Posted March 3, 2022
Creative Culture Announces New Roster of Filmmaker Fellows
Filmmakers Hailing from Afar Converge on the Lower Hudson Valley
to Collaborate and Create
Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) announced today the artists selected for spring 2022 fellowships in Creative Culture, an inclusive program for emerging professional filmmakers. Creative Culture provides 10-month-long experiences for filmmakers to produce short film projects in a collaborative community.
In addition to participating in weekly sessions with a cohort of peers, the fellowship includes access to mentorship, stipend support, production equipment, post-production facilities and software, and the JBFC’s industry network.
Since its inception in 2016, the program has supported a diverse group of 41 fellows, with over half of the cohort identifying as women, people of color, and/or LGBTQ+. The program has produced 59 short films, four of which were ultimately Oscar-qualified. Renowned national and international film festivals and media outlets have screened and distributed Creative Culture films, including Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, The Criterion Channel, HBOMax, The New York Times’ Op-Docs, and POV Shorts.
“We are so proud to welcome these eight profoundly talented filmmakers into our Creative Culture fellowship program,” said Sean Weiner, Director of Programs, Media Arts Lab. “This collective of artists represents a compelling intersection of wildly different approaches to filmic storytelling. There is power not only in the subject matter of each of their stories, but also in the creative innovation each filmmaker brings to how they will tell these narratives. We look forward to supporting their important work within a community of inclusion and collaboration.”
Here is the current list of fellows:
Natalie Jasmine Harris
Silver Spring, Maryland
Natalie is a Black Queer filmmaker whose work spans narrative, documentary, and experimental forms but is centered around a mission to tell stories that capture coming-of-age experiences, showcase Black joy, and reimagine liberation for marginalized communities.
Justice Jamal Jones
Omaha, Nebraska
Justice, a Black Queer alchemist, is a filmmaker, actor, and writer who integrates Black Feminist Queer theory into their art alongside Black diasporic spirituality.
Maliyamungu Muhande
Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
Maliyamungu is a Congolese artist and filmmaker pursuing anti-colonial filmmaking and artistic practice rooted in inquisitiveness around identity, Blackness, and diasporic history.
Grace Remington
Seattle, Washington
Grace is a producer and director who has worked in documentary film and television in the United States, Mexico, and Peru.
Sophia Feuer
Chicago, Illinois
Sophia is a filmmaker and multimedia artist who works primarily with 16mm film; she uses documentary and narrative techniques, combining an anthropological lens with sci-fi and horror tropes.
Rebecca Blandón
The Bronx, New York
Rebecca is a Nicaraguan-American journalist and filmmaker who hopes to make the invisible visible through the practice of compassionate storytelling, accountability journalism, and documentary filmmaking.
Marcie LaCerte
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Marcie is a Chinese-American experimental animator interested in creating work exploring human psychology through a humorous and surreal lens.
Ramiel Petros
Mountain View, California
Ramiel is a first-generation Iraqi-American writer/director who fiercely believes in filmmaking’s power to depict universal narratives through diverse lenses.
Creative Culture relies on individual, foundation, corporate, and government gifts and we are proud to have a number of vital supporters, including the National Endowment for the Arts and The Chisholm Foundation. To learn more about Creative Culture and all that is made possible thanks to its generous supporters, visit Artist Programs at burnsfilmcenter.org.
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit arts and education hub located on a three-building campus in the New York Metro area. The JBFC brings the transformative power of film to the surrounding community through unique programming and discussion, support for working artists, and educational initiatives. Since opening in 2001, millions of people have enjoyed the best of current American and foreign cinema, unique film series, and special events at the five-screen theater complex. A pioneer in visual literacy, the JBFC offers educational experiences for students of all ages at our state-of-the-art Media Arts Lab, including curricula for public schools. Creative Culture offers robust filmmaker fellowships and residencies to champion diverse voices, and fosters a community of thriving artists.
For more information, visit burnsfilmcenter.org, FB: @JacobBurnsFilmCenter, Twitter: @JBFC_ny and Instagram: @JBFC_pville.
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Photos: Lynda Shenkman & Ed Cody
