Announcing The Whickers Film & TV Funding Award Finalists 2019

We are delighted to announce our 2019 Film & TV Funding Award finalists!

From the story of a rehab centre in Jerusalem for American drug addicts abandoned by their ultra Orthodox Jewish families, to a high-stakes journey into the systematic abuse of the members of one family perpetrated by its own patriarch, to a queer child in the Canary Islands overcoming grief and bullying through musicals – take a look at the five extraordinary projects in the running to win our coveted annual Funding Award.

Jane Ray, Artistic Director at The Whickers, said of this year’s shortlist:
“It has been a record year for The Whickers with entries up 20% on last year. There has also been a palpable increase in the depth and range of ideas, particularly from African and South American filmmakers. Our life, and the lives of our judges, have been enriched these past months with stories of child cowboys in Mexico, Bolivian wrestlers in petticoats and politicians in deep water from Atlanta to Cape Town. We have learnt how the world looks if you’re a 6-year-old Rohingya refugee, an ethical porn star or an Egyptian pigeon fighter in California. We have travelled to Mongolia, Syria, the fast disappearing Turtle Islands of Sierra Leone, an Indian tea plantation and a Melbourne sitting room. At some point all this joy makes way for heartache as the judges had the near impossible task of deciding on our five finalists, but what finalists they are. I have to remind myself that in The Whickers’ first year I worried because only one of our shortlisted directors was a woman. This year they all are. It’s a nice ‘problem’ to have.”

The finalists were selected by an esteemed judging panel of documentary commissioners, international distributors and filmmakers, and will present their projects at The Whickers Pitch from 12pm-1.30pm on Tuesday 11th June at Sheffield Doc/Fest. The winner will receive £80,000 towards the making of their film, and a runner-up will be awarded £15,000. We look forward to seeing you there!

VIEW FINALISTS