Film Independent Selects 10 Projects and 21 Filmmakers for 2015 Fast Track Program; Awards $70k in Alfred P. Sloan Grants

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Tuesday, 16 June 2015 20:58

Today Film Independent announced the 10 projects selected for the 13th annual Fast Track film financing market. Held during the Los Angeles Film Festival, Fast Track is designed to help producer-director teams “fast track” their projects forward.

 The team are propelled through sixty meetings with top industry executives--financiers, agents, managers, distributors, granting organizations, and production companies. During three days of intensive meetings, participants gain valuable exposure and build vital relationships as they propel their films towards completion.

Fast Track is supported by Film Independent Artist Development lead funder Time Warner Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, NEA Art Works, EFILM, Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television, and Netflix.

"We are thrilled to bring this group of visionary filmmakers together with such esteemed industry executives at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival,” said Jennifer Kushner, Film Independent's Director of Artist Development. "Our annual Fast Track finance market is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to gain critical support for their films, and for the executives to discover some of the outstanding talent that Film Independent curates and develops year-round through our Artist Development initiatives. This year's projects are truly exceptional."

At the annual Film Independent Fast Track Welcome Dinner, Film Independent presented two Alfred P. Sloan grants to support films that explore science and technology themes or that depict scientists, engineers and mathematicians in engaging and innovative ways.

Film Independent’s inaugural Alfred P. Sloan Distribution Grant was awarded to Michael Almereyda’s Experimenter, produced by Uri Singer, Fabio Golombek, Isen Robbins, and Aimee Schoof. The filmmakers will receive $50,000 in funds to support the release of the film. Experimenter premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Magnolia Pictures with a release planned for fall 2015. Additionally, the sixth annual Alfred P. Sloan Fast Track Grant, a $20,000 production grant, was awarded to writer/director Elena Greenlee and producer Márcia Nunes for their narrative fiction film in development, Dark Forest.

“We are delighted to partner with Film Independent for the sixth year in a row with a $20k Fast Track production grant to Dark Forest, which explores the science of psychedelic drugs in the Amazon, and a first-ever $50k distribution grant to Experimenter, Michael Almereyda’s original, off-beat tale of the controversial social science researcher, Stanley Milgram, whose pioneering obedience experiments revealed a disturbing but abiding human truth,” said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Sloan Foundation. “Experimenter joins two other completed Sloan-FIND feature films that will be released in 2015, The Man Who Knew Infinity with Dev Patel and Jeremy Irons and Basmati Blues with Brie Larson and Donald Southerland, showing the continuing popularity and diversity of films that engage with science and technology themes and characters, as well as the unprecedented success of the Sloan-FIND partnership.”

“We are so appreciative of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and their continued support of great independent filmmaking,” said Josh Welsh, Film Independent President.  “The new distribution grant is so exciting and provides support to filmmakers where it is critically needed.”

The following filmmakers have been selected to participate Film Independent’s 2015 Fast Track program: