Bard College Receives 2019–20 FilmCraft Grant 

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY— The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday the 47 recipients of its 2019 FilmCraft and FilmWatch grants. Among them was Bard College’s Creative Process in Dialogue: Art and the Public program, which will include a master class hosted by leading black American filmmakers Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, and Bradford Young, followed by a public dialogue featuring the filmmakers. The goal is to use these discussions on filmmaking not only to strengthen existing educational training, but also to empower communities to watch films more critically and to consider careers in filmmaking as platforms for community engagement.

“We wish to thank the Academy Foundation for selecting the speaker series Creative Process in Dialogue to be a part of their ambitious and timely endeavor,” said Drew Thompson, director of Africana Studies and assistant professor of Historical and Africana Studies. “This grant seeks to both showcase and learn from three great black filmmakers, who have created magnificent cultural texts to reflect on the social and political moment we are living. There is no better way to learn about the role of art today than from the experiences of these filmmakers.”

 “The Academy’s Grants Committee is honored to continue to provide support and inspire generations of filmmakers new and old to connect the world through motion pictures,” said Marcus Hu, chair of the Academy’s grants committee. “We are confident the 47 organizations chosen to receive this year’s grants will leave a lasting impact on our society through their diverse and fresh perspectives.”

The Academy’s FilmCraft and FilmWatch grants were established to identify and empower future filmmakers from nontraditional backgrounds, cultivate new and diverse talent, promote motion pictures as an art form, and provide a platform for underrepresented artists. Grants range from $5,000-$20,000, and a total of $500,000 was awarded for the 2019-2020 grants year. The Academy’s Grants program provides financial support to qualifying film festivals, educational institutions and film scholars and supports the Academy’s overall mission to recognize and uphold excellence in the motion picture arts and sciences, inspire imagination and connect the world through the medium of motion pictures. The Academy Grants program has awarded more than $12,000,000 to non-profit institutions and film festivals.

About the Academy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 9,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is under construction in Los Angeles.

About Bard College

Founded in 1860, Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, is an independent, residential, coeducational college offering a four-year BA program in the liberal arts and sciences and a five-year BA/BS degree in economics and finance. The Bard College Conservatory of Music offers a five-year program in which students pursue a dual degree—a BMus and a BA in a field other than music. Bard offers MMus degrees in conjunction with the conservatory and The Orchestra Now, and at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bard and its affiliated institutions also grant the following degrees: AA at Bard High School Early College, a public school with campuses in New York City, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Newark, New Jersey; AA and BA at Bard College at Simon’s Rock: The Early College, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and through the Bard Prison Initiative at six correctional institutions in New York State; MA in curatorial studies, MS and MA in economic theory and policy, and MS in environmental policy and in climate science and policy at the Annandale campus; MFA and MAT at multiple campuses; MBA in sustainability in New York City; and MA, MPhil, and PhD in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture at the Bard Graduate Center in Manhattan. Internationally, Bard confers dual BA and MA degrees at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, Russia (Smolny); dual BA and MAT degrees at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem; and dual BA degrees at American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan and Bard College Berlin: A Liberal Arts University.

Bard offers nearly 50 academic programs in four divisions. Total enrollment for Bard College and its affiliates is approximately 6,000 students. The undergraduate College has an enrollment of more than 1,900 and a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1. In 2016, Bard acquired the Montgomery Place estate, bringing the size of the campus to nearly 1,000 acres. For more info

This event was last updated on 02-10-2020

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