Industry Relations Newsstand

02/07/2025

FILM INDEPENDENT - Imaginar Producers Residency

Program Overview
The Imaginar Producers Residency for Latinx Producers is made possible by The Walt Disney Company, Searchlight Pictures and in collaboration with the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). Over the course of nine months, three selected Fellows will receive a $50,000 cash grant, mentorship, professional and financial coaching, project development support and more to build traction for their projects. They also will be able to collaborate with Disney and Searchlight executives to gain a better understanding of how to package and set up projects for studios and independent endeavors.
Producers must apply with a slate of two to three scripted projects, at least one of which must be a live-action feature film and express interest in packaging projects for studios. The other(s) can include one live-action episodic series or one nonfiction feature film project. Projects in the slate should embody the Film Independent and Searchlight Pictures spirit, as they will be shared with Searchlight Pictures for consideration.
We are looking for unique stories akin to Andrew Ahn’s Fire Island and Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland that push the boundaries of narrative storytelling and cinematic language, and carry the potential to engage audiences. Projects that reflect applicants’ cultural heritage are welcome, but not required.
Qualified applicants will be Latinx producers working primarily in fiction with compelling past work and current projects. Applicants must have produced at least two live-action short films or one live-action feature film project.

Deadlines
Regular Deadline: February 14, 2025
Film Independent Member Extended Deadline: February 28, 2025

The Film Independent Imaginar Producers Residency is a new program created to support Latinx Producers, made possible by The Walt Disney Company and

02/02/2025

Our YouTube student shorts channel is kicking off February with "Josephine and the Roach" in our countdown to Valentine's Day:

A cockroach. A woman. The course of true love never did run smooth"Josephine and the Roach" is a surreal, offbeat live-action short film about a cockroach wh...

01/28/2025

Grant Opportunities
The Episodic Lab has three grant opportunities:

The Alfred P. Sloan Episodic Lab Grant offers a $20,000 grant for projects with a scientific, mathematical or technological theme, or featuring a scientist, engineer or mathematician as the lead character.

The Cayton-Goldrich Family Foundation Fellowship grants $10,000 to a Jewish filmmaker accepted into the Film Independent Episodic Lab.

The MPAC Hollywood Bureau Fellowship grants $10,000 to a filmmaker identifying as American-Muslim accepted into the Film Independent Episodic Lab.

Deadlines
Regular Deadline: February 3, 2025
Film Independent Member Extended Deadline: February 17, 2025

APPLY HERE:
https://filmindependent1.submittable.com/submit/314576/film-independent-episodic-lab-2025

01/22/2025

Documentary about California wildfires just premiered on our student films channel at

A single father and his six-year-old daughter embark on a life-altering journey to provide homes to survivors of California’s deadliest wildfires.🎬 Subscrib...

01/14/2025

GET USC ALUMNI COMMERCIAL TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!

The Barbershop

Instructions on how to vote;
Help us win by getting the most votes by January 28th, which is in 2 weeks from now. You can vote for my commercial called ‘THE BARBERSHOP’ at doritoscrash.com. Voting can be done once per day, per device/email, so feel free to do this on both your computer and phone! This small action every day could change the lives of our entire cast and crew! Be sure to check my instagram for videos about this as well, and I’ll be sending daily updates on the contest!

Voting Link:
https://www.doritoscrash.com/

USC Student Credits:
Directors/Writers: Ryan Robinson and Zach Shenouda
Producers: Joanna Song, Miguel Tyson, Via McBride
Associate Producer: Tracey Gibbs
1st Assistant Director: Teddy Alvarez Nissen
Grip/Electric: Henry Haber
Grip/Electric: Jack Wells
Production Design: Riley Levine
Costume: Maya Sta. Ana
Hair/Wig Stylist: Anja Tempel
Art Director: Francesca Cappello

Editor: Zach Shenouda and Ryan Robinson
Sound Design: Ryan Robinson
Color: Zach Shenouda

Starring: Jayloni Fisher
Background: Autumn Stallia, Drew Lidell, Miguel Tyson,
Henry Haber, Anja Tempel, Zach Shenouda

01/13/2025

CONGRATULATIONS to Harrison Xu for the amazing opening of his new Feature Film:

Extremely Unique Dynamic, a self-described “Meta-Asian-Queer-Stoner-Coming-of-Age-Bromantic-Dramedy” that’s 100% with RT critics, opens at the Laemmle NoHo in L.A. The film from Strand Releasing had a sold-out week of preview screenings at Vidiots and will expand January 17 ahead of a January 29 digital/VOD release. It had a nice $20,000 in pre-sales as of a few days ago (so not clear how many people will show) on a big grass roots marketing campaign and may end up as Strand’s biggest per-theater opening ever. The film is from writers, directors and producers Ivan Leung and Harrison Xu, who also star. The two started working together as the social media managers for the slasher film Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood & Honey, which helped inspire the two to make their first feature film about their extremely unique friendship.

