Congrats to Cheryl Dunye who is 1 of 5 selected for a 12-month residency on behalf of the 2013 San Francisco Film Society's FilmHouse Residency program.
Starting this month, the program, made possible by the generous support of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation with additional support from the San Francisco Film Commission, supports independent filmmaking by making space available free of charge for six- or twelve-month residencies, to independent filmmakers actively engaged in various stages of film production. In addition to space, FilmHouse residents benefit from a robust guest-speaker series, featuring lectures and presentations by leading industry professionals; resident-led workshops and work-in-progress screenings; access to the Film Society's Professional Development classes; individual project consultation with SFFS Executive Director and producer Ted Hope; and numerous other community-building programs and events.
A major component of the Film Society's Filmmaker360 program, FilmHouse functions as a workshop and creative hub for filmmakers selected for its program.
Dunye’s project which she'll be workshopping is titled (Per)mission. Here's how it's described:
(Per)mission is a digital narrative / live cinema performance illuminating the personal and political scenarios (past, present, future) of Cheryl, a black butch feminist filmmaker as she struggles to define herself in a pluralist society where language and emotions conflict with her authentic visibility. The central narrative explores Cheryl as she struggles through her mid-life crisis and the reality of her life as a forgotten art star working as a security guard at a Bay Area museum. This core text will be mixed live with elements from Dunye’s personal digital archive, such as experimental film vignettes and talking head film clips from prior works (The Watermelon Woman and The Owls, among others).
So it's somewhat semin-autobiographical, or, at least, inspired by some of her own real-life struggles; although I'm pretty sure Dunye isn't working as a security guard at a Bay Area museum.
As noted, the 12-month residency starts this month, so about a year from now, we'll have some updates for you on what happens next for the project. Maybe it'll be done by then, and we'll have our first look.
By the way, if you'd like to apply for the residency, applications for next term (which begins in August) are due in April. For more information, visit sffs.org/Filmmaker360/FilmHouse-Residencies.
