ANDERSONVILLE — Chicago Filmmakers has awarded $100,000 in grants as part of its Chicago Digital Media Production Fund.
The digital artists, who ranged from students to award-winning filmmakers, pitched projects highlighting a range of relevant social issues including gun violence, sickle cell anemia and transgender people in marginalized communities, according to a press release from the fund.
"The fund is intended to support artists with varying levels of experience, both to recognize accomplished individuals, as well as to provide opportunities for emerging and younger artists," the release said.
The production fund, which has a goal of supporting socially conscious media arts projects that will be distributed online for free, is a project of the Voqal Fund and is administered by Andersonville's Chicago Filmmakers at 5243 N. Clark St., the release said.
Grant Winners:
The digital series, which will be launched via Instagram, dives into a world in the near future where femicide forces three women to seek safety in a small apartment.
• "Bitter Melons" by Thavary Krouch
The short narrative film follows a young cook forced to deliver bitter melons to her estranged father and the delivery doesn't go as planned.
• "The Girl Deep Down Below" by Ali Abbas
This genre-bending horror mystery is about four Muslim-American girls trying to stop a series of abductions in their neighborhood and the supernatural entity stalking them.
• "Blood Myth" by Doris C. Rusch
This 2D platformer game, which is based on the medical information and life stories of sickle cell anemia patients, aims to raise awareness about the disease.
• "The Skatepark Concrete Dreams" by Nick Nummerdor
The three-part documentary follows a suburban mother as she works to build a free public skatepark in her hometown.
• "America in Transition" by Andre Perez
The documentary web series analyzes social change from the perspective of trans people in marginalized communities.
• "Snugglr" by Georgia Bernstein
A young Turkish girl works for a cuddling app for lonely Chicagoans in this improvised web series.
• "The T" by Bea Cordelia and Daniel Kyri
"The T" follows a diverse group of young queer and trans people painting an everyday portrait of three best friends in Chicago.
• "Another Life" by The Triibe (Morgan Elise Johnson and Tiffany Walden)
The unique docu-poetry series features Black millenials sharing the challenges and triumphs on the journey towards healing in the aftermath of gun violence in Chicago.
