2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

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THE 16TH ANNUAL SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GET REEL. PRESENTS independent.com presents MEET THE MAKERS interviews with the nominees 1 ISSUE ONE JAN. 27–FEB. 7 • 2015

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The 16th Annual Social Justice Award Santa Barbara Independent

Transcript of 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

Page 1: 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

THE 16TH ANNUAL

SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARDFOR DOCUMENTARY FILM

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE

GETREEL.

PRESENTS

independent.com presentsMEET THE MAKERS interviews with the nominees

1 ISSUEONE

JAN. 27–FEB. 7 • 2015

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ABOUT THE AWARDThe Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award for Documentary Film is awarded annually to a fi lm that makes a particularly valuable contribution to advancing social justice. The 2015 award winner will be announced on Saturday, February 7. The creator of the winning fi lm will receive a $2,500 cash prize. Nine provocative fi lms have been nominated. We hope you will have an opportunity to view them.

Thank you to the 2015 Social Justice Award Jury:Roman Baratiak – Associate Director of UCSB Arts & Lectures • Andrew Davis – Film Director

Margaret Lazarus – Filmmaker • Phyllis de Picciotto – Film Consultant • Vicki Riskin – Writer / ProducerDr. Janet Walker – Professor of Film & Media Studies at UCSBDr. Charles Wolfe – Professor of Film & Media Studies at UCSB

Thank you to our partners in this effort:

And fi nally, thank you to all of the fi lmmakers who dedicate their time, talent, resources, and vision in order to address these important issues so that we may all live in a more just and humane world.

– The Board, Staff and Volunteers of The Fund for Santa Barbara

For more information or to purchase tickets: www.fundforsantabarbara.org or www.sbiff.org

Join us for a reception celebrating this year’s nominees:

FRiDaY, JaNuaRY 30 5:00 TO 7:00 P.M.

the Granada theatre - mccune Founders room1214 State Street, Santa Barbara, cA 93101

Suggested donation: $25Space is limited • Reservations requested • Platinum Pass holders will be admitted free.

For reservations and information, please contact the Fund offi ce at (805) 962-9164 or [email protected]

WITH THE NOMINEES

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Page 3: 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

independent.com presentsMEET THE MAKERS Interviews with the nominees

For fi lm festival coverage and schedule changes, visit independent.com/SBiFF

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Though tightly focused on legendary conser-vationist Alan Rabinowitz’s quest into the Sundarbans swamplands between India and

Bangladesh in search of the elusive and rather dangerous Bengal tiger, this gripping documen-tary is quite expansive, touching on the value of apex predators, the relationship of man to beast, and the nature of a purposeful life.

There is a very Heart of Darkness feeling to this documentary, of a man going deep into the jungle and himself. Was that intentional?Yes, very much so. In fact, somewhere on Alan’s desk was an actual copy of Heart of Darkness! From the outset in discussions with Tom Hur-witz, our cinematographer, we made clear that this was not to be a conventional natural-history approach. Th e Sundarbans is very beautiful, but it has also been called the most dangerous place on Earth, and we didn’t want to edit out the men-ace in the interest of conventional beauty. We also wanted to retain the sense of journey, of moving upriver. In actual fact, we did not know what dan-ger lay around each corner.

Did you know that this would become a profi le of rabinowitz, or was it a tiger movie that evolved into something more meaningful?We began years back knowing we wanted to make a movie about tigers — the movie was for the ti-

gers and their plight. We looked hard for a “hero,” for someone with the real credentials to speak on the subject and the charisma to hold his audience. Alan was speaking in New York, and when I heard and saw him there, I approached him on the spot, as I knew I had found the right man. 

We always saw Alan as the guide for the movie, but my fi rst interview with him was so powerful that we immediately started adjusting our view of how to weight the story. We came to believe that the most eff ective way to make an audience care about tigers was to have it care about Alan and his passion for tigers.

What can people who want to help the tiger do?Th e tiger range governments need to know people worldwide really care about the tiger crisis. Re-ports of tiger deaths and poaching should be met with blasts from social media. Most importantly, law enforcement must be paid for, so if you can af-ford to please give to an organization that can be counted on to provide what is needed. 

We hope to release a version of our fi lm sub-ti-tled in Chinese — if the engine for the tiger trade is driven by China, it is perverse to leave it and partic-ularly its young people out of the dialogue, so any engagement with Chinese voices is desirable.

Have there been any recent conservation victories in either country?Th e situation in India is complicated by the fact that the country is so vast, and conservation ef-forts in each region are controlled by regional governments. So the success of the Indian Sun-darbans must be credited to the West Bengal Forest offi ce as much as the top-down national agency.

In Bangladesh, just this December, an oil tank-er ran aground in the Sundarbans, spilling 52,000 gallons of bunker oil into the water. Th e wreck site was just south of Mongla, a major port, and so not within the heart of the protected area, but the tanker route nonetheless ran right through a dol-phin reserve. We’re still following the story to see what the extent of the damage is, but the fervent hope is that this disaster will focus attention on the Sundarbans and on stiff er measures of protec-tion. — Matt Kettmann

tiGer tiGerdirector GeorGe bUtler WHitemoUntainFilms.com

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A diverse group of South African actors tours war-torn regions of the world with Truth in Translation, a theatrical reenactment of tran-

scripts from the Truth and Reconciliation Commit-tees. Through presenting the atrocities of apartheid in places where audiences are preoccupied with un-resolved conflicts of their own, the performers elicit raw testimony from others, and in the process find out that they must confront the divisive issues of their South African past once again.

How did you choose this title? As the actors traveled through conflict zones with the live production of Truth in Translation, it be-came clear that this idea — that it is rational to kill the children of our enemies because “a snake gives birth to another snake” — seemed to plague ev-ery culture we visited. Each culture, coming out of genocide or massacre, had a similar phrase in their own history. I believe it is subconsciously in our culture as well. For some, it is a convenient en-titlement to kill; for others, it is a justification of our fear. To quote Graham Greene, “Hatred is just a failure of imagination.” 

The development process for this film involved several stages, including a theatrical production. What happened as a result of this process that was unexpected?Actually in the beginning we weren’t going to make a film. We didn’t have the money. We shot

when we could just to document for the future maybe for university archives or for other ac-tors and artists to see what could be done. We never knew what would happen next and so there was no real plan during the shooting ex-cept to capture what we were going through as best we could. 

When the play became a success, we start-ed to get some funds and were able to film on the road. But as we toured and the real drama started to happen we realized we might have a film here. So we hustled a lot, reshot a little, and found a wonderful editor in Joel Plotch. 

How did the theater piece work in countries where similar tensions still exist?Many people in the Balkans told us not to bring the theater piece, because they thought that we would cause a lot of trouble among war-ring factions still existing, that we’d open old wounds, that we would trivialize their pain with the comedy and music and outrage vic-tims of violence. Sometimes it was as simple as their not wanting to hear of a TRC until they could extract vengeance. They just wanted tra-ditional retributive justice. Of course we de-cided to go anyway, and the reception was huge from Kosovo to Bosnia, from Serbia to Croatia. — Charles Donelan

A SnAke GiveS Birth to A SnAkedirector Michael lessac asnaketoasnake.com

Page 5: 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

independent.com presentsMEET THE MAKERS Interviews with the nominees

For fi lm festival coverage and schedule changes, visit independent.com/SBiFF

In this compelling documentary, Swiss fi lm-maker Alain Margot chronicles the activities of FEMEN, the provocative Ukranian femin-

est group known for their topless protests against sexism, religious insti-tutions, and homopho-bia. Th eir radical be-havior garners them support and media attention, but it also incurs governmental wrath. Th e women en-dure arrests, intimi-dation, beatings, and imprisonment for their noble causes.

What prompted you to do a documentary on FeMeN? I had seen these girls protest on the Internet, and I found it very brave of them to do that in Ukraine. Since not much is happening in Switzerland, I decided to live three years in Ukraine.

Did you fi nd their tactics eff ective in getting their message across? Th e FEMEN were able to change things in Ukraine [because] it is a country that is not dem-

ocratic. As FEMEN Ukraine members had to fl ee to Paris, they are a little prisoner while waiting for political asylum in France. For me, FEMEN has lost its reputation since there [is not] FEMEN Europe. I made a his-torical fi lm; these girls were the fi rst fruits of this revolution in Ukraine.

What has the response been to your fi lm? Th e public has responded well to the fi lm because fi nally people understand where they come

from. Th e Swiss public was standing aft er the screening and in Odessa festival in Ukraine, too. At the Festival of Gijon in Spain, many girls asked Oxana how to become a FEMEN [member].

— Michelle Drown

Je SuiS Femendirector alain MarGot eyesteelFilm.com

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This is an inside look at how Cenk Uygur evolved from a conservative, loudmouth law school student into the most progressive and

widely watched talk show host in the history of the Internet. Love him or hate him, the founder of The Young Turks truly follows his ideals, send-ing up the rest of the media along the way.

How did you decide to do this story? Back in 2008, I was going to UW-Madison and wasn’t feeling very fulfilled in what I wanted to achieve film-wise. I left school, packed up my car, and drove to Los Angeles. Once there, I had to ac-complish two things: I needed to make a living to be able to stay in L.A., and I wanted to win my parents back over, as they were somewhat sore for me dropping out of school. 

My dad and brother were both really big fans of this weird online show called  The Young Turks featuring this bombastic host, Cenk Uygur. I started interning for them, which eventually led to a full time job with TYT. Right away I thought Cenk was such a compelling and larger-than-life character, so at the end of my first week there I asked him what he would think about me doing a documentary on him. Cenk right away told me, “I always wanted a documentary made about me!”

Were you surprised that MSNBC wanted to remain so in line with the establishment?I was hopeful at first, but after Cenk started with them there were many red flags along the way. They gave him notes like “act more like a sena-tor,” which is hilar-ious because most senators are boring and not actually what you want in a good TV host, but it was about being safe, not rocking

the boat. So ultimately it wasn’t too surprising, just disappointing.

With so many viewers, why won’t a network air The Young Turks?Sometimes it’s less about viewership and more about keeping the advertisers and companies happy. They didn’t like what Cenk had to say or the way he said it.

Is the show able to make money in its current online form?Yeah, they are doing very well online. Since I left the company when there were just about eight of us, there are now over 50 employees in that new studio of theirs.

What do you foresee for Cenk’s future?He’ll continue to grow and expand TYT. He is relentless. It was hard to find a way to end the film because he is constantly striving to achieve more. Cenk always jokes that he would like to see me make this into a trilogy. But for me, after five years of nonstop depressing news and politics, I’d like this film to speak on my behalf in that area for a while, as I’d personally like to take a break from it all. — Matt Kettmann

mAd AS helldirector andrew napier madasHellFilm.com

Page 7: 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

independent.com presentsMEET THE MAKERS Interviews with the nominees

For fi lm festival coverage and schedule changes, visit independent.com/SBiFF

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This is not an easy fi lm to watch. Writer/di-rector Eri Daniel Erlich spent three years following his friend and fellow animal-

rights activist for this story, which follows a young man named Ohad as he tries to recon-nect and reason with his meat-eating fam-ily. Th e struggles — and knock-down drag-out fi ghts — between Ohad and his parents are bru-tal, but they send a strong message about activ-ism, family, and fi ghting for what you believe in.

What spoke to you about Ohad’s story? First, it’s a touching family story about Ohad’s rift from the people closest to him, like so many like him, not only in animal liberation context. Many families fi nd themselves in situations like these when a child decides to become newly religious or goes against his family’s religious line or in cases of coming-out stories — any case of going against your own family’s core values. In addition, this was a unique opportunity to report what is hap-pening to animals being raised in the food indus-try and to tell the story of those who dedicate their lives to stop this injustice. 

Did your views on animal-rights change?I’ve been an animal-rights activist long before this production, and in fact this fi lm was a way for me to convey all the pain in this issue and the frus-tration in trying to explain it to the people around me — especially to those closest to me. What did change in me during this production was my feel-ings towards family issues. Like Ohad, I also had

a problem accepting my own family’s choices (all of them are true Argentin-ian meat lovers). All the family dinners we shot, the gatherings, the conversa-tions, the fi ghts — all of them remind-ed me of similar events with my family and compromises that I had to make. Th rough making this fi lm, I got to know Ohad’s parents’ point of view that I assume is similar to my own par-ents’ view, and the importance of keep-ing the family together. I realized that you can fi nd important values there, too.

What was the biggest fi lmmaking challenge? Not knowing where that tricky re-

lationship was going. Th e meetings were very charged, on the break of explosion even, and there was no way of knowing how the fi lm will end or even if we would be able to complete it. Th ere were many hard moments when it was not clear whether the fi lm had a future. But that’s documentary fi lming. I allowed my protagonist to guide me through his world, and his choices were the steering wheel for the whole fi lm. 

