Indie Grits Labs

Documentary makers! Join is for a FREE Virtual Documentary Filmmaking Session on Saturday, May 30 on At 3pm EST we are excited to join with our partners & colleagues from across the South to host a session on resources for Southern filmmakers! Register Here: https://bit.ly/3fNe24j

You can now watch Invisible Hands by 2019 Fellow Yulian Martinez-Escobar on The Bitter Southerner We are beyond excited to release this quiet yet remarkable story for all to see on such an amazing platform.

https://bittersoutherner.com/video/invisible-hands

The 2020 SC Young Filmmakers Project with the SC Film Commission will be virtually screening their 12 finalists this Saturday, May 23 at 2pm. It is free and open to the public!

https://indiegrants.wufoo.com/forms/q60javh1uk9jja/

Pictured Above:
Turn Up the Mic
Jada Adams
Columbia, SC
A Short Cut Short
Ellison Mitchum, Paige Dionysius
Summerville, SC

The Young Filmmakers Project is an annual competition for SC high school students. Designed to encourage media arts education, it is accompanied by a series of instructional programs such as screenings, meet-ups and panels with SC crew & dept heads.

Our friends at have an open call! Firelight’s Documentary Lab is looking for the next cohort of talented filmmakers of color. Do you want to be part of an inclusive network of 70+ documentary filmmakers? APPLY TODAY via Firelight’s website:
http://www.firelightmedia.tv/doc-lab-open-call

The Documentary Lab is an 18-month fellowship program that supports filmmakers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities working on their first or second feature length documentary film. The Lab provides filmmakers with customized mentorship from prominent leaders in the documentary world, funding, professional development workshops and networking opportunities. The deadline to apply is Monday, June 22, 2020 at 11:59PM ET.

Firelight will be hosting an FAQ Webinar on Thu. June 4. To register, sign up via this link: https://forms.gle/dGAzzgo2GMjMk5pK8

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS! Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase is now accepting film submissions! Deadline is Aug. 31st! Our friends at Femme Frontera champion a unique and visionary curatorial practice and we can't wait to celebrate the voices highlighted in their 5th edition! For more information visit: https://www.femmefrontera.org/submissions-2

The Femme Frontera team advocates for the amplification of films made by border communities across the globe, infusing the media landscape with stories that challenge perceptions about women, immigrants, people of color, the LBGTQ community, and other marginalized communities. The Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase will be held November 6th - 8th, 2020.

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A huge thank you to the folks at Indie Grits Labs for honoring Keisha Rae Witherspoon's “T” with the award for Best Narrative Short at their most recent film festival. We are in such admiration of the Indie Grits team and their tireless efforts to bolster the work of Southern filmmakers, in addition to encouraging us all to rethink what we regard as “the south”, extending that region past national borders and down to the equator. It is an honor to be honored by them.

And last but definitely not least...the Indie Grits team is honored to celebrate the voices behind these feature films ⭐️⭐️⭐️ For more info:
https://indiegrits.org/awards-jury/

TOP GRIT – The Giverny Document (Single Channel), Ja'Tovia Gary

VISIONARY WOMEN IN FILM Award – Queen of Hearts, Deborah Shaffer and Rachel Reichman

Visionary Women in Film Honorable Mention – Dirt Daughter, Marnie Ellen Hertzler

BIG GRIT – Border South, Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana Border South

What can we say? Indie Grits loves short film! Each year we pride ourselves in showcasing the most timely, thought-provoking and structure-defying short form content from our Southern community and this year was no exception. Please give these storytellers a virtual high five 🙌🙌🙌 For more info:
https://indiegrits.org/awards-jury/

NARRATIVE SHORT GRIT – T, Keisha Rae Witherspoon

DOC SHORT GRIT – Juskatla, Georg Koszulinski

DOC SHORT GRIT Honorable Mention – Coby and Stephen are in love, Carlo Nasisse & Luka Yuanyuan Yang

EXPERIMENTAL GRIT – Amazonia, Roger Beebe

LOCAL GRIT – Little Saluda USA, Lillian Burke & Amada Torruella

ANIMATED GRIT – Hudson Geese, Bernardo Britto

EMERGING GRIT – Shelter, Jo Hatcher

We are excited to announce the 2020 Indie Grits Film Festival award winners as selected by our jury!Congratulations to all filmmakers, thank you for taking us on your journey ✨✨✨For more info:
https://indiegrits.org/awards-jury/

NEW PERSPECTIVES Award – 3 Part Horror-mon-ee, Ashley Teamer

BODIES IN MOTION Award – Bodies like Oceans, KC Cory

BODIES IN MOTION Award – And the People Could Fly, Roni Nicole

WRITING GRIT – The Woodpecker, Bush, Will Carrington & Jake Goicoechea

ENVIRONMENTAL GRIT – Mossville: When Great Trees Fall, Alexander John Glustrom

Special Jury Award for Acting – Spilt Milk, Cierra Glaudé

Support our Fellowship community! Our 2020 Fellows are meeting virtually and continuing the Real Fiction Project. We are excited about plans for the upcoming 2021 Fellowship. And today is Midlands Gives! Spread the joy and support the organizations you love!

https://www.midlandsgives.org/nickelodeon

Our Livestream Pop Up series is back! Join us Saturday, May 2 at 8pm for an all-women, Southern narrative shorts block curated by indie grits alumni Jen West & Stacey Davis
*immediately followed by a virtual Q&A with the filmmakers

https://indiegrits.org/festival/livestream/

Cherry, written & directed by Stacey Davis, produced by Jen West, featuring Virginia Newcomb

These Colors Don’t Run, written & directed by Via Bia

Crush, co-written & co-directed by Jen West & Rebecca Pugh