Film Independent, producer of the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The money will be used to produce the Los Angeles Film Festival's "International Spotlight" section, which explores international filmmaking trends.
Last year's event focused on documenting Mexico through selections from the Ambulante Film Festival with a series of screenings, followed by Q&A's with the filmmakers and Ambulante co-founders Diego Luna and Pablo Cruz
In all, the Academy selected 24 U.S. film festivals to receive grants to help organizers make events more accessible to the general public, promote minority filmmakers and strengthen the connection between filmmakers and the general public.
"The Academy Foundation's generous support enables us to continue to cultivate audiences for diverse filmmaking cultures and to expose L.A.'s movie-loving public to voices and stories beyond our own
backyards," Rebecca Yeldham, the festival's director, said in a statement. "We are always looking for more opportunities to create memorable filmgoing experiences for both filmmakers and audiences, and the Academy shares our vision for the future of LAFF."
This year's addition of the festival runs June 17-27 and is presented by the Los Angeles Times.
Other festivals receiving grants for 2010 are:
$30,000
Chicago International Children’s Film Festival
Cinequest Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
Outfest: The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
$25,000
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Nashville Film Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Virginia Film Festival
$20,000
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital
San Diego Latino Film Festival
True/False Film Fest
$17,500
Provincetown International Film Festival
$15,000
San Francisco Silent Film Festival
St. Louis International Film Festival
$10,000
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Indie Memphis Film Festival
Phoenix Film Festival
Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival
$2,500
Ozark Foothills FilmFest
The Women’s Film Festival
Tucson International Jewish Film Festival