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The 2024 SFFILM Rainin grant recipients have officially been unveiled.
IndieWire can announce that 17 feature films were awarded $425,000 in cash grants, benefitting 22 filmmakers. Two projects have especially buzzy producers: Joie Estrella Horwitz’s “Dreamland” is produced by recent “The Fire Inside” screenwriter and “Mufasa” director Barry Jenkins, while Lucy Liu is producing “Rosemead.”
The SFFILM Rainin grant is the largest granting body for the development and production of independent narrative feature films in the U.S. The flagship partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation specifically supports films that address social justice issues — the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges — in a positive and meaningful way through plot, character, theme, or setting.
Awards are made to multiple projects once a year, for screenwriting, development, and post-production. Recipients receive an unrestricted cash grant of up to $25,000 for screenwriting, development, or post-production, and a two-month residency at FilmHouse, SFFILM’s artist residency space.
This year’s class is comprised of 17 feature film projects receiving a total of $425,000 in cash grants. In addition, the SFFILM Rainin Filmmakers with Disabilities Grant, is being awarded to three projects with $25,000 in total granting.
SFFILM also launched the SFFILM Krishnan Shah Family Foundation Grant to support two projects with a total of $45,000 in direct artist grants. Recipients of these grants will further receive SFFILM’s artist development support and access to FilmHouse.
“The film that an audience gets to see on screen is the finished product, but there are countless months and years of work that have to happen before that moment. This is what our granting programs are all about, giving filmmakers the time and tailored resources they need to get their films to that goal,” SFFILM’s Executive Director Anne Lai said. “Our long partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation has allowed SFFILM to devote attention and expertise to independent filmmakers as they realize their visions. We’re thrilled to welcome the Krishnan Shah Family Foundation as new funders in this space who recognize the immense value in investing in new voices.”
The SFFILM Rainin Grant was established in 2009, and has since supported pioneering features such as Sean Wang’s “DÌDI (弟弟),” Raven Jackson’s “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” Savanah Leaf’s “Earth Mama,” Boots Riley’s “Sorry to Bother You,” and Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station.”
The SFFILM Rainin Filmmaker with Disabilities Grant was created in 2020, and has supported Alison O’Daniel’s “The Tuba Thieves” and Reid Davenport’s “I Didn’t See You There.”
“This year’s cohort of supported filmmakers across all three of these granting programs represents a breadth of storytelling that exemplifies creativity, perspective, and craft,” Masashi Niwano, SFFILM’s Director of Artist Development, said. “We are inspired and passionate for these emerging filmmakers and thrilled to work with them.”
The SFFILM Rainin Grant program is open to filmmakers from anywhere in the world who can commit to spending time developing the film in San Francisco. Applications for next year will open in early 2025.
Check out the full list of winners below.
2024 SFFILM RAININ GRANT RECIPIENTS
“Dreamland”
Screenwriting
Joie Estrella Horwitz, Screenwriter/Director; Barry Jenkins, Producer; Adele Romanski, Producer; Mark Ceryak, Producer; Catalina Rojter, Producer
A love story blooms during the night shift in a slaughterhouse, where phantoms of the future sit with ghosts of the past.
“Fonzel and Gloria”
Development
Christopher Cole, Screenwriter/Director; Devin Tusa, Producer; George Rush, Producer; Caroline Kaplan, Producer
When an aging one-hit wonder is diagnosed with a terminal illness, she enlists her rapper grandson on a crime-filled bumbling romp from LA to Oakland.
“From a Crooked Rib”
Screenwriting
Idil Ibrahim, Screenwriter/Director/Producer
When her grandfather promises her hand to Giumaleh, the oldest man in the village, eighteen yearold Ebla makes a decision that alters the course of her life.
“Half Orange”
Screenwriting
Alejandra Vasquez, Screenwriter/Director
Lucia navigates life as a teenager born to now-divorced teenaged parents, shuttled between her mother’s place in rural Texas and her father’s suburban life in California. As she turns 16, Lucia finds herself in a coming-of-age story about three people, only two of those people happen to be her parents.
