Calling all Jewish filmmakers: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival has office space available. It will go to the one
worthy artist selected for the festival’s first Jewish Film Residency.
The program, which runs from October through March, gives the chosen filmmaker or team a home base to complete a Jewish-themed movie-in-progress. The resident will be given an office (plus desks for staff), as well as use of the screening room and editing facilities in the 9th Street Independent Film Center, the South of Market building that houses the festival and other film organizations.
Coffee’s on the house, too.
“We thought this is a great opportunity for somebody,” said San Francisco Jewish Film Festival executive director Lexi Leban, “to put them in the mix at 9th Street and be part of the [festival] community as well. It’s a way of building ties, so when the film is completed we would be more connected to the filmmaker.”
To raise the $6,000 cost of the residency, Leban turned to Indiegogo, an online crowdsource funding site similar to Kickstarter. That means contributers may go online and give any amount to bring the program to life.
A call for applications goes out Sept. 1. Then a committee, which will include Leban and film producer Marc Smolowitz (“Trembling Before God”), will make their selection.
Though $6,000 may not seem like much compared to multimillion-dollar Hollywood film budgets, Leban said the residency could be a godsend.
“A lot of grant resources have diminished. People are having a hard time getting their films financed. I can see even a well-known filmmaker benefiting from six months of office space to edit. In the Bay Area, it’s expensive to rent.”
Though a spot in a future Jewish Film Festival lineup is not guaranteed with the residency, it becomes much more likely.
“There are a lot of new filmmakers emerging on the scene that are dealing with issues relevant to the Jewish community,” Leban said, “and they can benefit from being in a more collective environment. There’s a synergy when you’re in the same space.”
To make a donation to SFJFF’s Jewish Film Residency, go to www.indiegogo.com/JewishFilmResidency.