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Press Release: Cinereach Announces Winter 2010 Grants

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CINEREACH ANNOUNCES WINTER CYCLE GRANTS
Fifteen Projects to Receive $10,000 – $25,000 Each

cinereach.org
cinereach.org/grants/grants-recipients

New York, NY (March 24, 2010) - Cinereach announced $250,000 in grants to 15 feature-length fiction and nonfiction films to comprise its Winter 2010 cycle. The films exemplify Cinereach’s commitment to funding artfully told, character driven stories, and to supporting emerging and established filmmakers.

The applicant pool grew from 636 letters of inquiry in the Summer 2009 cycle to 900 in the current one. From the 900, 77 full proposals were requested. After an extensive internal staff review, an external committee including Laurie Collyer, Dan Nuxoll, Karin Chien, Mike Tully and Ingrid Kopp, weighed in on finalists. Grant amounts range from $10,000 – $25,000.

“The projects we selected vary widely in subject matter and in cinematic style,” said Cinereach Grants Manager Adella Ladjevardi. “They’re set all over the globe: Afghanistan, India, Thailand, Burma, the US/Mexico border, New York City, New Orleans, Alaska and beyond.”

The Winter 2010 grantees include four fiction and eleven nonfiction works-in-progress:

AQUI Y ALLI (HERE AND THERE)
Dir. Antonio Mendez Esparza | Mexico | Fiction | In Production: Pedro, husband, father, and musician, struggles to make a living in Copanatoyac, Mexico. He hopes to avoid crossing the US border for the third time.

BURMA SOLDIER
Dir. Nic Dunlop, Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern | Burma/Thailand/USA | Nonfiction | In Post-Production: Burma Soldier tells the story of a Burmese soldier who swapped sides to join Aung San Suu Kyi’s struggle for a democratic Burma.

CHARGE
Dir. Michael Plunkett | Bolivia/USA | Nonfiction | In Production: Charge uncovers the human stories behind the current energy revolution, and the race to develop what is arguably this century’s most important resource: lithium.

DONOR 150
Dir. Jerry Rothwell | USA | Nonfiction | In Production: A generation conceived through artificial insemination is now old enough to search for its biological fathers, and the children of Donor 150 have a dad who is willing and ready to be found.

DRAGONSLAYER
Dir. Tristan Patterson | USA | Nonfiction | In Post-Production: A self-destructive young man spends an endless California summer breaking into foreclosed homes to skate empty swimming pools. A punk rock girl from the suburbs may be his salvation.

GARDENS OF PARADISE
Dir. Bernardo Ruiz | Mexico/USA | Nonfiction | In Production: A series of interconnected stories, told over the course of one day, illuminate the challenges facing residents of California’s Imperial Valley along the U.S.-Mexico border.

LAURA
Dir. Fellipe Barbosa | USA/Brazil | Nonfiction | In Post-Production: A Brazilian immigrant in New York City lives two contradictory lives. At night she crashes the most glamorous and exclusive parties, while each day she struggles to cheat poverty and eviction.

MOVING (WORKING TITLE)
Dir. Hamid Rahmanian | USA | Nonfiction | In Research & Development: Moving explores the human need to jump the fence and see if the grass really is greener on the other side.

ON THE ICE
Dir. Andrew MacLean | USA | Fiction | In Production: On the snow-covered Arctic tundra, two Inuit teenagers try to get away with murder.

PARIAH
Dir. Dee Rees | USA | Fiction | In Post-Production: A Bronx teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.

RETURN
Dir. Liza Johnson | USA | Fiction | In Pre-Production: Back from a tour of duty, Kelli slowly realizes that her everyday life doesn’t resemble the one she left. Can she regain her place in the kind of life she’s been fighting to protect?

TCHOUPITOULAS
Dir. Bill Ross & Turner Ross | USA | Nonfiction | In Post-Production: Three young brothers explore the New Orleans night.

THE BOY MIR
Dir. Phil Grabsky | UK/Afghanistan | Nonfiction | In Post-Production: The Boy Mir covers ten years in the life of the irrepressible and lovable Mir, as he comes of age in one of the toughest places on earth. His life reflects a vital portrait of modern Afghanistan.

WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS
Dir. Beth Murphy | Afghanistan/USA | Nonfiction | In Production: A year in the life of the students of a new Afghan girls’ school provides a rare glimpse into a community torn between two radically different destinies.

THE WORLD BEFORE HER
Dir. Nisha Pahuja | India/Canada | Nonfiction | In Production: Two competitors in the Miss India Contest show an India divided along many fault lines—political, religious, economic and cultural.

Cinereach Ltd.
Cinereach is a not-for-profit film production company and foundation that champions vital stories, artfully told. Created and led by young philanthropists, entrepreneurs and filmmakers, Cinereach empowers fiction and nonfiction filmmakers from all over the world through three key initiatives: Grants & Awards, the Reach Film Fellowship and Productions; and through partnerships with the Sundance Institute and other organizations. Since 2006, Cinereach has contributed over $3 million to the development, production, completion and distribution of over 50 films at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry and vital subject matter.

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