Sponsored Projects

Film Independent Fiscal Sponsorship

New and innovative work, fiscally sponsored by Film Independent.
The Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists, supporting a diverse slate of projects at every stage of the filmmaking process – from development to distribution and beyond. Support Film Independent's creative community and help bring these projects to life by donating below.
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Shadow Dance

When Amare’s father catches him in the act with another boy, Amare is kicked out of the house and finds himself trying to survive in the cold unforgiving streets of New York, while still struggling to make his dreams of dancing with the renowned Alvin Ailey dance troupe a reality.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Producer/Actor: Reggie Lochard
Director: Kelley Kali
Producer: Kellon Akeem, Reggie Lochard, Capella Fahoome

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Shakti

To tame her mischief, a single mother enrolls her nine-year-old daughter in private painting lessons in Kathmandu until her child suddenly catches a mysterious illness. When doctors are unable to pin down a diagnosis, her strong-willed mother turns to a local shaman who reveals shared trauma that leads mother and daughter down a path of redemption.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director: Nani Sahra Walker

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Shangri-LA

An episodic comedy about a group of lovable idiots trying to make it in Hollywood while surviving on the streets of L.A.

Project type: Fiction Episodic
Director/Co-creator: Drew Rosas
Actor/Co-creator: Nick Sommer
Lead Actor: Jessie Kahnweiler
Actor: Mark Borchardt

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She Cried That Day

Christine Means and her family have spent years questioning the circumstances surrounding her sister's death. In 2019, a renewed sense of hope for justice places Christine at the center of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives movement in New Mexico. Against all odds, this is a story of love, spirit, and the unwavering power of Indigenous women and allies who refuse to let their loved ones be forgotten.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Executive Producer: Amanda Erickson
Executive Producer: Sarah Burns
Executive Producer: Alex Sherratt

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She Keeps Me Young

She Keeps Me Young is a dark comedy that explores what happens when a high school girl unwittingly challenges the friendship of two grown women.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Co-Writer: Doron Max Hagay
Producers: Graham Mason, Nicole Crespo, Neil Champagne
Cinematographer: Joshua Hill
Production Designer: Gordon Landenberger

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She Said/She Said

She Said / She Said is a character driven dramedy based in the Los Angeles live storytelling community. A storyteller suffering from writer's block finds her unique voice and comes to terms with her abusive childhood when she hears a younger woman tell a story eerily similar to her own.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer: Sara Alize Cross
Producers: Matt Chupack, Don Ohmer, Matt Michienzie

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Shedding: A Dancer’s Journey of Self-Reinvention

Trailblazing Chinese immigrant dancer Xin Ying prepares to take her final bow after over a decade at the Martha Graham Dance Company. With her next chapter unwritten, she’s determined to shape the legacy of American modern dance—not just as a performer, but as a leading force in its future.

Director: Jingqiu Guan
Producer: Selena Leoni

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SHIFT Creative Fund

The SHIFT Creative Fund is a grant program designed to support up-and-coming independent filmmakers by bringing their creative visions to life. SHIFT developed the Creative Fund to allow filmmakers to take their narrative short film projects from script to screen.

Program Manager: Grace Amodeo
Director of Marketing: Taylor Corrado
CEO: Kai Pradel

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Shouting Into the Wind

When the California WaterFix, an estimated $18 billion proposal to divert fresh water to Southern California, was introduced it seemed inevitable despite the high price tag and public opposition. Shouting Into the Wind introduces the union reps and political figures behind the proposal and the vocal residents who pushed back.

Project type: Nonfiction Short
Director/Producer: Elizabeth Bayne
Journalist: Jessica Grainger

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Silence = Death

At the height of the AIDS crisis, Dr. Anthony Fauci is forced to reckon with his power and responsibility while hundreds of protesters storm the campus of the National Institute of Health.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Trace Pope
Producer: Kate Hanson, Tola Omilana

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Silicon Valley Girl Proof-of-Concept Short Film

An alienated, young Korean-American woman secures a coveted tech internship, but her insecurities and loneliness soon cause her to forge a disquieting obsession with a rival.

Writer/Director: Yeon Jin Lee
Producer/Assistant Director: Celene Di Stasio
Executive Producer: Devon Deming
Executive Producer: Tonia Chao Hsieh
Executive Producer: Jaice DuMars

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Silk Road

When an opportunistic Indian graduate student finds a bag full of drugs, he decides to sell them on the deep web to make a quick buck. Little does he know that a brilliant Indian American DEA agent is working around the clock to hunt him down.

Project type: Fiction Episodic
Director: Pradeep Katasani
Producer: Amar P

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Sinjar

Three women whose lives are shattered by ISIS travel intertwined journeys on two continents to find their shared destiny in fighting back.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Writer/Producer: Anna M. Bofarull
Producer: Azadeh Khatibi
Producer: Marian Matachana
Cinematographer: Lara Vilanova
Editor: Diana Toucedo

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Sister Claire

A devout nun believes that she can guide a struggling teenager through their crisis of faith.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Zegan Doyle
Producer: Selena Leoni

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Sister Úna Lived A Good Death

Following a cancer diagnosis, Sister Úna—a wisecracking Catholic nun dedicated to social justice—chooses to live as she’s dying. In Sister Úna Lived a Good Death, we follow the self-proclaimed “leader of the misfits” in her last nine months as she plans her funeral, attempts to complete her bucket list, and confronts what it means to let go.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Par Parekh
Producer: Ali Hart
Editor: Ann Rose
Editor: Chris McNabb
Composer: Nathan Halpern

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Smile… the Worst is Yet to Come

An LA-based couple grappling with a series of personal and professional losses retreats to Big Bear Lake for a weekend hoping to rekindle their dwindling romantic flame.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Producer: Chloe Lenihan
Writer/Actor/Producer: Joseph Mancuso
Actor/Producer: Liz Masucci
Producer: Andy Fortenbacher

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Snake River

Snake River is a Rock and Roll drama series about the unlikely rise of Luke Weaver, a middle-aged depressive whose talent for self-sabotage is second only to his ability to make great music.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Writer/Prodcuer: Bobby Field
Producer: Ashley Krick
Director of Photography: Zach Voytas

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So, That Happened

Sheila and Imran haven’t seen each other since college, but when Imran moves back to Austin, an opportunity arises for the pair to get acquainted once more.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Neha Aziz
Producer: Alifya Ali, Mase Kerwick

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Some Kind of Heavenly Fire

On the Eastside of Detroit in the summer of 2003, a Grandfather tries to hide his daughter’s incarceration from his young grandson in the midst of a city-wide blackout caused by an alien invasion.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Eric Riley
Producer: Jasmin Joseph
Producers: Gabriel Freeman, Clark Bishop
Director of Photography: Kate Levy
VFX Producer: Jeremy Brooks
Casting Director: Michele Mansoor

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Someone You Know

Three women share their experiences navigating a hostile landscape, and the barriers they faced along the way, to get a later abortion.

Project type: Nonfiction Short
Producer: Asha Dahya
Co-producer: Sarah Moshman
Editor: Prakshi Malik
Animator: McGregor

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