IF/Then American Northeast 2018

In partnership with DOC NYC, six projects focusing on the American Northeast were selected to enter the IF/Then Shorts pitch competition at the DOC NYC Film Festival on November 12, 2018.

The winner was selected by a professional jury consisting of:

José Rodriguez, TFI
Opal H. Bennett, DOC NYC
Kim Spikes, SIM NY
Chloe Gbai, POV
Nanfu Wang, Independent Filmmaker

The jury chose MIZUKO by Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo as the competition winner to receive $20,000 in project funding and the opportunity to participate in TFI’s IF/Then Shorts Program, which provides year-round mentorship and career development opportunities.

The jury also selected FLATBUSH! FLATBUSH! to receive the POV cash prize and mentorship listed below. 

ADDITIONAL AWARDS:

Sim NY is a proud partner of Tribeca Film Institute and will provide a Festival Finishing Package for this year's IF/Then American Northeast pitch competition winner at DOC NYC. The short film package is comprised of picture, sound and deliverables from their award winning talent. POV (American Documentary) will additionally provide a $1,000 cash prize + mentorship to a second project.

For more information, please visit our DOC NYC page here.

These winners were selected from the following six projects:

FLATBUSH! FLATBUSH!
Director: Alex Mallis
A playful and investigative short doc following the semi-legal fleet of minibus drivers that race up and down Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn.

MIZUKO (WATER CHILD)
Directors: Kira Dane, Katelyn Rebelo
Influenced by centuries-old post-abortion rituals of Japanese Buddhism, a half-Japanese New Yorker re-evaluates the controversial drawing of ‘the line’ in abortion ethics, when she becomes pregnant herself.

SOUTH PHILLY MEATBALL STORY (working title) 
Director: Cheryl Hess
A Philadelphia food competition turns ugly when a rumor spreads that the vegan entry has won first prize: sometimes a meatball is not just a meatball.

THE SEEKER
Director: Lance Edmands
Producer: Kyle Martin
The story of an excommunicated Amish woodworker who lives off the grid in rural Maine.

THE SPACE BETWEEN THE LETTERS
Director: Eva von Schweinitz
A lyrical documentary that explores the perspective of adults who struggle with literacy in the United States. Interweaving reality and imagination, it exposes the obstacles encountered in a world dominated by written language and suggests possibilities for valuing alternative means of expression.

FOLIA
Director: Luther Clement
Producer: Ashley Brandon
An impressionistic portrait of Lucía Caruso, Argentinian pianist and composer.