Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and the R&M Lang Foundation are pleased to announce that two films have been selected to receive a total of $15,000 CDN in production funds from the CrossCurrents International Doc Fund in its ninth round of disbursements. The two chosen films are The Third Season (D: Stéphanie Saxémard, Zephrine Royer; Martinique) and Isagani (D: Jeremy Luke Bolatag; Philippines).
Established in November of 2013 by the R&M Lang Foundation, the CrossCurrents Doc Fund aims to support short, interactive and experimental documentaries from emerging filmmakers working within communities whose perspectives have been historically underrepresented or marginalized. Each year, the Fund has provided one successful applicant with a grant of $10,000 CDN. This year, an additional $5,000 CDN was awarded to support the production of an additional doc project.
The CrossCurrents International Doc Fund was generously established by the R&M Lang Foundation and is administered by Hot Docs. In addition to this grant, directors Jeremy Luke Bolatag, Stéphanie Saxemard and Zephrine Royer will receive a Hot Docs Fellowship, which includes accreditation to the annual Hot Docs Festival and enrolment in the Doc Accelerator program and mentorship initiatives.
Eligible projects were considered by the CrossCurrents International Doc Fund Committee, which included: Robert Lang (president and executive producer, Kensington Communications), Alex F. Bailey (Filmmaker), Hot Docs Industry (Julian Carrington, Distribution Manager & Industry Programmer, Funds).
THE THIRD SEASON
Directors/Producers: Stéphanie Saxémard, Zephrine Royer
Production company: CREATIV SÜN FILMS
Production country: Martinique
The coming-of-age story of a boy in Dominica who fights to find a new normal after a monster storm.
ISAGANI
Director: Jeremy Luke Bolatag
Producers: James Beni Wilson, Jeremy Luke Bolatag
Production company: Huni’t Pagaspas Films
Production country: Philippines
Thirty years after his adoption, a Filipino-American from Michigan traces his past and seeks out his biological family in the Philippines. He deals with intercultural gaps, time lost, and reconciliation of identity as he unearths an unsettling truth about his parentage.