Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund announces 2013 Grantees

$150,000 in Documentary Finishing Funds to be Awarded to Nine Filmmakers; Spotlighting Women Documentary Award Presented in Partnership with the Kering Corporate Foundation

Jada Pinkett Smith, Olivia Wilde, Roger Ross Williams, Molly Thompson and Brian Sirgutz among 2013 Jury Members

The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) and Gucci today announced the 2013 recipients selected for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. The Fund provides production and finishing finances, year-round support and guidance to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films highlighting and humanizing critical issues of social significance from around the world. Nine projects have been selected from 500 submissions from 60 countries to receive a total of $150,000, to be administered by the Tribeca Film Institute. Now in its sixth year, the Fund has supported 45 films.

For the third year, the Kering Foundation (formerly the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights) has joined the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund to present the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award. Three film projects have been chosen that illuminate the courage, compassion, extraordinary strength of character, and contributions of women from around the world.

2013 projects were selected by a jury comprised of: Brian Sirgutz (SVP of Social Impact at AOL/Huffington Post Media Group); Jada Pinkett Smith; Molly Thompson (SVP, A&E IndieFilms); Olivia Wilde; and director Roger Ross Williams (Music by Prudence, God Loves Uganda). The committee chose the recipients from finalists selected by TFI. In addition to funding, grantees will each receive year-round support from TFI, including one-on-one guidance and consultation to help each film to reach completion, enter the marketplace, and find broader audiences for their work.

“Together with Gucci and the Kering Foundation, we are delighted to continue our support of documentary storytellers and films that spark global conversation and inspire change through their subject matters,” said Ryan Harrington, Director of Documentary Programming at the Tribeca Film Institute. “Working with these filmmakers has been tremendously rewarding and we are proud of the success of past recipients of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund who have gone on to be nominated for Academy Awards and recognized at film festivals around the world for both artistic excellence and the important contributions the stories have made to the social justice issues they illustrate.”

“We continue to be inspired by the filmmakers and the stories we are able to support through the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award,” said Gucci Creative Frida Gianinni. “Film has the power to bring greater awareness and understanding to critical subjects from around the world.”

“Being a member of the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund jury was such an enlightening experience,” said Jada Pinkett Smith. “I had the honor of joining an intelligent and conscious group of people from various backgrounds which made the deliberations extremely thoughtful and balanced. It was a very proud moment for me to participate with Gucci and the Tribeca Film Institute to assist these talented filmmakers.”

Films funded through the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund explore social issues across the globe through compelling and personal stories, including: the business behind the international arms trade, the complexities of U.S. national security and its impact on civil liberties, the continued fight for the rights of gay Americans, first-hand accounts from Libya rebel groups, and other powerful stories. 

The projects that will collectively receive $100,000 total in funding for the 2013 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund are:

-Run and Gun, Directed and Produced by Marshall Curry (2008 GTDF grantee for If A Tree Falls). A 32 year old American from Baltimore carries a gun in one hand and camera in the other as he documents his experience as a rebel fighter in the Libyan revolution.

-On a Knife Edge, Directed by Jeremy Williams; Produced by Eli Cane. Set against a background of rising racial tension and protest, a Lakota teenager learns first-hand what it means to lead a new generation and enter adulthood in a world where the odds are stacked against him.

- Perry V. Schwarzenegger, Directed & Produced by Ryan White & Ben Cotner. In 2010, opponents of gay marriage blocked the broadcast of a federal trial challenging Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage. That case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, where it will rule for the first time on the rights of

gay Americans to marry. (no photo available yet)

-The Shadow World. Directed by Johan Grimonprez; Produced by Joslyn Barnes, Anadil Hossain & Driss Benyaklef. The Shadow World is a feature documentary that explores the international arms trade, the only business that counts its wins and losses in human lives. Based on the book by Andrew Feinstein.

