Fourth Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant Open for Applications!
Now in its fourth year, the Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant awards $25,000 to a US-based woman, non-binary, or transgender filmmaker, age 39 or older, who has yet to direct a narrative feature. Similar to the previous iterations, the grant will be a national open call, and seeks to recognize a film director for their distinct vision, storytelling, and singularity. The recipient of the 2022 installment was Izabel Acevedo.
In 2020, Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum (NWFF), alongside Duplass Brothers Productions, and with major support from COLOR and Eliza Flug, launched their inaugural Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant to honor the legacy of beloved late filmmaker Lynn Shelton. Shelton often spoke of seeing filmmaker Claire Denis at NWFF and feeling inspired that Denis did not make her first feature until age 40. At age 39, Shelton then went on to make her own first feature film (We Go Way Back); she followed it with a prolific canon of feature and television work that has continued to shape the landscape of American cinema.
“Getting the 2022 Lynn Shelton ‘Of a Certain Age’ Grant was wonderful and surprising; getting a grant named after such a brilliant director is a great honor,” said Acevedo. “Simultaneously, I’ve seen first-hand that the people who put together this director’s fund are aware of what it’s like to be a woman working in film today, and they have also figured out an efficient way to accelerate our careers. Effectively, my career has gotten a huge push, and I wish that other women and non-binary directors have that same opportunity.”
“Lynn Shelton left an indelible mark on our local film community, and we are honored to be hosting the ‘Of a Certain Age’ grant in her memory,” said Derek Edamura, executive director of Northwest Film Forum. “We are so excited to continue providing access for female, non-binary, and transgender filmmakers with this grant, and moving toward a vision of a truly thriving and diverse film industry.”
“I’m incredibly proud to have been part of the formation of this grant, which serves a portion of the film community that is often overlooked and under-valued,” remarks Megan Griffiths, NWFF board member, “I know Lynn would be over the moon to know that this grant exists in her name, as it is a true continuation of what she did so beautifully in life–the support and encouragement of artists she loved.”
For those looking to give in her honor, donations to the Shelton/Seal Family Fund for the Northwest School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children, or Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum are encouraged.
ELIGIBILITY & CRITERIA
To be eligible for this grant, applicants must:
- Identify as either a woman, non-binary, intersex, or transgender
- Be applying as an individual (not a team)
- Be 39 years or older by application deadline (proof of identification will be required upon finalist award)
- Have “director” credit on at least one short film or feature documentary
- Be able to receive income in the U.S.
NOTABLE DATES
- Tuesday, June 27 – Application opens – Apply here >
- Wednesday, August 1 – Application closes at 11:59 p.m. PST
- Wednesday, September 20 – Finalists Notified
- Wednesday, October 4 – Finalists’ Extended Materials Due
- October – Recipient Announced!
INFO SESSION
- Tuesday, July 18 from 1pm to 2pm PT – Info Session – RSVP here >
For full guidelines, application form, and more information about the grant, please visit bit.ly/lsca2023
The Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant was spearheaded by Duplass Brothers Productions, which includes Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Mel Eslyn.
ABOUT NORTHWEST FILM FORUM
Northwest Film Forum incites public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences. A nonprofit film and arts center located in Seattle, Northwest Film Forum presents hundreds of films, festivals, community events, multidisciplinary performances, and public discussions each year. A comprehensive visual media organization, the Forum offers educational workshops and artist services for film and media makers at all stages of their development. Artist services include access to space, gear, fiscal sponsorship, and an edit lab. Northwest Film Forum is a member-based organization. nwfilmforum.org
ABOUT DUPLASS BROTHERS PRODUCTIONS
Under their banner Duplass Brothers Productions (DBP), award-winning filmmakers Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Mel Eslyn create original projects for film, television, and digital media. In television, DBP is under a first-look deal with HBO which has yielded the hit series Somebody Somewhere, Room 104, Togetherness, and the HBO animated series Animals. Most recently they produced HBO’s award winning show Somebody Somewhere, starring Bridget Everett which was named an AFI TV Program of the Year.
DBP is also active in the docuseries television space, best known for producing Netflix’s Wild Wild Country, winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in 2018. They also produced the Film Independent Spirit Award nominated series The Lady and the Dale on HBO, Hulu’s Sasquatch, On Tour with Asperger’s Are Us for HBO, and Evil Genius for Netflix.
In film, Mark and Jay first gained recognition in the early 2000’s for writing, directing and producing several acclaimed independent and studio films, including The Puffy Chair, Baghead, Cyrus, and Jeff, Who Lives at Home. The teams’ numerous feature film credits in the decades following have included The One I Love, Tangerine, Safety Not Guaranteed, Creep (1 & 2), The Overnight, Blue Jay, Horse Girl, Paddleton, Outside In, Duck Butter, Language Lessons, The Skeleton Twins and the Ady Barkan documentary Not Going Quietly. DBP recently released Roshan Sethi’s debut 7 Days which took home a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, as well as Sam Jones’ HBO documentaries Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off and Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed, both on HBO. Upcoming releases include Eslyn’s feature debut Biosphere, Megan Griffith’s latest I’ll Show You Mine, Nnamdi Asomugha’s The Knife, the feature documentary Last Stop Larrimah, and the second season of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere.