Points North Institute teams up with Kickstarter to offer new festival travel scholarship for young filmmakers of color to attend the 2017 Camden International Film Festival
June 12, 2017 [Camden, Maine] – The Points North Institute is now accepting applications for the North Star Scholarship, a new program developed in partnership with Kickstarter that provides travel support for three mediamakers of color to attend the 2017 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) and Points North Forum, which will be held September 14-17 in the small towns of Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine.
The program is open to early-career documentary filmmakers and other media artists of color, between the ages of 21 and 29, who haven’t yet completed their first feature-length film or major project. Selected participants will receive airfare, accommodations, and an All Access pass to CIFF, as well as opportunities to participate in structured one-on-one meetings with industry decision makers and advisors. The deadline for the program is July 19 and there is no application fee.
“Both Kickstarter and the Points North Institute are dedicated to the idea that doing creative work requires a strong community of support,” said Points North Program Director Sean Flynn. “We are thrilled that this partnership will create new opportunities for diverse nonfiction storytellers to find that community of support in Camden.”
North Star Scholarship recipients will join a growing number of filmmakers and media artists who attend CIFF and the Points North Forum each year to participate in masterclasses, workshops and panel discussions with industry leaders in an informal, intimate setting on the coast of Maine. In recent years, the Points North Institute has expanded its support of documentary filmmakers with projects in development through programs like the Points North Fellowship, Shortform Editing Residency and Camden/TFI Retreat. This year, seven alumni of these programs have had major festival premieres, including WHOSE STREETS?, THE CAGE FIGHTER, and THE REAGAN YEARS.
“Camden International Film Festival is one of the biggest meeting grounds that brings our documentary community together – often resulting in future, successful collaborations and friendships.” says Liz Cook, Kickstarter’s Director of Documentary Film. “We are proud to partner with the Points North Institute and help launch the North Star Scholarship. It’s incredibly meaningful to us that we are offering this opportunity to young filmmakers of color, as we continue to focus our support around showcasing diversity in storytelling.”
“Festivals are an important place for young filmmakers to find creative inspiration and build relationships that will help advance their careers, but it’s not always easy to attend major festivals unless you have film in the program,” said Managing Director Angelica Das. “Opportunities like this can help diversify the documentary field by creating a space for new relationships to form.”
Selections for the North Star Scholarship will be announced in August.
More details on the program are available at: https://pointsnorthinstitute.org/artist-programs/north-star-scholarship/
