Roy W. Dean Grant Fall 2017 Finalists
Congratulations to the films selected to be Roy W. Dean Grant Fall 2017 Finalists.
Since 1992, From the Heart Productions has supported filmmakers with cash and substantial professional discounts from our film industry partners, averaging an estimated $30,000 per filmmaker. The Roy W. Dean grants program, with several annual deadlines, has grown into one of the most sought after competitions in the world.
The Roy W. Dean Grant funds unique films that make a contribution to society. It gives filmmakers with great stories told with passion the funding to get their projects started or completed.
2017 Fall Grant Finalists
2 Cokes And A Veal Piccata: The Paul Nelson Story (Documentary) Produced by Paula Farmer | Directed by Mike Goldberg |
![]() Paul Nelson, pioneered rock journalism in the 60s and 70s as a writer for Rolling Stone and The Village Voice mentoring every major rock critic and influencing the careers of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, The NY Dolls, David Bowie and Rod Stewart. At the height of his career, Paul abruptly left to work as a clerk in a Manhattan video store. Paul changed the way music was written about and listened to. Towards the end of his life, Paul became reclusive, falling into poverty and mental decline, dying alone in his apartment. This is an investigative exploration and a psychological profile about what happened to Paul Nelson. |
Animated Passion (Documentary) Produced by Lucia Darino | Directed by Eduardo Darino |
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Besieged City (Short) Produced by Chungwei Huang, William Dejessa, and Valerie Jane Bailey | Directed by Mengchen Niu |
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Breaking the Bee (Documentary) Produced by Chris Weller | Directed by Sam Rega |
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Daydreams (Feature) Produced and Directed by Flavia Casà |
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Light on the Sea (Documentary) Produced and Directed by Marie-Helene Carleton and Micah Garen |
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Mdaif’IN (Documentary) Produced and Directed by Nada Zraidi and Aouatef khelloqi |
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Queer Tango Goes to Russia (Documentary) Produced and Directed by Aleksandr Vinogradov |
![]() Description: The most outstanding queer tango dancers from around the world are traveling to the Queer Tango festival in St.Petersburg. A journey they choose to make despite the harsh anti-LGBTQ policies of contemporary Russia, which prove to be a real challenge for both the dancers and the Russian festival managers. Is the art of queer tango at all possible in today’s Russia? |
Real Immunity (Documentary) Produced and Directed by Cilla Whatcott |
![]() Logline: The answer to real immunity lies within Real immunity does not come through a pill or a needle. Searching outside of one’s self for sustainable health is not effective. The new paradigm is authentic and honors innate intelligence. This feature documentary focuses upon dispelling the fear surrounding disease, encouraging viewers to trust their intuition, and empowering viewers with valuable natural resources including something called “homeoprophylaxis,” a 200-year-old method of safe disease prevention. |
REFUGE (Documentary) Produced and Directed by Sue Arbuthnot and Richard Wilhelm |
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Restoring Balance: Autism Recovery (Documentary) Produced by Dr. Alisa Wolf | Directed by Ryan Hetrick |
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Stoke (Feature) Produced by Zoe Eisenberg | Directed by Phillips Payson and Zoe Eisenberg |
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The Future of Food (Documentary) Produced and Directed by William Mann |
![]() Food affects many issues that relate to all of us. For example, the environment, peoples livelihoods, concerns about our health and the wildlife species that occupy the planet with us. Could food be viewed as a vital human need and resource of nature, to provide food security for future generations and protect the welfare of our planet? We take you on an journey of yesterday, today and tomorrow to get to the heart of the matter and to inspire the next generation. |
The Passion Project (Documentary) Produced by Tracey Smith |
Filmmaker, Tracey Smith, sets out to make a documentary about a high-profile animal hospice in upstate NY with over 400 abused and neglected animals. But when investigations lead to its unexpected collapse, Tracey confronts her own childhood abuse which unearths a secret history of multi-generational sexual abuse in her seemingly idyllic family. |
Uninsurable (Web/TV Series) Produced by Anya Solotaire | Directed by Clare Austen-Smith |
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Waldo On Weed (Documentary) Produced by Lee Leshen | Directed by Tommy Avallone |
A six-month old boy is diagnosed with Cancer in his eyes, and uses Cannabis to get through his treatment. The film looks at how Waldo’s parents got their son healthy, the legal risks they had to take, and how to better spread the message that this “drug” can help take away the pain and suffering for people going through Chemotherapy, even as young as six months. The overall message of the film: Family First. |
YOUNG VOICES NEW DREAMS (Documentary) Produced by Menen Hailu |
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Previous Roy W. Dean Fall Grant Winners
2016 – Robyn Symon for Do No Harm
2015 – Sabine El Gemayel for Generation Zapped
2014 – Stephanie Seldin Howard for Not The Same: Families After War
2013 – Janice Engle for Raise Hell
2012 – Elizabeth Sher for Penny
2011 – Dulanie Ellis for Ground Operations
2010 – Donald Goldmacher for Heist
2009 – Maria Ramas, Michael Masucci & Kate Johnson for MIA, A Dancer’s Odyssey
2008 – Paula Ely, Producer and Stuart Harmon for The Money Stone
2007 – Colorblind or Blinded by Color?
2006 – Christie and Dennis Davis for Women at War: Forgotten Veterans of Desert Storm
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