The Northwest Film Forum has selected filmmaker Izabel Acevedo will be the 2022 recipient of the Lynn Shelton “Of A Certain Age” Grant. Acevedo will receive an unrestricted cash award of $20,000 to financially support her first narrative feature film.
“Today is such a joyful day,” Acevedo said. “I feel seen as a filmmaker, and I’m thrilled and thankful to see now that this project has suddenly taken over my schedule.”
The grant honors late film and television director Lynn Shelton, who died from acute myeloid leukemia in 2020. Shelton found inspiration in the fact that acclaimed filmmaker Claire Denis once spoke at the NWFF disclosing that she did not make her first feature film until she was 40, which influenced Shelton to direct her own, “We Go Way Back,” at age 39.
Co-founded by Duplass Brothers Productions, founded by brothers Jay and Mark Duplass, and NWFF, and with support from a number of community members, the Lynn Shelton “Of A Certain Age” Grant is now in its third year of operation. The grant seeks to benefit a United States-based woman, non-binary, intersex and/or transgender filmmaker that is 39 years old or older and in the process of developing and directing their first narrative feature.
Acevedo was born in Guatemala and studied film in Mexico at Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica. Throughout her studies, she wrote and directed two narrative short films and one documentary short film. She moved to New York in 2014 to work as a writer and editor.
This year’s cross-country Award Selection Committee was comprised of SJ Chiro, Keisha Rae Witherspoon, Lauren McBride, and Bethany Martin-Breen. In addition to Acevedo, filmmakers Tannaz Hazemi and Lucretia Stinnette also received special honorable mentions from the Award Selection Committee.
“Us women filmmakers, mother filmmakers, non-binary and transgender directors, have lots to share with the world,” Acevedo said. “I believe that grants such as [Of a Certain Age Grant] can truly close the gap between genders in the filmmaking industry and allow diverse and creatively unique voices to emerge. Thank you to everyone who made this possible! ¡Gracias!”
The 2021 grant recipient was Erica Tremblay, a writer and director from the Seneca-Cayuga Nation who works on FX’s “Reservation Dogs,” additionally directing an episode. She is currently in the middle of filming her narrative feature debut, titled “Fancy Dance.”
2022 Finalists
In addition to Acevedo, nine other filmmakers made it into the finalist round of the grant process.
The finalists are listed below:
- Izabel Acevedo
- Elaine Del Valle
- Charlotte Glynn
- Pamela Green
- Alice Gu
- Tannaz Hazemi
- Kate Marks
- Lucretia Stinnette
- Tracy Tragos
- Elia Urquiza
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