SC Film Commission awards production/training grants

The South Carolina Film Commission has announced the selection of three South Carolina short films for their Indie Grants program. Funding the projects creates training environments for emerging crew and professional development opportunities for South Carolina filmmakers and other artists.

The Indie Grants is the only one of its kind in the nation, using short films for production development and job training, while also creating international industry exposure for the state’s film industry.

“The Indie Grants have garnered a major reputation among producers, writers, actors, and all types of crew,” said Tom Clark with the South Carolina Film Commission. “Which is a way for us to show off the state’s talent, location, and production value to the world.”

Each Indie Grants project will employ Trident Technical College film students in its production, giving the students hands-on training under the filmmakers and other production professionals, and acting as a bridge to full-time professional employment.

Recent Indie Grants collaborators and presenters include Oscar-winning Cinematographer Russell Carpenter (Titanic, Ant-Man), actor AJ Bowen (You’re Next, The Sacrament), DP Peter Simonite (The Perfect Guy, 2nd Unit DP on Tree of Life), writer Brad Land (Goat), Casting Director Avy Kauffman (Lincoln, Life of Pi), and Script Supervisor Martha Pinson (Wall Street, Hugo, The Aviator).

Indie Grants shorts have been official selections of top international film festivals, such as Sundance, Slamdance, Palm Springs, Austin, Stiges, LA, Cucalorus, DragonCon, Tallgrass, and many more.

The short film projects selected for production for 2017/2018 are:

Whistler’s Mother
Robbie Robertson, Writer/Co-Director
Lorie Gardner, Producer/Co-Director
Columbia, SC

The artist James Whistler spent years trying to capture the essence of his mother for his most famous work of art. Not to create a masterpiece, but to save his mother from possession by the Baba Yaga, an evil Russian witch.

Abducted
Ben Joyner, Director
Josh Barkey, Writer
Fort Mill, SC

News of strange disappearances cast an unsettling mood as Jen, a young professional, goes out for drinks with a man she met online.

People Moving Through Time
(Partnership with Indie Grits Labs & the Nickelodeon Theatre)
Roni Nicole Henderson, Writer/Director
Seth Gadsden, Producer
Columbia, SC

When car-sitting her mother’s parked ’84 Chevy Bonneville becomes too risky, 8 year old Nena ventures into an escapist’s dream, where she learns both pity and power

For more information on the Indie Grants and its other training programs, visit www.indiegrants.org.