From Writers and Directors Ivan Leung, Harrison Xu, and Katherine Dudas - EXTREMELY UNIQUE DYNAMIC. - Coming Soon.During their final weekend together, two be...

12/20/2024

Our holiday-themed programming continues on our USC student YouTube channel. Please like and subscribe to our channel at https://www.youtube.com/

12/17/2024

"True Stories" a new collection of 18 USC student films has just premiered on Kanopy today. Check it out here:
https://www.kanopy.com/en/usclib/video/14682379

12/09/2024

Our month-long celebration of holiday-themed short films continues with "Takanakuy" on our USC Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9c_QOH_VLQ

12/05/2024

Megan Seely's film My Loyal Audience kicks off a whole month of holiday-themed films on our USC YouTube channel "Reality Ends Here".

A sheltered teenage girl begins to suspect that her most personal, embarrassing thoughts may not be as private as she had hoped.🎬 Subscribe for more shorts ...

12/03/2024

Tune in tonight to Aspire TV's "Urban Indie Film Block" to see our USC student films featured on their cable TV channel. https://aspire.tv/

11/15/2024

L.A. Grown: A Showcase of Short Thesis Films

Los Angeles International Children’s Film Festival
Saturday Nov. 23rd, 2024 (1-3pm)

Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90401

Join the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival for an afternoon of cinematic creativity! Witness the culmination of hard work and passion as emerging filmmakers who grew up in LA and/or attended film school in LA showcase their recent short thesis films. Live action and animation - all ages welcome! Get ready to be entertained, moved, and inspired by these up-and-coming talents. Panel discussion with the filmmakers on the thesis film process, from story to production to sharing the film with the world. Special panel guest is Maija Burnett, faculty member and Head of the Character Animation Program at CalArts, who will speak on thesis projects from a faculty and adviser perspective. An opportunity for young future filmmakers in the audience to learn, and to support the next generation of filmmakers. Films announced so far: "Hymns of A Tiny World: The Birds of New Zealand" (Izabella Anguiano Jacobs; CalArts), "Purple and Green" (Charlotte Oxley; UCLA), "Desert Eyes" (Jordan LeBlanc and Rika Mizoguchi; USC), "Land Lover" (Courtney Chapman; UCLA), and the Los Angeles premiere of "La Bibliotheque" (Dana Koops; LA native/Paris College of Art/Emerson College). See you there!

11/12/2024

Aspiring filmmakers: the upcoming 2025 AT&T Presents: Untold Stories program is now open for submissions until February 3, 2025 offering you the chance to pitch your project to win the next $1 million dollar grant, unparalleled mentorship, and an official premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival.

This collaboration between AT&T and Tribeca has already made a significant impact on inclusivity in film, supporting over 35 films and having awarded a collective $7 million dollars to winning projects like Nigerian Prince, Lucky Grandma, Marvelous and the Black Hole, Land of Gold, Smoking Tigers, Color Book, and the forthcoming Honeyjoon our partnership showcases an ongoing commitment to uplifting emerging storytellers.

Below are the topline details of the program:
$1 Million production prize awarded to one scripted feature each year, chosen through a live/video pitch at the Tribeca Festival in June
Eligible directors should have made at least one short piece of work, but no more than one feature
At least one producer must be attached
Must be able to be made for $1 Million and complete within one year
Guaranteed premiere at Tribeca Festival, along with pitch, creative development, production and distribution support.

At the 2023 Tribeca Festival, 5 new talented and diverse filmmaking teams will pitch their original feature scripted film projects to an esteemed Greenlight Committee of industry professionals to decide who will be the next $1 million dollar prize recipient. The winning film will be guaranteed a pre...