Academy grants $500,000 to film and cultural organizations

Jun 10, 2008 by Ian Evans

As we’ve said before, if you think the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is just about the Oscars®, think again. As part of its support of education the Academy Foundation’s Institutional Grants Program has awarded a total of $500,000 to 58 film-related nonprofit organizations — including universities, museums and career development programs — throughout the United States and in Canada.

Since its establishment in 1968, the Foundation, which is the educational wing of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has distributed more than 573 institutional grants.

“One of our primary goals is to increase access to professional opportunities in the motion picture industry,” said Grants Committee Chair Andrew Marlowe. “These grants also will help generate greater public interest in film events and screenings throughout the U.S.”

The Academy Foundation’s Grants Committee selected the following programs for 2008—2009:

Internship Programs

  • $15,000
    • California Institute of the Arts (Valencia)
    • Columbia University School of the Arts (New York City)
    • Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles)
    • New York University — Kanbar Institute of Film & TV
    • University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
    • University of Southern California Master of Professional Writing Program
    • University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts
  • $13,000
    • Stanford University
  • $12,500
    • Columbia College Hollywood (Tarzana, CA)
    • North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem)
  • $10,000
    • New York University Archiving Program
    • University of California, Los Angeles — Film & Television Program* *
    • Workplace Hollywood (Hollywood, CA)
    • Yale University Film Studies
  • $7,500
    • Emerson College (Boston)
    • Hampshire College (Amherst, MA)
    • Pennsylvania State University (University Park)
    • University of North Carolina (Wilmington)
    • University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

Institutional Grants

  • $25,000
    • FilmAid International (New York City) — African screening program
  • $10,000
    • Facets Multi-Media (Chicago) — Facets Film School and Facets CineChat
    • Hollywood Cinema Production Resources (Los Angeles) — Job training program
    • The MacDowell Colony (Peterborough, NH) — Filmmaker residency
    • Tufts University (Medford, MA) — Filmmaker-in-residence
    • UCLA Film & Television Archive — Screening series
  • $9,500
    • Whitney Museum of American Art (New York City) — Alice Guy Blache retrospective program
  • $7,500
    • Austin Film Festival, Inc. — Writers’ Ranch and seminar series
    • Berklee College of Music (Boston) — Visiting artists
    • California State Summer School for the Arts (Los Angeles) — Visiting artists
    • Drexel University (Philadelphia) — Visiting filmmakers
    • Echo Park Film Center (Los Angeles) — Filmmaking workshop and screening programs
    • Frameline (San Francisco) — Screening series
    • Harvard Film Archive — Visiting filmmakers
    • Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe) — Summer film workshop
    • Media Arts Center San Diego — Screening and workshop programs
    • Miami Film Society — MIFF Abroad
    • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — Visiting filmmakers
    • New York Women in Film & Television (New York City) — Female filmmakers screening series
    • Salt Lake City Film Center — Visiting artists
    • Visual Effects Society (Encino, CA) — Training and mentoring program
    • Winnipeg Film Group (Manitoba, Canada) — Documentary film conference
  • $6,000
    • Northwest Screenwriters Guild (Seattle) — Visiting speaker series
  • $5,000
    • Bard College (Annandale, NY) — Filmmaking workshop
    • Cineaste Magazine (New York City) — Film Editing supplement
    • Cinestory (Idyllwild, CA) — A Film from the Screenwriter’s POV
    • Columbia College (Chicago) — Artist-in-residence
    • The Drawing Center (New York City) — Drawing on Film exhibition
    • Kentucky Film Lab (Lexington) — Filmmakers’ Studio
    • Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum (Fremont, CA) — Silent film screening series
    • Ninth Street Independent Film Center (San Francisco) — Canyon Cinema screening series
    • Outfest (Los Angeles) — Access LA Seminar Series and Screenwriting Lab
    • Paramount Center for the Arts (Peekskill, NY) — Screening series
    • San Francisco Cinematheque — Artist-in-residence
    • Squaw Valley Community of Writers (CA) — Screenwriting workshop
    • University of Houston — Visiting filmmakers
    • Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN) — Filmmakers in Conversation
  • $4,000
    • University of Colorado at Boulder — Brakhage Symposium
  • $2,500
    • Film Forum (New York City) — Screening series