (dir. Gabrielle Tesfaye)
$2,500 cash, Legal consultation from Dan Kattman of Reinhart Boerner van Deuren, s.c.
Cream City Cinema College Filmmaker Award ($2,500 cash)
The Water Will Carry Us Home (dir. Gabrielle Tesfaye)
Cream City Cinema Jury Award ($5,000 cash)
Pet Names (dir. Carol Brandt)
Special mentions: Lake Michigan Monster (dir. Ryan Tews) and Marie (dir. Katie Theel)
Cream City Cinema Emerging Voices Award ($2,000 travel stipend to HBO offices)
Yen Ching (dir. Yinan Wang)
Documentary Jury Award ($5,000 cash)
Minding the Gap (dir. Bing Liu)
Special mentions: Circles (dir. Cassidy Friedman) and The Feeling of Being Watched (dir. Assia Boundaoui)
Herzfeld Competition Award ($10,000 cash)
Hale Country, This Morning This Evening (dir. RaMell Ross)
Honorable mention: Scary Mother (dir. Ana Urushadze)
Kids Choice Short Film Award ($1,000 cash)
Two Balloons (dir. Mark C. Smith)
Honorable mentions: Scrap Dolls (dir. Aude Cuenod), Jubilee (dir.
Charlotte Pioge, Coralie Soudet, Marion Duvert, Marie El Kadiri, Agathe Marmion), and Two Trams (dir. Svetlana Andrianova)
Milwaukee Music Video Award ($5,000 cash)
Amanda Huff - "Gravetalking" (dir. Kristin Peterson)
Pitch Us Your Film! Contest ($1,000 cash)
Leaps and Bounds: the Men Who Changed Track and Field (dir. Jessie Garcia Marble)
Shorter Is Better Award ($1,000 cash)
Caroline (dirs. Logan George, Celine Held)
Honorable mention Best Experimental Short: Ultraviolet (dir. Marc Johnson)
Honorable mention Best Screenplay Short: A House in the Countryside (Una Casa en el Campo) (dir. Chiqui Carabante)
Honorable mention Best Dark Comedy Short: Sam Did It (dir. Dominic Burgess)
Honorable mention Best Documentary Short: Homeless: The Soundtrack (dir. Irene Taylor Brodsky)
###
About Milwaukee Film
Milwaukee Film is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to entertaining, educating, and engaging our community through cinematic experiences, with a vision to make Milwaukee a center for film culture. The organization is one of the largest of its kind in the country, with over 4,000 members and 84,000 festival attendees. Milwaukee Film recently launched the Milwaukee Filmmaker Alliance, an industry pillar with over 350 members dedicated to stimulating and growing the filmmaking economy in southeastern Wisconsin. In addition, Milwaukee Film operates the majestic Oriental Theatre, a historic three screen cinema committed to high-quality and accessible film and education programming. The 10th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival takes place from October 18 - November 1, 2018. For more information, or to become a member, visit us online at mkefilm.org.
Facebook: MilwaukeeFilm | Twitter: @mkefilm | Instagram: @mkefilm
About the Milwaukee Film Board of Directors
Milwaukee Film’s independent board is made up of the following members: Chris Abele (Past Board Chair); John P. Bania; Donna Baumgartner; Elizabeth Brenner; Karen Ellenbecker; Alexander P. Fraser; Cecelia Gore; Bill Haberman (Past Board Chair); Susan Haise; Katie Heil; Patti Keating Kahn (Board Chair Elect); Tracey L. Klein (Immediate Past Board Chair); Michael G. Klein; Michael J. Koss Jr.; Mary Ann LaBahn; Alexander Lasry; Steve Laughlin (Past Board Chair); Emilia Layden; Michael R. Lovell; Marianne Lubar; Mark Mone; Kenneth W. Muth; Barry Poltermann; Bob Pothier; John Ridley; Joseph A. Rock; Ramona Rogers-Windsor; Lacey Sadoff; Dave Stamm; Julia Taylor; John Utz; Emeritus members: Tom Barrett; Jacqueline Strayer
Posted by: Tom Fuchs