Film Independent Selects 10 Projects And 20 Filmmakers For 2016 Fast Track Program And Awards $20K Alfred P. Sloan Fast Track Grant To Mark Levinson For 'The Gold Bug Variations'

LOS ANGELES, June 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Film Independent announced the 10 projects selected for the 14th annual Fast Track film finance market. Held during the LA Film Festival, Fast Track is designed to help producer-director teams propel their projects forward through meetings with top industry executives--financiers, agents, managers, distributors, granting organizations, and production companies. During three days of intensive meetings, participants gain valuable exposure and build vital relationships as they fast track their films towards completion.

Fast Track is supported by Film Independent Artist Development lead funder Time Warner Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, NEA Art Works, EFILM | Company 3 and Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television.

"We look forward to connecting this wonderful group of filmmakers with our participating industry executives at the 2016 LA Film Festival," said Jennifer Kushner, Film Independent's Director of Artist Development. "Fast Track provides an extraordinary opportunity for independent producers and directors to gain critical support for their feature films, and for high level executives to discover some of the outstanding and diverse talent that Film Independent curates and develops through our Artist Development programs."

At the annual Film Independent Fast Track Welcome Dinner, Film Independent presented the eighth annual Alfred P. Sloan Fast Track Grant, a $20,000 production grant to support a film that explores science and technology themes or that depicts scientists, engineers and mathematicians in engaging and innovative ways. The grant was awarded to writer/director/producer Mark Levinson for his fiction feature film in development, The Gold Bug Variations.

"We are delighted to continue our highly successful partnership with  Film Independent in recognizing Mark Levinson's beautiful, tangled DNA love story, The Gold Bug Variations, based on a Richard Powers novel depicting two couples thirty years apart and their search to decode the mysteries of life and love," said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Sloan Foundation. "This exciting collaboration, which has produced last year's Experimenter, this year's The Man Who Knew Infinity and the upcoming Basmati Blues, is at the forefront of contemporary efforts by leading filmmakers to portray science and technology—and scientists, engineers and mathematicians—in innovative, increasingly popular films."

The following filmmakers have been selected to participate Film Independent's 2016 Fast Track program:

2016 Fast Track Projects and Fellows

A Woman's Work, Yu Gu – director/producer, Elizabeth Ai – producer
Football and feminism collide in this feature documentary that follows three former NFL cheerleaders and their class-action lawsuits brought against their teams.

All That We Love, Yen Tan – writer/director, Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams – producers
The death of a beloved pet compels a wistful middle-aged man to examine what he's holding onto from his past.

College Girl, Joshua Tate – writer/director/producer, Maritte Go – producer
While attending a postsecondary program for adults with intellectual disabilities, a young woman with Down syndrome questions her place in the world in the face of impending motherhood.

Falcon Lake, Sara Seligman – writer/director, Anne Clements – producer
Ester and her mother run a motel where they drug their guests and murder them for their money. Two drug runners arrive and hold them hostage, not realizing the women's dark secret.

Jinn, Nijla Mu'min – writer/director, Avril Speaks –producer
A shape-shifting, pepperoni-loving, black teenage Instagram celebrity converts to Islam. Here's what happens.

Rogue, Mark F. Kindred – writer/director, Reinaldo Marcus Green – producer
An ex-cop gone rogue wages 'asymmetric and unconventional' warfare on the police force that fired him, resulting in the biggest manhunt in LAPD history. Inspired by true events.

The Gold Bug Variations, Mark Levinson – writer/director/producer
A double helix of two love stories that spirals across twenty-five years and the mystery of the disappearance of a brilliant scientist on the verge of understanding the code for life who is derailed by music and the search for the code for love.

United Skates, Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler – directors/producers
United Skates follows an underground subculture growing inside our country's last standing roller rinks. Through the eyes of two unassuming leaders, Reggie and Phelicia, they battle in a racially charged environment, to save a movement still undiscovered by mainstream America.

Waiting for Kate (female is not a category), Amy Goldstein – writer/director, Anouchka van Riel - producer
Waiting For Kate (female is not a category) tells the story of endearingly flawed, fiercely girl-powered singer/songwriter Kate Nash. After a Platinum album, Nash defies the silo-like boundaries of the music industry and inspires millions of young women to blaze their own trails, while tensions between her outward self and her inner turmoil are pushed to breaking point.

You and Me Both, Jennifer Suhr – writer/director, Carolyn Mao – producer
Upon the death of their adoptive mother, two Korean American sisters, estranged by the older one's drug addiction, set out on a road trip to find their birth mother.

Industry participants include: Apex Entertainment, Broad Green Pictures, Canana, Caviar Content, CNN Films, Cold Iron Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures, Film Finances, Fox Searchlight, Heidi Levitt Casting, June Pictures, Magnet Management, Oasis Media Group, Participant Media, Preferred Content, Rhino Films, Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, UTA, Warrior Poets, Waters End Production, WBTV Workshop.