What do you hope people take away from the fi lm? In this we attempt to show a diff erent viewpoint of our society by turning to the sidelines that most cinema and TV viewers are not aware of. Th ere you fi nd a world comprised of anger and desperation towards the status quo, a strong de-sire for change that is manifested by total dedica-tion to the cause. All of this alongside the belief that by keeping active there just might be a bet-ter world in the end. I attempted to capture with my camera the extreme confl ict with the current order of things that threatens to swallow the indi-vidual fi ghting against indiff erence in hopes that this will allow the viewer to see a diff erent side to his own life. Th ere’s a very deep misunderstand-ing regarding social-change activists like Ohad and his “over sensitivity.” Th is sensitivity is oft en perceived as a disconnection to reality. But in fact, those activist are much more connected to what’s really happening in our reality, which isn’t as pleasant as one would like to think.  — Aly Comingore

liFe AccordinG to ohAddirector eri daniel erlich oHad-doc.com

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“There is a power to being true to yourself,” said Ellen Brodsky, director of The Year We Thought About Love. The documentary,

shot during eight months of rehearsals with the Boston-based LBGTQ theater group True Colors, speaks to that sentiment as it reveals the triumphs and heartbreaks of 16 gay teens. Their challenge was to write stories for the stage about queer love that resonated with everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification. So they dug into their own experiences with parents and part-ners and succeeded brilliantly in showing that love is really a universal human experience not defined by sexuality.

What drew you to make this film? I have always loved the risk-taking in a rehearsal room, where you try all sorts of new things, but know that you are in a safe place.  I began working with LGBTQ youth over 20 years ago, and learned that they faced risks every day, not always in a safe place. When my brother-in-law’s theater com-pany started True Colors: OUT Youth Theater, I heard incredible stories of risk-taking — theatri-cally and personally — in a unique safe place. Af-ter years of watching performances, I wanted to see inside the rehearsal room.

What surprised you most about making this film? There can be so much laughter right next to so much pain. Perhaps, I was reminded of this, not so much surprised. We so often need to learn things over and over.

Was there one person’s story that stood out to you in particular?One person’s story? Well, actually the character that stays with me is the audience at the troupe’s plays. The audience is so unknown — I wonder how the individuals hear the stories onstage, how they may or may not have personal feelings con-firmed, or personal convictions challenged. The camera caught them laughing and clapping as well as shaking their heads and leaving the audi-torium. I wonder what they told their friends and family about the play later that day.

How have the audiences responded? Audiences have responded with tears and laugh-ter. Young audiences love seeing their reality on the screen, a reality not often portrayed in me-dia, and some adults have thanked us for provid-ing a window into a world they do not know very well. Older LGBTQ people often wish they had something like this theater troupe when they were young. — Michelle Drown

the YeAr We thouGht ABout lovedirector ellen brodsky ellenbrodskyFilms.com

Page 9: 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

independent.com presentsMEET THE MAKERS Interviews with the nominees

For fi lm festival coverage and schedule changes, visit independent.com/SBiFF

8.

This documentary about coming to terms with his own gay voice is gripping and uplift ing, but it’s also a near-perfect example of how one

person’s story can resonate with so many. Wheth-er you identify as LGBT, know someone who does, or simply have felt like an outsider at one point or another in your life, this opens your eyes a little wid-er to the world around you.

When did you decide to turn this idea into a movie?I started working on Do I Sound Gay? literally the day aft er I had my shame spiral about my voice on the train to Fire Island that’s depicted in the movie. My shame spiral transformed into an epiphany. I should probably keep that in mind.

Were you wary about putting that much of your personal life in front an audience?I tricked myself into doing it very gradually and slyly. Originally I wasn’t going to be in the fi lm and then as we moved forward, gradually, more and more, I became the central subject. I set a great trap for myself. I do think it’s easier now than it used to be. So many people are throwing their lives up on social media.

Whose story resonated the most?Th ere were two moments early in the making of the fi lm that really stuck with me and were touchstones the whole way through pushing me to fi nish. Very early on, I interviewed the young guy in the movie who says he hates sounding gay 100 percent and wishes he didn’t. I could understand my own middle-aged self-hat red, but to hear it from someone so young was heartbreaking. Th e other moment was the din-

ner party, where one my best friends told me he’s always hated his voice. I thought, “How could we never have talked about this?”

What was your biggest personal takeaway? What do you hope others get out of it?