“Honeyjoon”
Post-Production
Lilian T. Mehrel, Screenwriter/Director/Producer; Andreia Nunes, Producer; Alex C. Lo, Producer
Kurdish-Persian Lela and her American daughter June take a trip to the romantic Azores after their major loss—with opposite ideas about this trip, grief, and June’s bikini. Between honeymooners, Woman Life Freedom, and their hot philosophical tour guide João, they find each other… coming back to life.
“Karolina and Udochi Dance in the Woods at Dusk!”
Development
Osinachi Ibe, Screenwriter/Director/Producer; Thomas Ethan Harris, Producer; Megan Carlson, Producer
During their first summer apart, two childhood best friends discover they have fallen in love with each other and embark on a spiritual journey that changes them forever.
“Love Visa”
Screenwriting
PJ Raval, Co-writer/Director; Eileen Cabiling, Co-writer; Derek Nguyen, Producer
When Filipino hottie Jon Jon arrives in Texas to marry his Black closeted online lover Harvey, their relationship is put to the test by familial obligations and the social stigmas of a transactional marriage, all while attempting to fit into the American dream.
“The Matriarch”
Screenwriting
Zandashé Brown, Screenwriter/Director
A young woman, haunted by her mother’s long battle with psychosis, struggles to reconnect after her unexpected recovery. When the death of an estranged family matriarch brings them back to their ancestral home in rural Louisiana, she forms a mysterious connection with her late grandmother—one that threatens to unravel her own grip on reality.
“Mouna Tharangam (A Silent Wave)”
Development
Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda, Director; Janani Vijayanathan, Producer
In Post-Roe Texas, Amal, an Indian-American woman, grapples with an unexpected pregnancy when her path crosses with a newlywed Indian immigrant, Charulata. Their love sparks a journey of sexual awakening, cultural clash, and profound choices as the specter of abortion looms large.
“Mucho Power”
Screenwriting
Fernando Frias de la Parra, Screenwriter/Director/Producer; Gerry Kim, Screenwriter/Producer
In 1990s Chicago, Korean immigrant Luke Jung opens a store in the Mexican enclave of Little Village, believing hard work will lead to success. However, his aspirations are challenged by cultural clashes and systemic forces during a time when corporate voracity dominates an increasingly globalized world. Hypnotized by the American Dream, Luke struggles to recognize the futility of a system that moves fast and waits for no one.
“No One Turned Away For Lack Of Funds: A Queer-Inclusive Memoir”
Screenwriting
LaTajh Weaver, Screenwriter/Director; Sean Gillane, Producer
An escape room master builds an inescapable puzzle room for tourists, while trying to comprehend their own sense of belonging within Oakland’s surreal, radicalized Queer scene.
“Pangea Ultima”
Development
Estevan Padilla, Screenwriter/Director
Determined to heal their fractured family, a misguided brother and sister take drastic action, kidnapping their estranged parents in a bid for forced reconciliation.
“Requiem for a Glacier”
Screenwriting
Stephanie Falkeis, Screenwriter/Director
When a young glaciologist is tasked with assessing the glacier near her ancestral village in the remote Alps, she is soon caught in the crossfire of competing interests and her scientific impartiality is put to the test. While the town council expects her green light to build a ski resort they believe will save them from economic ruin, her estranged eco-activist mother is willing to defend the glacier from destruction at all costs. A feminist anti-western set in a dying landscape.
“Rosemead”
Post-Production
Eric Lin, Director; Mynette Louie, Producer; Andrew Corkin, Producer; Lucy Liu, Producer
An immigrant mother in California’s San Gabriel Valley takes desperate measures to help her unstable teenage son as she uncovers his obsession with mass shootings. Inspired by true events.
“Strangers”
Screenwriting
Karishma Dev Dube, Screenwriter/Director/Producer
Pari and Tara are complete strangers, until a chance encounter on a New York City subway platform instigates inexplicable and profound connections between them. Set between New Delhi and New York, the film explores how these two women quietly unravel in tandem: with lovers, at home, and in public.