Previous Fast Track projects that have been completed include Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton's Bad Kids, which premiered at Sundance 2016; Maris Curran's Five Nights in Maine which premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival; Chloe Zhao's Songs My Brothers Taught Me, which premiered in U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and Directors' Fortnight at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for three Film Independent Spirit Awards; Kyle Patrick Alvarez's C.O.G., which premiered in U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival; Robbie Pickering's Spirit Award-nominated Natural Selection; Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall's Call Me Kuchu, which premiered at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival; and Courtney Hunt's Academy Award and Spirit Award-nominated Frozen River.

Online & Social Media:
www.lafilmfestival.com Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/LAFilmFestival and Twitter @LAFilmFestival. Official event hashtag: #LAFilmFestival.

Press materials can be found at filmindependent.org/press/.

ABOUT THE LA FILM FESTIVAL
The LA Film Festival is a key part of the exhibition arm of Film Independent, showcasing new American and international cinema that embraces diversity, innovation and unique perspectives. The Festival produces one-of-a-kind events featuring critically acclaimed filmmakers, industry professionals and award-winning talent from Los Angeles and around the world. The Festival's signature programs include the Filmmaker Retreat, Celebrating Women Filmmakers, Master Classes, Spirit of Independence Award, Coffee Talks, LA Muse and more. The Festival also screens short films created by high school students. Presenting Media Sponsor is the Los Angeles Times. Premier Sponsor is Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Principal Sponsor is Jaeger-LeCoultre. Platinum Sponsors are American Airlines, Dolby Laboratories, Inc., EFILM | Company 3 and HBO. The University Sponsor is Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television. WireImage is the Official Photography Agency. More information can be found at lafilmfestival.com.

ABOUT FILM INDEPENDENT
Film Independent is the non-profit arts organization that champions creative independence in visual storytelling and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects and works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent's Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff and constituents, is comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race and sexual orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, industry professional or a film lover.

Film Independent produces the Spirit Awards, the annual celebration honoring artist-driven films and recognizing the finest achievements of American independent filmmakers. Film Independent also produces the LA Film Festival, showcasing the best of American and international cinema and the Film Independent at LACMA Film Series, a year-round, weekly program that offers unique cinematic experiences for the Los Angeles creative community and the general public.

With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent's Artist Development program offers free Labs for selected writers, directors, producers and documentary filmmakers and presents year-round networking opportunities. Project Involve is Film Independent's signature program dedicated to fostering the careers of talented filmmakers from communities traditionally underrepresented in the film industry. For more information or to become a member, visit filmindependent.org.

ABOUT ARCLIGHT CINEMAS
ArcLight Cinemas, created by Pacific Theatres, a privately owned, Los Angeles based company with 60 years of theatrical exhibition history throughout California, Hawaii and Washington is a premiere moviegoing experience with an unparalleled commitment to bringing a variety of rich cinematic content to moviegoers in all markets. ArcLight Cinemas operates eight theaters in California including Hollywood, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, El Segundo, Santa Monica, Culver City and La Jolla, as well as one theater in Bethesda, Md, Chicago and Glenview, Ill, with a new location in Boston for early 2018. ArcLight also owns and operates the historic Cinerama Dome and programs the TCL Chinese Theatre and IMAX in Hollywood. Pacific Theatres currently operates theaters in Los Angeles that include The Grove and The Americana at Brand in Glendale, Calif. Additional information about ArcLight Cinemas is available at www.arclightcinemas.com/. 

About The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The New York based Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, founded in 1934, makes grants in science, technology, and economic performance. Sloan's program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology, directed by Doron Weber, supports books, radio, film, television, theater and new media to reach a wide, non-specialized audience.

Sloan's Film Program encourages filmmakers to create more realistic and compelling stories about science and technology and to challenge existing stereotypes about scientists and engineers in the popular imagination.  Over the past 15 years, Sloan has partnered with some of the top film schools in the country - including AFI, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, NYU, UCLA and USC - and established annual awards in screenwriting and film production, along with an annual best-of-the best Student Grand Jury Prize administered by the Tribeca Film Institute. The Foundation also supports screenplay development programs with the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, the San Francisco Film Society, the Black List, and Film Independent's Producing Lab and Fast Track program and has helped develop such film projects as Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game, Mathew Brown 's The Man Who Knew Infinity, Michael Almereyda's Experimenter, Rob Meyer's A Birder's Guide to Everything, Musa Syeed's Valley of Saints, Andrew Bujalski's Computer Chess, and Melissa Finell's Sensitivity Training, premiering at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival.

The Foundation also has an active theater program and commissions about twenty science plays each year from the Ensemble Studio Theater and Manhattan Theatre Club as well as supporting select productions across the country. Recent grants have supported Nick Payne's Incognito, currently at Manhattan Theatre Club, Frank Basloe's Please Continue, Deborah Zoe Laufer's Informed Consent, co-produced with Primary Stages at the Duke, Lucas Hnath's Isaac's Eye, and Anna Ziegler's Photograph 51, recently on London's West End and coming to Broadway this fall.

For more information about the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, please visit www.sloan.org.

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SOURCE Film Independent

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