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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Steel Soldier

Veteran suicide is a huge problem in the U.S. today. Steel Soldier follows military veterans and others struggling with PTSD as they use armored combat - an emerging combat sport - to deal with their traumas.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Creator/Producer: Carl Fisk
Director: Jamie Flanagan
Editor/DIT: Derek Evans
Co-Producer: Jordan Letsinger
Cinematographer: Madison McKamey

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Stem

Inspired by a true scandal, a devoted assistant to a world-renowned stem cell scientist uncovers the dark secrets behind a cure that promises to end disability.

Writer/Director: Daeil Kim
Producer: Justin Nguyen, Qingyi Song
Cinematographer: Nicholas Buckwalter

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Stranger

A runaway man returns to Alaska to visit his ailing mother amidst a family rift leads to an unexpected entanglement with the homeless community and the revelation of a long-buried family secret that threatens to upend his entire life.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Jiin F. Chang
Producer: Bright Chang
Director of Photography/VFX Supervisor: Ryan Tester
Director of Photography: Nathan Shuttleworth

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Stronger Than Pretty

A young mother's American Dream turns into a living nightmare until she finds the inner strength to listen to a voice she hadn't heard before: her own.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director: Jared Martino
Assistant Director: Isabella Olaguera

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Suddenly, It Feels Like the Last Summer
A successful fragrance designer suddenly faces an unimaginable task in her life: how to go on living like normal without the ability to smell.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Anne Lann
Producer: Lynnette Myers
 

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Sugar Daddy

An inceptive lens exploring the convergence of poor eating habits and elevated sugar consumption promoting health disorders that plague the African American community with solution-oriented goals toward better health/well-being.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director: Michael Cooke
Producer: Anthony Hemingway
Producer: Anthony J. Davis

Executive Producer: Tirrell D. Whittley

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SummerWinterSummer
Based upon personal experiences, SummerWinterSummer delves into the recurring cycle of trauma and shame faced by a gay Vietnamese American artist in his pursuit of love.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director/Producer: Thy Tran
Producer: Giovanni Labadessa

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Sunburst

Garrett (17) - a teenage cinephile whose congenital heart defect all-but guarantees he'll die before he's thirty - gets tapped to launch a media campaign for Sunburst Cinemas - a dying, independent movie theater, whose antiquated amenities, inept manager, and hapless, rag-tag employees all-but-guarantee it won't survive the summer.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Director/Producer: Mark Wilson
Writer/Producer: Chris Retts
Producer: J.P. Oullette
Producer: Dylan Matlock
Executive Producer: Hilary Barraford
Cinematographer: Thomas Rose
Composer: Jacob Boyd
Sound Editor: Will Digby

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Sunday Errand

A Chinese-American mother and daughter pull into a gas station in rural Virginia but are refused service for being Asian. Mary stubbornly refuses to drive away until she gets served, so eight-year-old Shelly uses her imagination to help her mother preserve dignity in the face of racism. A dark comedy set in the 80’s. Based on a true story.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director/Producer: Christy Chan
Consulting Producer: Nico Opper
Executive Producer: Gordon Yamate

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Sunflower

In a war-torn country, a young girl named Danuta and her family play a dangerous game of hide-and-seek with soldiers as they struggle to survive.

Project type: Fiction Short
Writer/Director: Matt Balcerek
Producer: Pinar Binay
Director of Photography: Łukasz Dziedzic

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Sunset

The sun sets too often on pregnant women in Nigeria who face an inescapable reality - to live or die. In Sunset, we follow some women on a journey to remove the veil of Nigeria's dichotomic healthcare system.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Adaku Uwandu
Producer: Ife Olatunji
Cinematographer: Gilliam De La Torre

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Surrender

Triggered and wanting to escape her past trauma, Naomi, a young Asian American female, falls into the world of blackjack to regain a sense of control but finds herself addicted to the game.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Jess Dang
Producer: Jessica Olthof, Darren Haruo Rae

Director of Photography: B. Rubén Mendoza

Editor: Faroukh Virani

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Survival Skills

Meet Jim. A police cadet fresh out of the academy who gets in over his head when he tries resolving a domestic abuse case outside the legal system. Good luck, Jim.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Quinn Armstrong
Producer: Colin West

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Susan Feniger. FORKED

A private peek behind the curtain at award-winning celebrity chef, Susan Feniger, as she tries to create her first solo restaurant in Los Angeles: Susan Feniger’s STREET. The adventure of hunting down delicious street food takes Susan to Southeast Asia, China and then back to Los Angeles where the recipes refuse to behave and the build-out of the new restaurant goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Project type: Nonfiction Feature
Director/Producer: Lisa Lachman
Producer: Lisa Donmall-Reeve
Co-Producer: Myrta Vida

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Swearing

Swearing is a dramedy short film about GOD, SEX, and GROWING UP.

Project type: Fiction Short
Director/Writer: Mary Bronaugh
Producer: Natalie Galdamez
Leading Role/Executive Producer Sari Arambulo

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Sweethearts
MGM stars Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy are lovers on-screen in 8 blockbuster movies, but studio mogul Louis B. Mayer refuses to allow them to marry off-screen, with tragic results.

Writer: Michael Radford
Producer: Amanda Kiely, Sevier Crespo
Executive Producer: Niels Juul

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Switches

Switches is near future comedy about a couple on the brink of divorce who take a pill to save their marriage.

Producer: Brandon Broussard
Producer: Stephen Love
Producer: Justin Polk

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Symphony of Silence

Symphony of Silence follows Amazonian sound recordist Josue Borman and hearing-impaired acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton on a cross-continent cinematic journey, exploring how sound connects us to the planet, and what we stand to lose when we stop listening.

Director: Julianne Sato-Parker
Producer: Bridie Bischoff
Director of Photography: Megan Clark
Editor : Dan Sadowsky

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T

Shot over the lead actor’s first year on Testosterone, T follows Em through their journey of gender discovery, and the challenges and joys they face in their romantic relationships, friendships, and family.

Project type: Fiction Feature
Writer/Director: Lane Michael Stanley
Producer: Lowell Blank
Executive Producer: Deb Fink
Lead Actor/Story: Mel Glickman

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Ta Ta, Dear

Ta Ta, Dear follows a son at his dying mother’s staged “pre-wake,” her final performance, where he must choose to confront her or play along amid the chaos and dark comedy of her last act.

Writer/Director: Brandon Tyson
Producer: Adam Edery
Director of Photography: Gus Bendinelli

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