Roy W. Dean Grant Fall 2020 Finalists

Congratulations to the films selected to be Roy W. Dean Grant Fall 2019 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.

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2020 Fall Grant Finalists

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26 Seconds

Documentary

26secondsdoc.com

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One child every “26 Seconds” is trafficked globally, the majority ending up in the sex trade. “26 Seconds” features the heartbreaking stories of children and women from vastly different cultures experiencing horrifically similar traumas. The documentary highlights the active efforts of survivors, other individuals and NGO’s to rescue victims, and raise awareness to those in power to affect change, and ultimately put a stop to this horrific, worldwide industry. “26 Seconds” follows children and women from each of the target countries: Thailand, Cambodia, India, Iraq, Mexico, East Africa and in our own backyards in the USA.

Broken Toy

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“Thrown out, far from home and vulnerable, a self-aware child's toy begins a perilous journey across a hostile adult world - bringing home a terrible secret.”

Based on an Award Winning screenplay, Broken Toy is a British science fiction drama in the vein of Black Mirror and the Twilight Zone which explores issues of neglect, artificial intelligence, and childhood trauma.

Winner New Renassiance Film Festival Best Short Screenplay 2020 and Finalist Best Short Screenplay at the LA Screenplayer Awards and SF IndieFest 2020. Supported by Chaos Group

CK and Rafer: The 'Two Man United Nations'

Documentary

vimeo.com

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Two athletes from opposite sides of the world – Taiwan’s CK Yang, the “Ironman of Asia,” and black American superstar Rafer Johnson – rise above discrimination and pressures of race and nation to stage the greatest duel in Olympic history and forge a lifelong friendship.

Dark Things

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DARK THINGS is a short film adaptation of William Shakespeare's OTHELLO. The film, a period piece, follows Othello's introduction to racism, the psychological effects of prejudice, and his subsequent fall from valiant general to the betrayer of everyone he held dear.

Food Broker

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Two elderly women - Doris and Rosa - utilize uniquely personal approaches to feeding homeless people, rather than treating them like problems to be solved.

At age 90, Doris Presley continues to work tirelessly to provide a home for people who are in need of one. She dreams of being able to provide food, clothing, housing, medical care, and most importantly, empathy to those who are housing insecure.

As a child growing up in Guatemala, Rosa Roman longed for a large family of her own. Rosa did not end up with her dream, but she found herself cooking in an LA church kitchen, where hundreds of homeless individuals await her food.

Hangtown

Documentary

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In the foothills of northern California's historic gold country, a small mostly-white town has staked its identity on one of America's most contentious symbols - the noose. But the murder of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests have forced a reckoning as the few Black residents demand change. "Hangtown," a feature-length documentary film in production, takes a hard look at the battle over America's history through a community confronting its past and deciding its future.

Happy Campers

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Every summer, working-class families escape their ordinary routines to live like kings in a scrappy seasonal trailer park. As market forces threaten to turn their shabby Shangri-La into a playground for the beautiful people, the denizens of Inlet View reveal the secrets to a rich life.

INSPIRATION ROAD

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After his girlfriend dumps him, Bryce quits his job and convinces his best friend Cameron to embark on a road journey, unearthing their life callings.
 
This film is about healing from the trauma of our past, connecting to all of those around us in a meaningful way, appreciating where we've come from, respecting our planet Earth, tasting and awakening to the spiritual -- it's about acceptance, love, serenity, hope, peace and joy in looking towards a brighter future.

La Recua - The Mule Pack Train

Documentary

facebook.com

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Darío Higuera Meza, a traditional saddle maker in Baja California, Sur, Mexico, turned 70 in 2018. In March that year, he traveled 200 miles in 20 days by mule-back, herding a pack train of donkeys from an oasis in the heart of the Sierra de la Giganta, all the way to La Paz. He and his family packed a load of Goat Cheese, Dates, Sugar-cane Candy, and 10 gallons of famous Comondú Wine… just for the sake of history! Fearing that the old traditions might be lost forever, he overcame hardships of health, rattlesnakes, and hot days on dusty, forgotten trails in order to honor the memory of Lower California’s “long-haul” equine merchants - the muleteers of Baja’s donkey pack-trains.

