30 May Mountainfilm in Telluride: New granting program
by Mountainfilm staff
Mountainfilm in Telluride announces a new granting program, the Mountainfilm Commitment. The initiative provides up to five grants of $5,000 each year to filmmakers, photographers, artists and adventurers whose projects are intended to move audiences to action on issues that matter. Individuals who are producing film, video, photography, book, art, and multimedia projects that can be presented in theaters and galleries or, more broadly, on television and online, are eligible. Mountainfilm will also work with grantees to ensure that their stories are heard as widely as possible. Grants will be awarded in the inaugural cycle of the program to individuals who have either participated in a Mountainfilm in Telluride festival as a filmmaker or special guest presenter or have been recommended by participating filmmakers or presenters.
Holbrooke specified that Mountainfilm is interested in projects that: utilize moving pictures, photos, words, art materials or a combination of the aforementioned to tell a critical story; take audiences to places they’ve never been and tell them stories they’ve never heard; and, use unconventional approaches to form and process.
From a practical perspective, Holbrooke said successful applicants should propose projects that have: adequate additional sources of funding; reasonable and realistic budgets; a plan for outreach after the project is finished; and, the potential to reach a national audience. “Applicants need to ask themselves if they could talk about this on The Daily Show,” he said.
It is essential, he emphasized, that the project is invested with “the passion and capacity to be fully completed.”
Mountainfilm Executive Director Peter Kenworthy said the new program reflects both Mountainfilm’s success in fundraising and its commitment to fulfilling its mission of educating and inspiring audiences. “The granting initiative really closes the circle of what we’re about,” he said. “It’s an exciting complement to the rest of what we’re doing – the festival, Mountainfilm on Tour, our classroom student program, our Minds of Mountainfilm on-line interview series and our upcoming TV series on Outside Television.” Kenworthy added he thinks there are “some tremendously worthwhile projects out there that could benefit from a $5,000 cash infusion and from leveraging the Mountainfilm media and publicity network.”
Letters of interest will be accepted during the month of June and the grant application, review and funding process will be completed through the summer and fall. Interested candidates should visit the Mountainfilm website in June for further information.
About Mountainfilm: For 30 years, Mountainfilm in Telluride has been committed to bringing ever-increasing levels of artistic excellence to its mission of educating and inspiring audiences about critical issues. The festival began as a venue to showcase climbing movies. It has grown to be a major proponent of adventure, awareness and activism.
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