Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment & Made in NY Media Center Announce Recipients of 'Made in NY Fellowships' - MOME

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Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment and the Made in NY Media Center by IFP Announce Recipients of 'Made in NY Fellowships,' Supporting Diversity Among Storytellers and Entrepreneurs

Fellows Will Have Access to Incubator Space, Mentoring Opportunities, and Networking Events to Foster a Collaborative Environment in Which to Create Media Projects

NEW YORK – Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) Commissioner Julie Menin and the Made in NY Media Center by IFP today announced the recipients of the third year of Made in NY Fellowships, a year-long program to provide expanded resources and opportunities for New Yorkers to bring their media projects to the next level. The Made in NY Fellowship program aims to foster a diverse media industry, recognizing that different experiences, perspectives, and cultures are critical to advancements in innovation and creativity.

"After two successful years, we are thrilled to continue this partnership with the Made in NY Media Center by IFP," said Media and Entertainment Commissioner Julie Menin. "These unique fellowships help different voices and unique visions flourish within New York's world-class media and tech industries. I congratulate all of the incoming Made in NY Fellows, and I look forward to seeing the products of their work."

With funding from MOME, the program provides resources and workspace to foster creativity and entrepreneurship in media and technology in New York City. The ten fellows were selected based on distinctiveness, feasibility, and professionalism working on projects in documentary filmmaking, narrative filmmaking, podcasting, puppetry, animation, virtual reality, and multi-media, and technology.

"After seeing the success and impact of our previous Made in NY Fellowships, we are proud to announce the third-year recipients of the fellowship program," stated Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. "These competitive fellowships catalyze creativity and give early-stage projects and startups the ability to turn concepts into reality."

Past Made in NY Fellows include KitSplit, a community marketplace connecting creative professionals with owners of equipment, which has been featured in Forbes, No Film School, and Fast Company; and media artist Zohar Kfir, whose work has been highlighted in Forbes, Time, and PBS.

The following ten projects will receive 12 months of incubator membership at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, where they will have access to a collaborative environment alongside other artists, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Fellows will also receive opportunities for mentorship from industry leaders and knowledgeable IFP staff, the ability to take IFP classes, and access to networking and industry events.

Feature Films and Shorts

D-Days - Backdoor Films
"D-Days" is a story that takes place during the tail end of the crack epidemic, where three foster siblings from East New York struggle to heal from invisible wounds through the rhythm of African dance. Backdoor Films is an independent, award-winning film and television production company that embraces the notion that when you can't get through the front door of opportunity, you have to make a way out of no way.

A Tiny Perfect World – Arielle Apfel, Johnna Scrabis
When a world-famous dollhouse competition is threatened by a vandal, four dollhouse builders, misfits at home but heroes in the world of 1/12th scale recreations, must figure out the culprit or risk losing everything. Arielle Apfel is a director, producer, and editor whose work is comprised of surreal quirky comedies and avant-garde thrillers, stories which aim to capture the quandaries of her generation infused with humor and grit.

Owls & Echoes - Indigo Veil Media
Owls & Echoes is a compilation of five dark comedy vignettes exploring happiness, identity, common sense and the fragility of assumptions. Indigo Veil Media, founded by Hope Olaidé Wilson, is an innovative multimedia company featuring creative and compelling projects that depict the human experience.

Sheep Cake – David Bizzaro
Sheep Cake is about a pun-loving sheep that overcomes a broken heart by discovering a passion for baking cakes. This feel-good short comedy, performed by puppets, will show people that happiness can be found in the least expected places. David Bizzaro is a first-generation Latin American director, freelance builder, and puppet wrangler for Jim Henson Company and Sesame Street.

Documentaries

& DAUGHTERS - Sarah Keeling
"& DAUGHTERS" is an episodic documentary series featuring family businesses across the United States operating in industrial fields where women make up the minority of the labor force. Sarah Keeling is an artist and filmmaker, creating interdisciplinary projects and films in the documentary genre.

Tech

AXS Map - AXS Labs, Inc.
AXS Maps is a website and mobile app that allows users to rate and review venues for their wheelchair accessibility. AXS Labs is a film and new media not-for-profit dedicated to telling stories of the disability experience.

Rivet - Katrina Neumann, Sebastien Sanz de Santamaria, & Kira Simon-Kennedy
Rivet is a platform for creative people to easily and efficiently identify opportunities like residencies, open calls, grants, labs, incubators, and all kinds of opportunities they can apply for that will give them time, space, resources and/or support.

Multimedia

This Asian American Life Podcast - James Boo
"This Asian American Life" (working title) will launch a sustainable podcast to showcase the diversity of Asian American stories that's lacking in contemporary media and pop culture. James Boo is an emerging documentary filmmaker who explores how legacies are cultivated, performed, preserved, broken, repaired, and lost at the local level.

The Boat - Stephanie Andreou & Ivana Hucíková
"The Boat" is a multimedia documentary project about NYC's Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center, the world's largest floating prison. Stephanie and Ivana, originally from Slovakia and Cyprus, met as fellows as part of UnionDocs Collaborative Fellowship and have collaborated on numerous projects together.

Mission Critical Productions Mission
Critical Productions is a full-service production company founded in 2017 by Emmy award-winning producer Andrew Glazer. Its mission is to tap New York's diversity to develop innovative ways to tell stories that matter for new audiences starved for reliable information and relatable narratives.