The 2018 Frameline Completion Fund Award Winners

Frameline announces five awardees of the Frameline Completion Fund: JEANNETTE; KISSING WALLS, SEASON TWO; LINGUA FRANCA; QUEERING THE SCRIPT; and VISION PORTRAITS.

"Our 2018 Frameline Completion Fund recipients vividly highlight LGBTQ+ experiences now," said Paul Struthers, Director of Exhibition & Programming. "From the hardships faced by LGBTQ+ folks immigrating to the US, to an inspiring survivor of Pulse, to a counter-reaction to the problematic history of queer representation on TV, these projects center on contemporary voices. At their core, they celebrate the life of marginalized communities."

The five grantees were chosen out of 155 submissions that included features and shorts in documentary, narrative, episodic, and VR forms.

A total of $25,000 was awarded in this 2018 Completion Fund cycle. Since 1990, Frameline has awarded over $540,000 to more than 154 film projects by and about the LGBTQ+ community.

"Frameline's vital support through the Completion Fund helps underrepresented voices tell their stories," said Executive Director, Frances Wallace. "While we have witnessed a recent expansion of media and access to media across the globe, visibility and authenticity have not always been elevated for all communities. This year's grantees bring both astounding storytelling and broad representation of LGBTQ+  experience to a worldwide audience, ensuring that positive change continues."

The independent jury selecting this year's grantees included Mill Valley Film Festival Director of Programming, Zoë Elton; Artist, scholar, and Dean of Humanities and Sciences at California College of Arts San Francisco, Tina Takemoto; and community advocate and filmmaker André Pérez (AMERICA IN TRANSITION).

The 2018 Frameline Completion Fund Grantees:

JEANNETTE
Directed by Maris Curran | Documentary Feature | USA

JEANNETTE documents the world of a competitive bodybuilder, mother, lesbian, and Pulse survivor, as she works to transform her life following trauma. This beautiful story, from director Maris Curran, transcends one of simple survival and embraces thriving through adversity.

KISSING WALLS, SEASON TWO
Directed by Zak Payne | Episodic | USA

Zak Payne returns as director, writer, and star of KISSING WALLS, which played episodes from its first season during Frameline42. Season two continues the tale of work, sex, and friendship between two queer men of color living in Chicago. Ride along in their pursuit of career success and romantic love.

LINGUA FRANCA
Directed by Isabel Sandoval | Narrative Feature | USA

Directed, written by, and starring Isabel Sandoval (SEÑORITA - Frameline36), LINGUA FRANCA is a bold tale about an undocumented Filipina transwoman, desperate to attain legal status as she works as a caregiver to an elderly Russian woman in Brooklyn. Running out of options for a Green Card, she becomes involved with her client's grandson.

QUEERING THE SCRIPT
Directed by Gabrielle Zilkha | Documentary Feature | Canada

Framline alum, Gabrielle Zilkha (STOP CALLING ME HONEY BUNNY - Frameline38), presents a new project that gives queer fandom a voice in the conversation about LGBTQ+ representation, from Showtime's THE L WORD to FX's POSE. QUEERING THE SCRIPT examines the rising power of the fans and audience shaping representation on TV, the relationship between fandom and activism, and what lies ahead for visibility and inclusiveness.

VISION PORTRAITS
Directed by Rodney Evans | Documentary Feature | USA

From award winning filmmaker Rodney Evans (BROTHER TO BROTHER - Frameline28; HAPPY SAD - Frameline37; PERSISTENCE OF VISION - Frameline40). This film chronicles the creative paths of blind and visually impaired artists, exploring the impact of their loss of vision, and how their creative process adapts and thrives. Subjects include photographer John Dugdale, dancer Kayla Hamilton, writer Ryan Knighton, and the film's director, Evans. VISION PORTRAITS is set to world premiere at SXSW this March.

About the Frameline Completion Fund
The Frameline Completion Fund was established in 1990 to provide support to filmmakers whose work represents the forefront and future landscape of queer content, and brings much needed financial assistance to groundbreaking LGBTQ+ media arts projects.

Past recipients of the Frameline Completion Fund include Dee Rees' PARIAH, Jeffrey Schwarz's VITO, Desiree Akhavan's APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR, Cynthia Wade's Oscar-winning FREEHELD, David Weissman's WE WERE HERE, and Yen Tan's 1985. Submissions are accepted for documentary, narrative, experimental, animated, and episodic projects about LGBTQ+ people and their communities.

The Fund also seeks to bring new work to under-served audiences; with this in mind, we especially encourage applications by women, people of color, transgender people, intersex people, asexual people, non-binary people, disabled people, and other underrepresented people and communities.