FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – From amateurs to seasoned filmmakers, 10 people have been chosen as the winners of the Big Tell – Undiscovered Stories of the Central Valley.
This is the first year for The Big Tell, a regional film making competition for documentaries featuring stories of California’s Central Valley.
CVCF awarded ten grants of $5,000 to professional, amateur, and student filmmakers to each produce a 5-minute mini-documentary that highlights the innovative and inspiring people and places of the Central Valley.
The Central Valley Community Foundation is awarding the grants with help from Bank of America.
Ashley Swearengin, President & CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation said they received 85 applications, most the last day of the contest.
Stories chosen vary from the struggle of a Syrian refugee family to Hmong veterans to Americana and rockabilly musician, Lance Canales, pitched by local filmmaker David Kennedy (seen below), who won a spot for his project “The Blessing and the Curse.”
All the winners will receive one-on-one mentorship from filmmaker Sascha Rice, who earned an Emmy nomination for her 2012 film “California State of Mind: the Legacy of Pat Brown.” She is an LA-based filmmaker and granddaughter of former Governor Pat Brown.
On October 19th, you can attend the same public workshops to be held for the winners – hosted by Professor Michael Fink – the chair of USC’s Cinematic Arts Department.
The winning films will debut at The Big Tell Showcase, a red carpet, Central Valley-only film festival at Warnor’s Theatre on Friday, October 20, 2017.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
WINNERS:
