Awarded Grants

To support an experimental study circle, research collective and grounding space for deep reflection and interpretation of the life and legacy of the anti-fascist Trinidadian cultural worker, Claudia Jones. The project will culminate in a film based on the eponymous figure, who was a Harlem based labor organizer, journalist, mentee of W.E.B DuBois, communist party leader, ‘proto-feminist’ and author of “An End to the Neglect of the Problems of the Negro Women” (1949). Jones’ activism and writing led to multiple arrests, extensive FBI surveillance through the Smith and McCarran Acts, and her imprisonment and deportation to the United Kingdom. During her time in London, Jones deepened her relationship with the burgeoning West Indian, African and South Asian communities, created the West Indian Gazette and founded the first diasporic Caribbean Carnival—the Notting Hill Carnival.

To support a film about a man with a green thumb and a big presence who recounts his journey out of addiction as a thread emerges among other gardeners in West Philadelphia. People share their realization that talking to plants aids them in surprising ways.

A film profile about Eric McPherson, a prolific jazz drummer born and raised in New York. The film will explore the history of jazz in relation to New York City, revealing how an immersive jazz and hip hop culture of the 60's and 70's directly influenced McPherson's work. In comparison to the commodification of these cultures today, the filmmaker will explore how talent needs to be nurtured both inside and outside a classroom.

To support the film "Looking Forward to Reentry" about the justice system. The film will highlight legislation, government officials, agencies, and programs, and individuals working to reform the justice system

A short documentary that uses Afro-Caribbean dance, whining, and Black American dance styles to analyze respectability politics, pressures to accommodate whiteness, and criticism of sexual expression imposed on Black people. The film will intercut archival footage, expert opinion from elder dancers, as well as testimony from Black American and Caribbean people who are familiar with these dances. These interviews will be framed with some of the interview subjects dressing up to go to a dance party with Black American and Caribbean music.

To support the film, ¿Y Nosotr@s Que? a film about essential workers who are undocumented Indigenous immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A supernatural sci-fi film that relieves a Black family from a misunderstood past. Traveling with her mom and dad to her late grandfather’s home for the first time, Amala, a curious, differently-abled 10-year-old girl downloads a new update to her smart glasses that manipulates a still image to move backward and forward. As the grieving family argues about selling the house and placing their senile great-uncle into a nursing home, Amala puts her new technology to the test and discovers a family secret hidden within her living great-great-uncle's library of family photos.

To support the transfer of Generocity's ownership to Civic Capital Consulting.

To support filmmaker Sosena Solomon's tribute to her long-lost sister, Genet, through a film-based installation project in which she captures Genet’s truly remarkable life. Living with HIV is still deeply misunderstood and stigmatized in the Ethiopian diaspora and even within her family. This work attempts to unsettle the culture of shame and stigma which isolates people from their families and creates cycles of harm and mistrust.

To support, "Immigrant Mothers," a documentary feature-film about the challenges that immigrant women of color face throughout pregnancy and the initial stages of motherhood. Blending poetic and vérité styles, the film connects the director’s personal journey to the experiences of other Black and Brown immigrant women giving birth away from home. The topics discussed in the documentary range from navigating racism in the health care system to reflecting on the societal expectations of being the “perfect mother.”