While you know that some big blockbuster movies are shot in Pittsburgh, there are quite a few Pittsburghers who are working on their own film project. The Sprout Fund has put together a special round of grants to help some of these local filmmakers finish and promote their films.
The public is invited to watch the trailers here and vote for your favorite films. The deadline for public voting is December 2, 2013. (Take a minute to watch the intro video that The Sprout Fund put together for this project. They filmed this intro at the Hollywood Theater in Dorming and it provides a nice overview of the project)
Here is a quick summary of the 35 film trailers.
- Aspie Seeks Love – Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at 41-years-old, local artist and writer David Matthews explores his own life and struggles with relationships in Julie Sokolow’s full-length documentary.
- At the Table – Amy Conaway’s documentary spotlights the eating habits of young children while highlighting the work of several Pittsburgh food non-profits, inspiring our community to educate itself about cooking.
- Between a Stone and a Shrine – In her allegorical short film, Oreen Cohen flies a gold-leaf casket over the city of Pittsburgh to Braddock, PA as a symbol of regenerative growth in our region’s blighted urban communities.
- Bloomfield Documentary – Trekking through the history of Bloomfield, Pittsburgh’s Little Italy, Jessica Morris introduces us to members of the community from multiple generations to see how the neighborhood is changing.
- Dot – A dark comedy from writer Garrett Kennell and director David Light, Dot focuses on a young girl with a psychotic case of OCD that leads her to kill anyone she sees making a mess.
- East of Liberty—Communities Without – In the fourth installment of his East of Liberty series, Chris Ivey explores the cultural shift in East Liberty as the storied Shadow Lounge closes its doors and ends an era in the neighborhood.
- Fursonas – Each summer, Pittsburgh hosts Anthrocon, the world’s largest furry convention. Producer Olivia Vaughn and director Dominic Rodriguez’s film offers an intimate portrait of local furries of all walks of life.
- Gabi’s Playdate Place – An internet show for children 3-6, Gabi’s Playdate Place was created by Richard Kohn to help children celebrate their uniqueness and teach them to believe in themselves.
- Gas Rush Stories – Concerned with the contentious divide over shale gas drilling, producer Kirsi Jansa’s Gas Rush Stories series allows people affected by the drilling industry, whether good or bad, have their stories heard.
- Give Us a Chance: Pittsburgh Punk – Mind Cure Records owner Michael Seamans takes us through the history of Pittsburgh’s punk scene, interviewing the venue owners, musicians, and artists that made it all happen.
- The Granada Refrain – Following up on his 2008 short film about the construction of Consol Energy Center, Drew Nicholas looks deeper into the current redevelopment and reconstruction initiatives in the Hill District.
- The House of God – Ben and Schuyler Hernstrom’s short film tells the story of a working class everyman who loses his job in the recession and struggles with the realities of poverty and urban decline.
- House Stories: Giovannitti House – Pittsburgh is filled with grand architecture and Aytac Akkan Karaguzel’s online series tells the stories of some of the notable houses around town. This pilot episode focuses on the cubist Giovannitti House near Chatham.
- The HUG Project: Helping Us Grow – Kerra Penn’s hour-long documentary follows five underprivileged youths as they partner with life-changing mentors who have come from similar backgrounds to find success in their lives.
- Invitation to the Soil Building Frontier – A pair of short documentaries written by Nick Schorr, Invitation to the Soil Building Frontier focuses on the composting infrastructure developed by the Pennsylvania Resources Council over the past five years.
- Kill the Artist – Alisha Wormsley and Darrell Kinsel create a visual collage of Pittsburgh artists and explore their diverse art practices to understand how they cross lines geographically, culturally, and creatively.
- Life Over Easy – Life adventurer Jon Andreyo and health nut and happiness seeker Lindsey Smith come together for a documentary series that helps shift viewers’ perceptions of themselves and their communities for the better.
- Life’s Work – As a companion piece to the feature-length documentary Life’s Work, Josh Eisenfeld and Dan Finegold’s web docuseries tells the stories of the super heroes working in the Pittsburgh medical community.
- The Lost Community of Pittsburgh’s East – Shining a light on the history of Pittsburgh’s East End through the context of the Jewish experience, Renee Abrams’ film explores what happened to the once-vibrant commercial and cultural corridor.
- Madame Presidenta: Why Not U.S.? – Long after the end of women’s suffrage, fifty women have run for President of the United States, but none has been successful. Heather Arnet of the Women and Girls Foundation explores what it will take.
- The Magic Woods – A trilogy of animated shorts, Matthew Craig’s The Magic Woods highlights the natural beauty of Western Pennsylvania and the spirit of environmental stewardship that has been fostered here.
- Martians – Exploring the concepts of identity and the next generation of the LGBT movement through surrealist science fiction, Hatch Arts Collective’s web series takes us to Mars to ask where we really belong.
- Ongoing Box – Artist and musician David Bernabo uses film to investigate the role of process in artistic endeavors, talking to not only “traditional” artists but chefs, luthiers, choreographers, and even kids.
- Opera N’at – Pittsburgh has one of the most vibrant opera communities in the world. James Newsome and Elizabeth Rishel’s documentary spotlights innovative individuals and organizations in the Pittsburgh opera scene.
- People of Pittsburgh – With brief 3-5 minute segments, People of Pittsburgh is an ongoing web documentary series from Per Argentine that highlights the fascinating people of Pittsburgh through their personalities, lives, and jobs.
- Restroom – Through a series of vignettes, Ricardo Iamuuri gives viewers a chance to see the humanity and honesty of their neighbors, using the concept of a private restroom as the jumping off point for candidness.
- Robert Qualters – Artist Robert Qualters is synonymous with Pittsburgh and this documentary about his life and work joins an upcoming biography and retrospective that celebrate the artist’s 80th birthday in 2014.
- Rock Salt: Eating the Neighborhood – Part of the Rock Salt online video series, “Eating the Neighborhood” focuses on Pittsburgh’s urban farms as filmmakers Hal B. Klein, Leah Lizarondo, and Lauren Knapp meet farmers rejuvenating the city’s blighted areas.
- Steel Town – Director Nicholas Hurt’s short period drama brings to life the events leading up to the 1892 Homestead Steel Strike and opens discourse on issues of economic development, labor rights, and Pittsburgh history.
- Still City – Paul Dang has spent the past 10 years documenting the changes happening all around him in Pittsburgh, speaking to more than 100 artists about where their city is going and where it’s been.
- Tale of Two Cities – After traditional industry left Pittsburgh, it was replaced by the “Eds and Meds” that now drive our economy—but filmmaker Josh Rice finds that some workers are left out in the cold with growing wage inequality.
- Tar Baby Jane – Following multidisciplinary artist Vanessa German as she works in the studio and in the community through performances, exhibitions, and activism, Gregory Scott Williams, Jr.’s documentary film looks deeply into the artistic process and the life of an artist.
- Uptown Stories – Jennifer Szweda Jordan’s episodic web series documents personal and historical stories from Pittsburghers past and present who live and work in the Uptown neighborhood.
- What’s Your Favorite Thing About Pittsburgh – Taking inspiration from local media legend Rick Sebak, Julian Glander’s series of 10 imaginative animated shorts profiles Pittsburgh’s fascinating residents and their hobbies, lifestyles and interests.
- When I Go: The Healing Power of Music – Inspired by personal experiences and stories recounting the positive impact of music on traumatic life events and illness, Ted Haynes and Michael Smith explore the amazing healing power of song.
