New Pennebaker Hegedus Film Recieves 2013 Gucci Tribeca Grant

“Today TFI has announced the 2013 grantees for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, which provides production and finishing finances, year-round support and guidance to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films highlighting and humanizing critical issues of social significance from around the world.

Having supported 45 films in its six year existence, GTDF is now welcoming nine new projects to the club, which are selected from 500 submissions from 60 countries to receive a total of $150,000, to be administered by the Tribeca Film Institute.

For the third year, the Kering Foundation (formerly the PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights) has joined the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund to present the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award. Three film projects have been chosen that illuminate the courage, compassion, extraordinary strength of character, and contributions of women from around the world.

Projects this year include works from Oscar-nominated filmmakers, GTDF alumni and range from compelling stories on the business behind the international arms trade to the complexities of U.S. national security to the women behind the first girls’ school in a small Afghan village, to name just a few (full list/description of projects are below).

2013 projects were selected by a jury comprised of: Brian Sirgutz (SVP of Social Impact at AOL/Huffington Post Media Group); Jada Pinkett Smith; Molly Thompson (SVP, A&E IndieFilms); Olivia Wilde; and director Roger Ross Williams (Music by Prudence, God Loves Uganda). The committee chose the recipients from finalists selected by TFI. In addition to funding, grantees will each receive year-round support from TFI, including one-on-one guidance and consultation to help each film to reach completion, enter the marketplace, and find broader audiences for their work.”

Unlocking The Cage, Directed by DA Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus; Produced by Rosadel Varela & Frazer Pennebaker. Renowned animal rights attorney Steven Wise wants to break through the legal wall that separates animals and humans. His lawsuit, the first of its kind, will demand the most basic of personhood rights – those of bodily integrity and liberty – for an animal of a species that has been proven to have advanced cognitive capabilities, transforming the status of the animal from that of a mere “thing” to a “person” possessing rights that protect him from abuse and captivity.