Swedish documentary filmmaker Anastasia Kirillova and “Negative Space” co-directors Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter are among the filmmakers who will receive grants from Rooftop Films to help complete their upcoming projects.
Kirilova will be awarded $20,000 to finish her film, “In the Shadows of Love,” while collaborators Kuwahata and Porter will receive $10,000 for “Dandelion Seed.”
Rooftop Films is a non-profit organization founded to showcase and fund the work of rising filmmakers and musicians in New York City. They provide cash grants to artists, rent equipment at affordable costs and organize film screenings.
“One of the great pleasures of working at Rooftop Films is that we have the opportunity to not only witness the growth of tenacious artists, but to support their visionary works as well,” said Dan Nuxoll, Rooftop Films’ artistic director. “This year’s grantees are among the most promising in all our years of championing independent cinema, and we can’t wait to see how their creations turn out.”
“In the Shadows of Love,” Kirilova’s first feature-length film, follows an unorthodox female detective in a story about heartache and romance.
Kuwahata and Porter received an Oscar nomination last year for their short film, “Negative Space.” Their new feature-length animated film, “Dandelion Seed,” will tell the story of a Japanese foreign exchange student smitten with Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, only to have his innocence tested when allegations against the singer emerge.
Previous Rooftop Filmmaker Fund grantees had movies premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, including Penny Lane’s “Hail Satan?,” Petra Costa’s “The Edge of Democracy” and Michael Tyburski’s “The Sound of Silence.”
Below is a complete list of grant recipients:
Feature Film Grants
Rooftop Films Water Tower Feature Film Grant
Anastasia Kirillova, In the Shadows of Love
Ru Kuwahata & Max Porter, Dandelion Seed
Rooftop Films and Brigade Festival Publicity Grant
Bryan Wizemann, You Mean Everything to Me
Rooftop Films and Eastern Effects Equipment Grant
Melanie Shatzky & Brian M. Cassidy, Turquoise
Rooftop Films and NYCEDC Production Office Grant
Joseph Sackett, I Was in Your Blood
Tamika R. Guishard, Rhythm in Blues
Rooftop Films and Edgeworx Post-Production Grant
Scott Cummings, Realm of Satan
Rooftop Films and Red Hook Post Sound Mix Grant
Bill & Turner Ross, Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
Rooftop Films and Technological Cinevideo Services Camera Grant
Emily MacKenzie & Noah Collier, The Sixth Wall
Short Film Grants
Rooftop Films and Adrienne Shelly Foundation Short Film Grant For Women
Bronwyn Maloney, Re: Shannon
Rooftop Films and DCTV Equipment & Services Grant
Zoe Logan & Joe Kowalski, Armor
Yvonne Shirley, Unconscious Inheritance (working title)
Rooftop Filmmakers Fund Short Film Grant
Axel Danielson & Maximilien Van Aertryck, Awake Brain Surgery (working title)
Alex Mallis, Flatbush! Flatbush!
Sarina Nihei, Polka-dotted Boy
Rooftop Films and Kayla Thomas Filmmaker Grant
Leah Shore, Focus, Susan