Women In Film

Women In Film is proud to announce the 2009 recipients of the WIF Foundation's Film Finishing Fund.

Thanks to sponsorship by Netflix of our program, we were able to award eight films finishing funds this year. Of the 110 film submissions, 15 were selected for the final round of consideration and eight recipients were chosen. Winners include: Catherine Grand from New York, for the documentary feature What's on your Plate; Weimin Zhang from Santa Clara, CA, for the documentary feature The House of Spirit; Marilyn Ness from New York, for the documentary feature Bad Blood: A Cautionary Tale; Lilly Rivlin from New York, for the documentary feature Grace Paley: Collected Shorts; Rebecca Richman Cohen from Brooklyn for the documentary feature War Don Don; Tisha Blood from Dallas, for the documentary feature Torey's Distraction; Aviva Kempner from Washington, DC, for the documentary feature Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg; and Kiran Deol from Studio City, CA, for the documentary feature Woman Rebel.

Thanks to our partnership with Netflix and their continuing sponsorship, applications for the next granting cycle will be available beginning February 15, 2010. We invite all filmmakers who are looking to finish films by, for or about women to apply.

The Women In Film Foundation's Film Finishing Fund (FFF) annually provides cash and in-kind production services to deserving filmmakers needing help to complete their film projects. The only program of its kind in the industry, the projects submitted have a broad range of subject matter and are judged by a committee of top industry professionals.

Since the inception of the Fund in 1985, the Foundation has awarded more than $2 million in cash and in-kind services to 170 films. Cash awards range from $1,500 to $5,000, with the number of grants varying from year to year. They can be used for everything from reshoots to ADR to visual effects.  The in-kind grants may include post services such as online editing, sound mixing, color correction, and closed captioning, among others. Film Finishing Fund recipients’ films have won many major awards including Emmy and Academy Awards and have screened at festivals worldwide including Sundance, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Montreal, Berlin, Avignon, and Chicago. They have aired nationally on PBS (“Frontline” and “POV”) and Showtime, and internationally on various European, Asian, and Australian television channels.

In order to apply for a FFF grant, a filmmaker must have completed principal photography and a rough cut at the time of application. The program funds filmmakers working in both short and long formats in all genres—narrative, documentary, educational, animated and experimental. You do not have to be a Women In Film member to apply for the FFF, and we encourage applications from around the world. Please note that student projects are not eligible to receive Film Finishing Funds.

The Women In Film Foundation is proud to announce a partnership with Netflix.  For more information about our collaboration click HERE.

If you would like more information, contact the Women In Film Foundation Coordinator at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2010 GRANTS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON FEBRUARY 15, 2010.

Recent TV:

RUN GRANNY RUN (aired on HBO in 2007; dir: Marlo Poras)

Festival Winners:

AMERICAN BLACKOUT (2006 Sundance Special Jury Prize; dir: Anastasia King)
A WALK IN THE SEA: DANNY WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY (2007 Tribeca Film Festival, NY Loves Docs; 2007 Teddy Award at Berlinale dir: Esther Robinson)

Emmy Winners:

MEN WHO MOLEST, CHILDREN WHO SURVIVE (1985, prod: Rachel Lyons)

GIRLS LIKE US (1993, dir: Jane Wagner and Tina diFeliciantonio)
ANIMATED WOMEN (1994, dir: Patty Wineapple and Sybil Delgaudio)
BE GOOD, SMILE PRETTY (2004, dir: Tracy Droz Tragos)

Academy Award Nominees:

LAS MADRES DE LA PLAZA DE MAYO (1986, dir: Lourdes Portillo and Susan Muňoz)
BEYOND IMAGINING (1991, dir: Wendy Weinberg)
REGRET TO INFORM (1993, dir: Barbara Sonneborn)
THE FRAGILE PROMISE OF CHOICE (1995, dir: Beth Seltzer and Dorothy Fadiman)
SPEAKING IN STRINGS (1999, dir: Paola di Florio)

THE COLLECTOR OF BEDFORD STREET (2002, dir: Alice Elliott)

Academy Award Winners:

MAYA LIN: A STRONG CLEAR VISION (1994; dir: Frieda Lee Mock)
FREEHELD (2007, dir: Cynthia Wade)

The Film Finishing Fund would like to thank its Sponsors for their generous support:

The Chevonne O’Shaughnessy Foundation

Kim Roussel and Cinespace