Amazon Studios Awards Project Involve Fellow Winter Dunn $10K Grant for Visionary Filmmaking
Project Involve fellow Winter Dunn was chosen out of 30 fellows as the 2021 Amazon Studios Film Fellowship for her directorial work on the upcoming short film, Dear Mama.. The $10,000 grant award, given to one member of the Film Independent program recognized as a ‘visionary filmmaker,’ was announced at the Project Involve First Look Screening, which showcased seven short films of this year’s Project Involve fellows at the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) Theater on November 11, 2021.
Dunn directed and developed the short, Dear Mama.., alongside writer Charmaine Cleveland and producers Nicole Mairose Dizon and Xin Li during the Project Involve Fellowship. The film stars Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew (King Richard) and Garland Scott (Bullet Train, The Ghost Who Walks) and is set to publicly premiere in 2022 in the film festival circuit.
“I’m so honored to have my artistic lens and work recognized in this way. To be ‘seen’ and selected for this fellowship grant by Film Independent and Amazon Studios is beyond humbling, yet very encouraging as an emerging director.” Dunn shares. The multi-hyphenate director-producer-actor plans to apply the grant award toward supporting the release of Dear Mama.., her professional development as a filmmaker and opportunities to collaborate with other established and emerging creatives.
Previously, Winter is known as the producer of Numa Perrier’s award-winning debut feature film, JEZEBEL, now acquired by Ava Duvernay’s ARRAY and streaming on Netflix. The ColorCreative filmmaker made her directorial debut with the short film JUNEBUG in 2020, which is now streaming on Issa Rae’s HOORAE.
Dunn was announced as one of the 30 filmmakers to Film Independent’s signature nine-month program, in February. Project involve offers career opportunities to filmmakers from communities typically underrepresented in film and entertainment, providing access for participants to meet one-on-one with film industry mentors, create short films, attend master workshops taught by top film professionals and industry networking events.