GUSHproductions

“PLAY – DIY survival in the Music Industry”

Samantha Grant — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:41:28 +0000

Blast from the past. Just recently came across this link from director Joelle Jaffe to her excellent short film PLAY - “a documentary film that follows the work of independent musicians — at various points in their careers and various levels of fame — trying to navigate the waters of a changing music industry.” I am proud to have served as the Director of Photography on this film, which features musicians Vienna Teng, John Vanderslice, and The Cassettes. WATCH THE WHOLE FILM HERE.

THE GIRLS IN THE FOREST – second Paraguay shoot

Samantha Grant — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:13:17 +0000

Just got back from an amazing shoot in Paraguay where I was working as the DP and Producer for the upcoming feature documentary The Girls in the Forest. We were there to document the very first graduating class as they received their diplomas and began their post-school journeys. Shot some beautiful moments with the group of girls we’ve been following since they first arrived at Mbaracayu nearly 2 years ago, and witnessed some striking character transformations as they discover how powerful they really are. Amazing, inspiring, and beautiful.

You can see an extended trailer for the film here: http://vimeo.com/31811954

A FRAGILE TRUST going to IFP Independent Film Week!!

Samantha Grant — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:49:07 +0000

Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) is an amazing organization that supports indie filmmakers and our films on the journey to completion. One of the wonderful things that IFP does each year is host a fantastic Independent Film Week in New York City where they bring together the best new films with the best in the industry – hoping to generate partnerships, funding opportunities etc. Although we are lucky enough to already have our funding and domestic TV distribution in place (PBS), we are still seeking international, home video, digital, and educational distribution, as well as funds for a theatrical version of the film, and our companion transmedia project. In addition, we are eager to meet lots of festival programmers so we can get on their radar early.

We are thrilled to have been selected to be included in this years “Spotlight on Documentaries” which highlights the best new docs currently in development.

Co-Production Deal with ITVS for National PBS Broadcast

Samantha Grant — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:25:14 +0000

I am thrilled to announce that after a long time in the making, I finally inked the official paperwork for a co-production deal with ITVS for A FRAGILE TRUST. SO… what does this mean? Well, first of all, we are incredibly honored to have been selected for funding through the ITVS Open Call Process, which funds less than 2% of projects. Secondly, this means that we’ve finally got the funds to complete the film, AND it means that the film will have a national broadcast on PBS! We’ll be ramping up production in September (after maternity leave this summer) and couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with ITVS and PBS. It really feels like a dream come true.

THIS IS NOISE POP sneak preview review

Samantha Grant — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 23:23:18 +0000

The feature length rockumentary for which I did some shooting over the past several years is finally (nearly?) complete. They did a sneak-preview screening of the film at this years NOISE POP Festival.

“Drawing from 17 years of never-before-seen Noise Pop festival video footage and interviews, THIS IS NOISE POP captures an era of American musicians, who through hard work and love, made what was originally known as “indie” rock: independent of major record labels…”

Read the rest of the review HERE.

2011 BAVC Media Maker Fellowship

Samantha Grant — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:05:09 +0000

BAVC just announced their new lineup of fellows for 2011 and I couldn’t be happier to be selected! This is the first year they’re offering the fellowship, and it’s basically and expanded version of their celebrated Producer’s Institute for New Media Technologies that takes place over the course of a year instead of 10 days. In their own words “The BAVC MediaMaker Fellows program will build an engaged local community of creative media artists from diverse fields, increase their capacity for diverse and lasting impact, and inspire new partnerships to support future work.”

Wow! I can’t wait.

San Francisco Film Society fiscal sponsorship

Samantha Grant — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 02:15:13 +0000

After a lengthy application process, A FRAGILE TRUST was finally approved for fiscal sponsorship through the highly regarded San Francisco Film Society.

What does this mean? Well, basically it means that you can now make a

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

to help me finish this film! To do so, click HERE.

Okinawa Stories on Washington Post

Samantha Grant — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 21:20:20 +0000

Finally! The rest of the Okinawa stories have been published on the Washington Post site. Great work all around. Big kudos to Todd Carrel our fearless leader and to the rest of the DIGITV students. I’m proud to have been part of this project.

Watch all the videos HERE.

Insular Empire available on PBS Online

Samantha Grant — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:11:54 +0000

The Insular Empire: America in the Mariana Islands is an excellent feature length documentary by director Vanessa Warheit. I worked on this film ages ago – doing some location sound recording, some transcription, some dubbing (yes, dubbing – it was a while ago) and also some research at NARA in Washington DC. It’s a great film and you can currently watch it HERE at PBS online or read about it on the films website.

Kepa Junkara and NLNS shoots

Samantha Grant — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:07:44 +0000

I’ve been doing a few interesting shoots lately – one for an amazing organization called New Leaders for New Schools which trains principals in how to become better leaders who can more effectively improve their public shools.

Also, I did a shoot with acclaimed Basque accordionist Kepa Junkara for a feature doc about his work with artists around the world. What an amazing talent