It’s okay to be gay. It’s okay to be yourself, in-cluding sounding like yourself. It seems obvi-ous, but really learning those basic lessons is much easier said than done. I have no expecta-tions for the audience, but if they take a piece of that away from the fi lm, I’d be so proud.

Personally speaking, what was the largest hurdle?Th e biggest personal challenge was trying

to understand what was really going on with me. What did I really want? To change my voice or not? Why would I want one or the other? Al-though the fi lm is a comedy on the surface, I really did struggle to come to terms with who I wanted to be, as represented by my voice, and with my in-ternalized homophobia. It was a rollercoaster, and I didn’t know where I would end up.  — Aly Comingore

do i Sound GAY?director daVid thorpe doisoUndGay.com

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Jonathan Nossiter is known as one of the more divisive figures in the world of wine. That’s thanks mainly to his controversial 2004 film

Mondovino, which vehemently attacked the influ-ence of popular critic Robert Parker’s penchant for oaky and ripe wines and threw barbs at consultant Michel Rolland and the moneyed Mondavi fam-ily along the way. (The film played to packed audiences at SBIFF back then.)

These days, Nossiter is more con-cerned about the rise of so-called “natural winemaking,” in which vintners eschew the use of pesticides, mechanization, additives, and even the widespread and historic use of sulfur as a preservative. His new film, Natural Resistance, shines a bright light on the issue, traveling the Ital-ian countryside to speak with grape growers and winemakers who are bucking many modern traditions in order to make what they feel is a more pure and true-to-terroir product. The winemakers interviewed by Nossiter — and you know he’s there, as he doesn’t hide the filmmaker’s presence — also lambast Italy’s DOC system as au-thoritarian and corrupt.

Simultaneously, the documentary touches on a similar revolution happening in the world of cin-ema, where some filmmakers are stepping outside the normal funding and distribution channels to reach their audience.

Nossiter was too busy to answer questions re-lated to his latest film, but allowed us to excerpt some of his thoughts from a story he wrote in Film Quarterly last spring.

On natural winemakers’ impact:[T]hese renegades have transformed the basic idea of wine, especially in France and Italy, while exposing the cynicism and chemical manipula-tion of most conventional wine. So radical and so successful have the natural winemakers become that they provoked the fabled reactionary Ameri-can wine critic Robert Parker to define them as a “scandalous fraud that needs to be eradicated,” a laughable idea given that Parker recently sold his brand—that is, his lifetime’s name and reputa-tion—for tens of millions of dollars to Singapor-ean financial speculators.

On their philosophy:Turning their backs on the rules of the market-place, they are united in their absolute respect for

the health of their souls, for the people, animals, and insect who bring their vines to life, and for the humans who will eventu-ally drink the fruit of their labor.

On how they are influencing film:I feel deeply relieved and excited to see that a grow-ing number of my fellow filmmakers, consciously and unconsciously, are starting to follow the winemakers’ resistance to a cynical, corrupt, and wholly outdated system

of production, distribution, and marketing with their own refusal of cinema’s systems of regula-tion and self-censorship. — Matt Kettmann

nAturAl reSiStAncedirector Jonathan nossiterjonatHan-nossiter.com

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Page 11: 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Fest: Meet the Makers, issue 1

independent.com presentsMEET THE MAKERS Interviews with the nominees

For fi lm festival coverage and schedule changes, visit independent.com/SBiFF

Mother Nature needs us to fi nd a better and cleaner way to meet our collective energy desires. But despite our best intentions

and eff orts by some of the world’s brightest minds, progress is slow. In this visually capti-vating and straight-talking documentary, Aus-trian fi lmmaker Hubert Canaval takes an ex-haustive look at what exactly we are up against right now and how people around the world are responding.

What was your primary motivation for making Energized?Th e accidents of Fukushima and Deepwater Ho-rizon were, of course, the motivation to make this fi lm. But very soon it turned out that these types of catastrophes are not the main prob-lem with energy production.  In order to tell a more true story, it was more important to cover the collateral damage of  “normal” energy pro-duction. We were shocked about our fi ndings even in the most technically developed countries and democracies.

As you explored the global landscape of energy issues, what surprised you most? On one hand I didn’t really expect to see how brutally people are treated who oppose or speak out, even in democratic countries. On the other hand I was moved by the many brave people I found fi ghting for their vision of green energy.

