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THIS IS HOW ARRAY SUPPORTS ARTISTS + ADVOCATES

ARRAY Alliance works to amplify the work of underrepresented filmmakers, provide a platform for their films, and cultivate highly engaged and enthused audiences who are hungry for new, more reflective images on screen.

Our ARRAY Grants initiative encourages people of extraordinary ability to pursue their own creative and professional inclinations with an eye toward storytelling that expands antiquated, homogenous narratives to become more inclusive of communities, perspectives, and experiences from all walks of life.

Each year, unrestricted grants are awarded to the most talented artists, activists, and film festivals / screening series with the hope that each recipient will advance their expertise, tackle bold new initiatives, foster dialogue that helps heal past wrongs, and encourage audiences to see that there is more that unites us as people than divides.

With each cohort of grantees, this growing community of disruptive changemakers is helping to underscore the importance of artists as social justice leaders and creating a thriving network of mentors and thought partners for each other and future generations of rising talent.

THIS IS HOW ARRAY SUPPORTS
ARTISTS + ADVOCATES

ARRAY Alliance works to amplify the work of underrepresented filmmakers, provide a platform for their films, and cultivate highly engaged and enthused audiences who are hungry for new, more reflective images on screen.

Our ARRAY Grants initiative encourages people of extraordinary ability to pursue their own creative and professional inclinations with an eye toward storytelling that expands antiquated, homogenous narratives to become more inclusive of communities, perspectives, and experiences from all walks of life.

Each year, unrestricted grants are awarded to the most talented artists, activists, and film festivals / screening series with the hope that each recipient will advance their expertise, tackle bold new initiatives, foster dialogue that helps heal past wrongs, and encourage audiences to see that there is more that unites us as people than divides.

With each cohort of grantees, this growing community of disruptive changemakers is helping to underscore the importance of artists as social justice leaders and creating a thriving network of mentors and thought partners for each other and future generations of rising talent.

ARRAY PARTNERS WITH GOOGLE TO CREATE
FEATURE FILM GRANT FOR UNDERREPRESENTED CREATIVES

INDEPENDENT GRANTS

INDEPENDENT GRANTS

Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF)

MPTF supports working and retired members of the entertainment community with a safety net of health and social services, including temporary financial assistance, case management, and residential living. Learn More

New Negress Film Society’s Black Woman’s Film Conference

The New Negress Film Society is a collective of Black women and non-binary filmmakers who create community, spaces, and films that reimagine cultural productions that have traditionally exploited our communities. The New Negress Film Society coordinates public programming and produces films committed to centering radical Black women’s voices. Learn More

Filmmaker Grant

Rahul V. Chittella

Rahul V. Chittella is an independent filmmaker in Mumbai, India. He was the director and executive producer of the Global Lives Project, India in 2009, after which he worked with the United Nations Documentary Program at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Previously working as the producing partner on several films including The Reluctant Fundamentalist and A Suitable Boy, Rahul completed his first feature film as a director, titled Gulmohar, in 2022.

Filmmaker Grant

Charles Burnett

A writer-director whose work has received extensive honors. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, his family soon moved to the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Burnett studied creative writing at UCLA before entering the University’s graduate film program. His thesis project, Killer of Sheep (1977), won accolades at film festivals and a critical devotion; in 1990, it was among the first titles named to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.

Grant to Inspire Civic Engagement

“Zoom Where It Happens”

“Zoom Where It Happens” aims to catalyze voters and amplify the fight for voting rights and electoral justice, through culture and entertainment. Through this grant, Zoom Where It Happens recreates mainstream TV show favorites reimagined with an all-black cast. The first public event remixed the beloved show Golden Girls with Alfre Woodard, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sanaa Lathan, and Regina King, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and hosted by Lena Waithe.

Pre-Production Grant

Haile Gerima

Haile Gerima is an independent filmmaker and professor of film at Howard University. Haile’s films explore African and African- American narratives, and some of his notable works include: Bush Mama, Ashes and Embers, After Winter: Sterling Brown, Sankofa, and Adwa: An African Victory.

Pre-Production Grant

Agnes Varda

Agnes Varda is a Belgian- born film director. Her films, photographs, and art installations focus on documentary realism, feminist issues, and social commentary with a distinctive experimental style. She has spent most of her working life in France, and was central to the development of the French New Wave. (Note: this grant was awarded prior to her passing.)

Infrastructure Grant

Moikgantsi Kgama

Moikgantsi Kgama is the founder and executive director of ImageNation Cinema Foundation, a Harlem-based non-profit media arts organization. She also serves as the Director of Communications at Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement. She has received many accolades during her career, including being named one Essence Magazine’s 25 Women Who Are Shaping the World and receiving the Trailblazer Award from Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. Moikgantsi earned a BS in Newspaper Journalism from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Inclusive Media Grant

Wilson Morales

Wilson Morales is a journalist and website editor for Blackfilm, a leading brand in connecting the African-American film community to a global audience with a mission to promote and support diversity in filmmaking. This grant was provided to ensure journalists of color or females of all kinds are able to attend film festivals and provide inclusive coverage of film and the arts.