-Silenced, Directed by James Spione; Produced by Daniel Chalfen; Executive Produced by Jim Butterworth. Four whistleblowers fight to reveal the darkest corners of America's war on terror, challenging a government that is increasingly determined to maintain secrecy.

-Unlocking The Cage, Directed by DA Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus; Produced by Rosadel Verela & Frazer Pennebaker. Renowned animal rights attorney Steven Wise wants to break through the legal wall that separates animals and humans. His lawsuit, the first of its kind, will demand the most basic of personhood rights - those of bodily integrity and liberty - for an animal of a species that has been proven to have advanced cognitive capabilities, transforming the status of the animal from that of a mere "thing" to a “person” possessing rights that protect him from abuse and captivity.

The Spotlighting Women Documentary Award highlights the courage and strength of character of women from around the world, including: the leader of a corruption task force in the Congress of Colombia, poverty-fighting activists in Latin America, and the women behind the first girls’ school in a small Afghan village. 

The projects that will collectively receive $50,000 total in funding for the 2013 Spotlighting Women

Documentary Award are:

-Democrazy, Directed by Andreas Dalsgaard, Nicolas Servide & Viviana Gomez; Produced by Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Sorensen & Anne Kohncke. Katherin is fighting for peace and democracy in Colombia. Her hero is the unconventional politician Antanas Mockus. This film investigates how to establish trust in a society ravaged by violence, fear and corruption.

-Disruption, Directed by Pamela Yates; Produced by Paco de Onis. A band of Latin American activist-economists set out to change their continent, teaming up with impoverished women to challenge accepted notions on how to eradicate poverty. The women become empowered economic and political engines of their communities. If taken to scale, could 20 million women upend a continent?

-What Tomorrow Brings, Directed & Produced by Beth Murphy (2009 GTDF Grantee, The List), Co-Produced by Beth Balaban. In the remote & conservative Afghan village of Deh Subz, the very first girls’ school opens, challenging centuries old social traditions against the backdrop of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and rising threats to girls’ education.

About the Tribeca Film Institute:

The Tribeca Film Institute is a 501(c)3 year round nonprofit arts organization founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in the wake of September 11, 2001. TFI empowers filmmakers through grants and professional development, and is a resource and advocate for individual artists in the field. The Institute’s educational programming leverages an extensive film community network to help underserved New York City students learn filmmaking and gain the media skills necessary to be productive citizens

and creative individuals in the 21st century. Administering a dozen major programs annually, TFI is a critical contributor to the fabric of filmmaking and aids in protecting the livelihood of filmmakers and media artists. For more information and a list of all TFI programs visit http://www.tribecafilminstitute.org.

About Gucci:

Founded in Florence in 1921, Gucci is one of the world's leading luxury fashion brands. With a renowned reputation for quality and Italian craftsmanship, Gucci designs, manufactures and distributes highly desirable products such as leather goods (handbags, small leather goods, and luggage), shoes, ready-to-wear, silks, timepieces and fine jewellery. Eyewear and fragrances are manufactured and distributed under license by

global industry leaders in these two sectors. Gucci products are sold exclusively through a network of directly operated boutiques (432 as of March 2013) and through e-commerce, as a valuable complementary business channel. Gucci products are also distributed through a small number of franchisees, and selected department and specialty stores. For more information about Gucci, please visit www.gucci.com.

About the Kering Foundation:

The Kering Foundation* combats violence against women and promotes their empowerment. Launched in January 2009, the Foundation supports community-based projects and encourages employee involvement to sustain women’s causes around the world. Through four programmes, it supports local and international NGOs as well as social entrepreneurs, helps raise awareness and establishes joint projects with the Kering

brands. In 2012, more than 80,000 women benefited from its support in 16 countries. *In line with PPR’s change of name, the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity and Rights will become the Kering Corporate Foundation, subject to approval at the Foundation’s board meeting on 26 June

2013.  see www.keringfoundation.org
 Twitter @KeringForWomen

*Thanks to the Tribeca Film Institute, Rubenstein Communications, Gucci & Kering for this press release and details*