Does the average person understand the bleakness of the situation at hand?Well, I hope this fi lm helps people to understand the problem and that it is a very complex one and not only depressing like the word bleakness sug-gests. I think everyone is able to understand that if he/she produces their own energy for their own consumption, then they themselves will profi t. Th is is a question that everybody is able to an-swer, Shall he/she be able to benefi t from his own energy production or an energy company?

What is the single biggest roadblock preventing us from a better energy future?Th e main problem is present in your question. Th ere is neither a simple answer nor simple so-lution. Every single place in the world needs and off ers a diff erent answer to their respective en-ergy demands. Accomplishing this would guar-antee sustainable and ecological production. Of course, this is not convenient for big companies making profi t by producing energy but it could result in enormous economic prosperity for the people actually living in a region.

Is there hope? Making this fi lm, I met so many brave people who are not only opposing big energy but also showing us how to do it. So, at the end, I do see a small stream of light on the horizon. Th ere are many possibili-ties; we just have to use them. — Ethan Stewart

enerGiZeddirector hUbert canaValmemento-Films.com

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Board of directorsGeoff Slaff, President

Kate Adams • Ignacio Alarcón • JoAnn Bell • Sheila Davidson • Anna DiStefano • Samuel Duarte • Cheryl Hermann • Ann Hutchins Vijaya Jammalamadaka • Margaret Lazarus • Alice O’Connor • Kara Powis • Ted Rhodes • Mahil Senathirajah • Craig Wood

Grant-MakinG coMMitteeWendy Sims-Moten, Co-Chair • Elsa Velasco, Co-Chair • Kate Adams • Samuel Duarte Gloria Liggett • Dondra R. Lopez • Eddie Mendoza • Jade Moreno • Renner Wunderlich

Honorary BoardNancy Alexander, Founder

Susan Bower • Carnzu Clark • Sevren Coon • Nancy Franco • Susan Jørgensen • Don Olson • David Peri • Susan Rose Katy Peake (in Memoriam) • Selma Rubin (in Memoriam) • Naomi Schwartz (in Memoriam)

Sarah Shoresman (in Memoriam) • Herman Warsh (in Memoriam)

staffGeoff Green, Executive Director • Nancy Weiss, Associate Director

Cristina González, Regional Program Manager • Gary Clark, Technical Assistance Program Manager Elena Richardson, Grants Program Manager • Javier Moreno, Administrative Coordinator

INTerNS: Lindley Dobbrow, Jane Huson, Ryunhee Kim, Tina Nham

the Fund For SAntA BArBArA26 West Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 • 120 East Jones Street, Suite 120, Santa Maria, CA 93454

Tel: (805) 962-9164 • FAX: (805) 965-0217 • Website: www.fundforsantabarbara.org

The Fund for Santa Barbara is a nonprofit community foundation that supports organizations working for social, economic, environmental, and political change in Santa Barbara County. The Fund raises money through donations of all sizes in order to provide grants, training, and advising to local grassroots efforts. The Fund supports community-based projects employing a variety of strategies including community organizing, education, direct action, issue advocacy, and the arts. For thirty-five years, the Fund has been at the forefront of responsive and progressive philanthropy in our community, distributing over $5 million in grants to more than 1,000 grassroots projects.

Past social Justice award reciPients2000 – Good Kurds Bad Kurds, Directed by Kevin McKiernan2001 – Botín de Guerra (Spoils of War), Directed by David Blaustein2002 – The Making of the Revolution, Directed by Katarina Rejger & Eric van den Broek2003 – Sadaa E Zan (Voices of Women), Directed by Renée Bergan2004 – Home of the Brave, Directed by Paola di Florio2005 – Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action, Directed by Roberta Grossman2006 – Sisters in Law, Directed by Kim Longinotto2007 – Crude Impact, Directed by James Wood • The Ground Truth, Directed by Patricia Foulkrod2008 – Después de la Neblina (When Clouds Clear), Directed by Anne Slick & Danielle Bernstein2009 – Yes, Madam Sir, Directed by Megan Doneman2010 – Enemies of the People, Directed by Rob Lemkin & Thet Sambath2011 – When I Rise, Directed by Mat Hames • Nostalgia de la Luz, Directed by Patricio Guzmán2012 – Dirty Energy, Directed by Bryan Hopkins2013 – Revolution, Directed by Rob Stewart2014 – Through a Lens Darkly, Directed by Thomas Allen Harris