KCET to Receive $20,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for New Season of Southern California Student Short Film Series FINE CUT
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Los Angeles, Calif. – Jan. 24, 2022 – KCET, showcasing the best of PBS while being the leading source for arts, culture and news in Southern California,has been approved for a $20,000 Grant for Arts Projects award from theNational Endowment for the Arts (NEA)to supportthe 23rd season of the FINE CUT Festival of Films, a collection of short films from Southern California student filmmakers. A call for entries will go out in the spring to regional Southern California schools, giving selected finalists the opportunity to have their short films screened as part of the television series, and an opportunity to win a variety of prize packages awarded to three winners in the categories of Documentary, Animation and Narrative short films. The 23rd season of the FINE CUT Festival of Films is expected to be broadcast in fall 2022.
The grant is also significant, since it will expand KCET’s funding of FINE CUT beyond primary funder The Bridges / Larson Foundation. Additional KCET Original productions supported by the NEA in the last couple of years include the Emmy® Award-winning ARTBOUND and SOUTHLAND SESSIONS series. FINE CUT is among 1,248 projects across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category by the National Endowment for the Arts.
“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from KCET that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting ChairAnn Eilers.“KCET in Southern California is among the organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”
The festival is a tribute to FINE CUT founder Jack Larson who was an American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer who may be best known for his portrayal of photographer/reporter Jimmy Olsen in the 1952-1958 television series “Adventures of Superman.” In the late 1990s Larson approached Southern California’s KCET with the idea of creating a student film series that would provide talented students with the much-needed visibility through television. Larson understood how difficult it was for young filmmakers to get broad exposure for their work because, typically, student work is only seen at special screenings and film festivals. Larson thought that public television was an excellent platform for providing critical visibility to emerging filmmakers. KCET shared Larson’s enthusiasm and together they created FINE CUT, which continues to be a flagship program for KCET today.
There may be a delay in the distribution of some grant awards as the NEA and all of the federal government are operating under a continuing budget resolution which currently expires on February 18, 2022. For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement from the NEA, visit arts.gov/news.
Join the conversation on social media using #FineCut using @kcet and @NEAarts
About KCET
KCET is part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California, which was formed by the merger of PBS SoCal and KCETLink Media Group. As one of Southern California’s two flagship PBS stations, KCET is on-air, online as well as in the community, and plays a vital role in the cultural enrichment of Southern California. KCET offers a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world. Throughout its 55-year history, KCET has won hundreds of major awards for its local and regional news and public affairs programming, its national drama and documentary productions and its website, kcet.org. For additional information about KCET’s original productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org. KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Chromecast. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV.