General Support

Sarah Jones Film Foundation

Sarah Jones Film Foundation: On February 20, 2014, Sarah Elizabeth Jones, 27, was tragically killed in an accident on the set of Midnight Rider, a biopic about musician Gregg Allman. Sarah’s death prompted an outpouring of grief, and galvanized film crew members throughout the entertainment industry, highlighting longstanding concerns about set safety. Sarah Jones Film Foundation was created to honor Sarah’s legacy, and engages the entire film community in generating constructive and realistic strategies to prevent other such tragedies from happening in the future.

ASCEND SUMMIT GRANT

ASCEND SUMMIT GRANT

As part of our inaugural ARRAY Ascend Summit, a gathering to equip some of the nation’s top community organizers and arts advocates working in independent film with the resources and relationships needed to thrive, we proudly supported the following grassroots film festivals, screening series and cultural programs with $10,000 grants each. Each recipient also received three months of capacity building support from fundraising consulting firm, Bridge Philanthropy Consultants, www.bpc.fund.

INAUGURAL ASCEND SUMMIT GRANT RECIPIENTS

Click image for bio

Nia Hampton

Nia Hampton

Founder,

Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival

Kathleen Bertrand

Kathleen Bertrand

Founder & Executive Producer,

BronzeLens Film Festival

Paula Guthat

Paula Guthat

Founder,

Cinema Detroit

Hebe Tabachnik

Hebe Tabachnik

Artistic Director,

Cine Latino Minneapolis Saint Paul Film Festival

Marie Jamora

Marie Jamora

Founder,

Cinema Sala
Karen Toering

Karen Toering

Director,

Gary International Black Film Festival

Jasmine Jones

Jasmine Jones

Film Consultant,

Houston Museum of African American Culture

Crystal Echo Hawk

Crystal Echo Hawk

CEO,

IllumiNative

Moikgantsi Kgama

Moikgantsi Kgama

Founder & Executive Director,

ImageNation Cinema and Music for the People
Willi White

Willi White

Director,

Indigenous Film Festival

Francis Cullado

Francis Cullado

Executive Director,

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (Visual Communications)

Kim Pevia

Kim Pevia

Curator,

Lumbee Film Festival

Jacqueline Moscou

Jacqueline Moscou

Founder,

Sankofa Film Society
Gabrielle Glore

Gabrielle Glore

Festival Director & Head of Programming,

Urbanworld Festival

2019 ASCEND SUMMIT

GETTY IMAGES ARRAY GRANT

GETTY IMAGES ARRAY GRANT

ARRAY Alliance partnered with Getty Images to provide support to photographers and film makers who are using their art forms to create diverse and inclusive visual stories. The Getty Images ARRAY Grant provides financial support and mentorship to artists who capture the visual narrative of underrepresented ethnic communities and use their medium to progress visual representation – communities such as African-American, Caribbean, South Asian, Arab, Indigenous or Latinx for example. In addition to financial remuneration, recipients will also receive mentoring support and guidance. Getty Images Photo By: Naila Ruechel

2018 Getty images GRANT RECIPIENTS

Click image for bio

Miora Rajaonary

Miora Rajaonary

Photography

Shawn Theodore

Shawn Theodore

Photography

Curtis Essel

Curtis Essel

Film

Mayye Zayed

Mayye Zayed

Film

JURY OF ESTEEMED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

Kira Kelly | Cinematographer
Atsushi (Jima) Nishijima | Film photographer
Laylah Amatullah Barrayn | Founder + Editor-In-Chief, MFon
Marc Baptiste | Photographer
Ramona Rosales | Photographer
Adama Delphine Fawundu | Founder + Editor-In-Chief, MFon

Kira Kelly
Cinematographer

Atsushi (Jima) Nishijima
Film photographer

Laylah Amatullah Barrayn
Founder + Editor-In-Chief, MFon

Marc Baptiste
Photographer

Ramona Rosales
Photographer

Adama Delphine Fawundu
Founder + Editor-In-Chief, MFon

2018 Getty images GRANT RECeption

Reception photography by ARRAY Maverick volunteers Skandia Shafer and Marisol Gurbutt.

ELIGIBILITY

ARRAY grants recipients may be writers, journalists, artists, advocates, directors, performers, crew members, or students that are doing transformative work in the world.

They may also be given to leaders of film festivals and screening series that seek to nurture theatrical motion pictures in all categories and genres, including silent, ethnic, short, documentary, animated, music video, and experimental films. Special priority is given to festivals run by women and people of color.

NOMINATIONS

ARRAY grants are by nomination only. There is no formal application process.

An independent nominating committee comprised of leaders from the philanthropic, entertainment, and academic sectors draws on their vast expertise and networks to identify the most promising talent. The final awardees are selected by Oscar-nominated filmmaker and ARRAY Founder, Ava DuVernay, and members of ARRAY’s Board of Directors.

ARRAY GRANTS DOES NOT ACCEPT UNSOLICITED APPLICATIONS, PROPOSALS OR NOMINATIONS.

Prospective grantees are identified by an independent committee comprised of leaders from philanthropy, entertainment, and academia who draw on their vast expertise and networks to identify annual nominees.

For additional questions and inquiries, please email [email protected].

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