“SummerWinterSummer”
Development
Thy Tran, Screenwriter/Director/Producer
Grappling with a heartbreak, a gay, Vietnamese American creative drifts through the cycle of disappointment, rejection, and quiet despair, spiraling into self-destruction until he confronts the weight of familial scars and rediscovers his true self.
“Sweeping Graves”
Screenwriting
Kevin D. Wong, Screenwriter/Director; Vanessa Gentry, Screenwriter/Producer
Chinese American realtor Brandon buys a building in San Francisco Chinatown and evicts the tenants, eager to make the biggest sale of his career. But as he begins to renovate, the building’s hidden history returns to haunt him, and he’s drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the former tenants that will cost him more than he bargained for.
The jury panelists who reviewed the finalist’s submissions are Danielle Massie, Producer and Head of Development & Production, Park Pictures; Joenique Rose, Project Involve Manager, Film Independent; Inês Pedrosa e Melo, Filmmaker; Moy Eng, Board Member, Kenneth Rainin Foundation; Masashi Niwano, Director of Artist Development, SFFILM; Rosa Morales, Artist Development Manager of Narrative Programs, SFFILM; and Erika Arnold, Artist Development Associate Manager, SFFILM.
SFFILM Rainin Filmmakers with Disabilities Grant
“Midwaste” (Documentary Feature)
In Production
Liz Roberts, Director; Bree Laursen, Director
Two friends from the Midwest reunite after 25 years by using a VHS archive to connect the long thread of their past selves to who they are now. “Midwaste” is a vivid and personal exploration of drug use, healthcare inequity, and the carceral system.
“Mise En Place” (Documentary Short)
In Production
Alice Wong, Director
Several months in the life of Alice Wong, an Asian American disabled activist and writer in San Francisco, as she dreams about food and feeds her loved ones even though she cannot eat or drink by mouth.
“Untitled Pennhurst Documentary” (Documentary Feature)
In Production
Nathan R. Stenberg, Director; Mike Attie, Director; Katarina Poljak, Director
After a lawsuit shutters an institution for disabled people due to years of horrific abuse, a new group of disabled actors reclaim the space to create a haunted house inspired by their own history. This character-driven film follows one season in the life of the Pennhurst community, as a group of disabled actors prepare for the opening of Pennhurst Asylum—from auditions to construction to performance—while also preserving the memory of the embattled space.
The jury panelists who reviewed the finalist’s submissions are Olivia Handrahan, Development Coordinator, Inevitable Foundation; Masashi Niwano, Director of Artist Development, SFFILM; Joshua Moore, Artist Development Manager of Documentary Programs, SFFILM; Rosa Morales, Artist Development Manager of Narrative Programs, SFFILM; and Erika Arnold, Artist Development Associate Manager, SFFILM.
SFFILM Krishnan Shah Family Foundation Grant
“If We Don’t Burn, How Do We Light Up the Night”
Post-Production
Kim Torres, Screenwriter/Director; Luisa Mora Fernández, Screenwriter; Alejandra Vargas Carballo, Producer
In a realm where mystique weaves through the ordinary, thirteen-year-old Laura ventures into a secluded town, haunted by tales of a beast that preys on women. When she meets the radiant Daniela, their friendship quietly—but surely—takes her on a journey that unravels the true nature of the beast.
“Searching for Mateo”
Development
Nico Opper, Screenwriter/Director
“Searching for Mateo” is a psychological drama about a queer couple from Oakland who take their ten-year-old adopted son, Mateo, on vacation to Roatán, Honduras — the island where his birth family is from— to help him learn about his roots. Early in the trip, Mateo disappears without a trace.
Review participants for the Krishnan Shah Family Foundation Grant include Anne Lai, the Executive Director of SFFILM; Masashi Niwano, Director of Artist Development, SFFILM; Rosa Morales, Artist Development Manager of Narrative Programs, SFFILM; grant funder Lata Krishnan; and Laura Wagner, film producer and co-founder, Bay Bridge Productions.
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