Leveling Lincoln

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The plaintiffs of the landmark desegregation case of Taylor vs. Board of Education of New Rochelle, NY - 1961 were children. Desegregating schools in the Civil Rights Era meant sending very young Black children into all White schools to face unprecedented situations alone. This case branded the city the “Little Rock of the North” in the press, leveled an entire school, and brought the Civil Rights struggle to the “tolerant” North East. With the best of intentions, parents sent children across town on buses. Leveling Lincoln exposes the intended and unintended consequences of blowing up Lincoln School. Learn more and donate at http://www.levelinglincoln.com -Follow us on FB, IG, and Twitter.

Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of Jose Sarria

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In 1961, Jose Sarria is the first openly gay man to run for public office in the United States – and he runs in heels!

As a drag performer at a San Francisco beatnik bar, The Black Cat Café, the former World War II veteran, decides to run for City Supervisor after local officials threaten to shut down all the gay bars.

Jose’s opera parodies bring in hundreds of gay patrons every weekend, and he exploits that fame to inspire the fractured community into standing up for their rights.

Despite helping others to love and accept themselves for who they are, Jose is unable to save the love of his life, Jimmy, the café’s waiter, who’s an alcoholic, and on a path to self-destruction.

Piece of Mind

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In a world that shuns people with brain disorders PIECE OF MIND delves into the complexities of severe mental illness. A devoted mother of a son with schizophrenia and two Japanese American sisters, whose sister with schizoaffective disorder was shot by police, pursue treatment for their loved one in a failed mental health system that shuts them out. A man with bipolar disorder takes medication after attempting suicide and must balance emotional stability with side effects. Their intimate accounts expose the battle for compassion and a continuum of care vs. systemic neglect of this urgent public health crisis.

Presente!

Documentary

vimeo.com

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In Brazil, following the political assassination of black city councilwoman Marielle Franco, two black female politicians won elections with the aim of keeping their colleague's legacy alive. Though they face constant attempts to ignore their presence and silence their voices, both women are determined to continue their struggle no matter the circumstances.

Rocket Girl

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Rocket Girl paints the intimate portrait of a young girl, Eleni, as she navigates adolescence while pursuing her passion of building rockets. We witness her journey over the course of three years, as she combats social and cultural pressures telling her to focus on anything but her scientific pursuits. The film weaves together an honest depiction of the awkward and timeless coming of age story, with a peek into the competitive, male dominated and intense community of Rocketry. It’s the story of a girl who marches to the beat of her own drum, against the grain of societies expectations about what she should be or do – a girl who believes that even the sky isn’t the limit.

Scared To Debt Series

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SCARED TO DEBT is the untold docu-series of how the US Government set up a system of greed that gutted student loan lending of consumer protections. Alan Collinge, author of The Student Loan Scam, is a dedicated stalwart who turns from scientist to activist when he is wrongfully thrown into default by Sallie Mae. Collinge discovered and warned in 2006, on 60 Minutes, how this same system continued to throw millions of students, parents and colleges over the cliff. No one paid much attention and despite today’s headlines of privilege, scandal, greed and blame, the predatory lending system designed to indenture millions of Americans remains hiding in plain sight.

The Blues Society

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In segregated Memphis, blues masters and beatniks created a music festival that rocked the foundations of a conservative world. The film weaves together hypnotic and unforgettable performances with the voices of a large and diverse cast to create a nuanced re-evaluation of the 1960s.

The Burning

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9,000 miles. 3 families. 1 chance to escape.

Over the past decade, the European Union has been working in direct violation of our international human rights laws to transform North Africa into a brutal holding cell for the millions of men, women, and children who are forced to flee ongoing wars across the continent every year. But the human cost of the EU's illicit policies has been hidden from view. Now, for the first time, THE BURNING brings the untold stories of Africa’s migrant and refugee crisis to light through the journeys of three courageous families that begin thousands of miles apart and intersect as they move closer to the promise of safety on European shores.

When You Were Young

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Aqueila Lewis, 32, is hustling to make ends meet while facing unemployment and losing her apartment. When these ongoing struggles trigger a series of disturbing flashbacks, she becomes determined to make sense of these flashbacks and rebuild her life.

 


 

Previous Roy W. Dean Fall Grant Winners

2019 – Leslie Tai for How to Have an American Baby

2018 – Gina Surles for Triple Threat

2017 – Ryan Hetrick for Restoring Balance

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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