Jerome Foundation Helps Minnesota Media Artists Produce New Works

The Jerome Foundation, St. Paul, has provided new production grants to nine film and video artists in Minnesota through the Minnesota Media Arts Program. The foundation awarded the grants, ranging in size from $5,000 to $18,000, in July 2004 to the following media artists:

• Randy Croce, St. Paul, for "If Stone Could Speak (Se la pietra potrebbe-dive)," a documentary that examines the migration of stonecutters from northern Italy to Barre, Vt. It emphasizes their struggles to both preserve their traditions and adapt to America, and to cope with working conditions that killed most of them by age 40. The stonecutters (scalpellini) invigorated the arts and culture in their new homeland.
     
• Brian L. Dehler, St. Paul, for "Elements of Habitat," a collection of 12 vignettes, of 2-5 minutes, that explore the sights and sounds of various habitats in the form of an audio/visual collage that is both structurally rhythmic and socially insightful. It will attempt to challenge perceptions of the locations by examining and re-exposing the defining details of the habitat.
     
• Catherine Gray, Edina, for "Grace on a Stick," a narrative short film about awakening to beauty in the world. It is a response to Gray's own queries into religion, purpose and interdependence. It poses the question "what if?" and suggests hope where many, including Gray, fear. The film's protagonist, Grace, is forced to confront her inner demons and preconceived notions through an unexpected (and not altogether welcome) relationship with a Muslim woman named Faiza.
     
• Xinxai Her, Brooklyn Park, for "The Great Journal of Hmong History in China." This feature-length video documents the great journey of the Hmong people over hundreds of years from China to Southeast Asia. The work will contain interviews with Hmong elders and include information on migration patterns, agriculture, cultural ceremonies, artistic performances, Hmong life and the natural environment. This work will be presented in two versions, one in the Hmong language and one with English subtitles and will serve as one of few historical records of the Hmong Diaspora.
     
• Allison Herrera, Minneapolis, for "Prayer of the Sorrowful Mystery," a personal story about Herrera's grandmother, a Salinan Indian from the mountainous region of California known as the Santa Lucias . This personal account is framed by the larger context of the social conflict that birthed California.
     
• Dain Ingebretson, Minneapolis, for "August 22," a short narrative film about a young man on the day of his father's death. The film endeavors to explore the idea of witnessing the passing of a loved one and the subtle catharsis that such an experience entails.
     
• Chris Larson, St. Paul, for "Three Story Shack," a highly idiosyncratic film that presents the activities of a futuristic wooden capsule, a one-legged woman, and two farmhands operating a mechanical top-loaded vehicle inside a three story shack on a Midwestern landscape.
     
• Jila Nikpay, Minneapolis, for "Keepers of the Garden," an eight-minute black-and-white film focused on the life of an Iranian youth and how he copes with lack of freedom. The film's objective is to examine the ominous presence of the Iranian government in the private lives of its youth. The film's principal character, a young man named Payam who lives in the northern part of Iran, has been in constant communication with Nikpay and has supplied rich material for the film. Nikpay will use a number of metaphorical elements in exploring the daily routines of Payam's life.
     
• Tom Schroeder, Minneapolis, for "A Plan," a 35mm cel-animated film about a family's boat trip. The boy in the family has an over-active imagination and fantasizes about being the hero of the day when the boat runs out of gas. The film will explore a new character style that Schroeder has designed.

A panel of media artists reviewed 68 applications for this year's Jerome Foundation Minnesota Media Arts Program. Sixty-one applications came from individuals who had not been previously funded by this program and seven were from previous recipients. The panelists were filmmaker Thalia Drori; Robb Mitchell, executive producer of Screenlabs; and Leslie Fields-Cruz, general manager of the National Black Programming Consortium. The Jerome Foundation also awarded seven grants to New York City-based film and video artists through the New York Media Arts Program.

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