Animation, adventure, and indie gems

This month, the screen is full of misfits, monsters, pirates, dark lords, and dinosaurs roaming the Wild West. Discover imaginative new films and animated pilots, help bring indie gems back into the spotlight. Keep scrolling for opportunities designed to help filmmakers move their own stories forward, including a new $1M fund from Kickstarter.

- Taylor K. Shaw-Omachonu, Head of Film

PROJECTS WE LOVE

The Guild: Ren Faire'd

BY FELICIA DAY

Game on, Guildies. The original cast of The Guild reunites for a fan-powered Renaissance Faire movie celebrating the series’ 20th anniversary.

RADIO PIRATES: The "PENSACOLA" Pilot

BY MIDNIGHT OIL ANIMATION

Two tween girls chase an elusive song through the late analog age in this web series about friendship, forgotten melodies, and getting delightfully sidetracked.

Restore and Rerelease Under-seen Indie Films

BY MUSCLE DISTRIBUTION

Support the 4K restoration of four essential but under-seen indie films from the 1970s and ’80s, bringing cult classics and cinematic rarities to new audiences.

Chimptopia

BY ROBERT PAGLIARO

An animated sitcom about three broke friends who live in an animal neighborhood and need money so they don't get evicted by their landlord, Chimp.

TEZUKA! God of Manga

BY JASON COHN

A feature-length documentary exploring the life, work, and enduring influence of Osamu Tezuka, the visionary artist known as the “God of Manga.”

Dinosaurs of the Wild West

BY SPARKE FILMS

A live-action dinosaur western series, where towering beasts rule and the fight for the future will decide whether they survive.

The Means of Destruction

BY NABI SAMANDARI

An animated adult comedy pilot about what would happen if a dark lord's underlings unionized.

FILMMAKERS RESOURCES

Announcing the Kickstarter Culture Fund

Rolling applications are now open

The Kickstarter Culture Fund is a $1 million fund supporting independent creators in Film, Fashion, Music, and the Arts through contributions to their Kickstarter campaigns. The fund marks Kickstarter's first direct investment in creative ideas, fueling the power of belief with meaningful financial support.

Now Open: AFI DWW+ Class of 2028 Applications

Apply by September 9

The AFI DWW+ Program is a tuition-free, year-long directing workshop supporting women and underrepresented narrative filmmakers through the production of a short film. Founded in 1974 as the Directing Workshop for Women, it accepts up to eight participants annually.

BlackStar 15th Annual Film Festival

August 6-9 Philadelphia, PA

BlackStar Film Festival is an celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global communities of color. The festival aims to showcase films by Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists from around the world.

XLFEST

August 20-23 in Chicago, IL

COMMUNITY PICK

David Alvarado is a documentary director and producer and the co-founder of Structure Films. His films include The Immortalists, Bill Nye: Science Guy, We Are As Gods, and Blood Sugar Rising. His new film, American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, won the Festival Favorite Award at Sundance and is now in theaters in a self-distributed national release, with a PBS broadcast coming October 6 and a live Kickstarter funding the tour.

Very Good Video: Sacramento’s Video Store & Movie Clubhouse

BY VERY GOOD VIDEO

"I just made a film about Luis Valdez, so I'm biased, but La Bamba and Zoot Suit belong on these guys' shelves. I love supporting California brick and mortar businesses, and a neighborhood video store is a real cultural institution: it protects access to important and diverse movies, for those of us who miss browsing the aisles and for a generation that never got to. Great films last through the ages. They deserve a physical home, and Sacramento is lucky to be getting one."