FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ArtsKC Announces 2024-2025 Recipients of The Teri Rogers Film Grants for Filmmakers and Screenwriting
Kansas City, MO – ArtsKC announces the talented recipients of the Teri Rogers Film Grants. These grants were created in honor of the late Teri Rogers, a woman who dedicated her life to uplifting women creatives in Kansas City.
“We are thrilled to support these talented filmmakers and screenwriters through the Teri Rogers Film Grants,” said Dana Knapp, CEO of ArtsKC. “Investing in diverse and creative voices not only enriches the Kansas City arts community but also serves as a testament to Teri Rogers’s legacy of uplifting women and fostering a thriving, inclusive environment for artists.”
The Teri Rogers Film Grants are divided into two categories: the Teri Rogers Filmmakers Grants and the Teri Rogers Screenwriting Award.
The Teri Rogers Filmmakers Grants offer two $10,000 grants, each including membership to Film Independent, a subscription to Movie Maker Magazine, and mentorship opportunities with professionals in the field. These grants are specifically designed for early-career directors creating new film, video, and digital production work in the short narrative genre (non-documentary). The purpose of these grants is to support ambitious projects that involve risk, growth, and change for the filmmaker, while also making a positive impact on the community. This funding is intended to support either the production (filming) or post-production process. One grant is awarded to a self-identifying woman and/or gender-nonconforming filmmaker, and the other grant is open to all genders.
In addition to the Filmmakers Grants, the Teri Rogers Screenwriting Award provides one $1,000 grant for a full feature or pilot script, further promoting and encouraging the development of diverse and compelling stories.
This year’s Teri Rogers Filmmakers Grants and Teri Rogers Screenwriting Award recipients represent the immense creative potential of filmmakers in Kansas City and the surrounding region. We are proud to announce the following talented individuals who were chosen for their exceptional storytelling abilities, creativity, and potential to create meaningful impact through their work. We are honored to contribute to the growth and success of these talented filmmakers through this grant program.
Teri Rogers Filmmakers Grants grantees
Eva Louise Hall’s current short, “Pluck,” follows the story of a talented athlete at the height of her career as she struggles to hide a horrifying terminal diagnosis that grotesquely begins to mutate her body into that of a chicken. This stop motion horror short will explore themes of nature vs human control, bodily autonomy, and end of life agency.
Mel Sangyi Zhao received the grant for her short film, “Cougar.” The brief summary of the film is: “In the presence of some disruptive male onlookers, an emerging Chinese-American filmmaker attempts filming the climax of her film where the actress, also her mother, has to be naked.”
The Teri Rogers Screenwriting Award grantee
Jean-Jacques Corbier’s script, “High Value,” is about a lonely and clumsy man who seeks the advice of a popular dating guru to woo love interests out of his league.
The recipients of the Teri Rogers Film Grants were selected through a rigorous process involving a panel of industry experts and ArtsKC board members.
This year’s grant review panel for the Teri Rogers Filmmakers Grants included Committee Chair (ArtsKC Board Member): Andrea Young, Sr. Vice President, General Counsel at Grayson Capital, LLC, and Committee Advisor Rachel Kephart, Kansas City Film Commissioner. Supported by committee members:
- Andrea Sporcic Klund – Director, Missouri Film Office
- Devonte Brown – Director / Cinematographer
- Gretchen McCourt – COO of MoviePass and Co-Founder of Women in Entertainment,
- Jon Niccum – Writer and Producer
- Jor-El Washington – Producer
- Khitam Jabr – Filmmaker
- Lonita Cook – Creative Producer, film critic and story consultant. EP + cohost of Get Lost! for KCPBS, KCTV5 My KC Live film critic and host Cookie’s Highflier Podcast
- Steph Shannon – Director of Major Giving, Kansas City PBS.
For the Teri Rogers Screenwriting Award the committee included the following:
Committee Chair (ArtsKC Board Member): Andrea Young, Sr. Vice President, General Counsel at Grayson Capital, LLC, and Committee Advisor: Rachel Kephart, Kansas City Film Commissioner
Committee members:
- Bryan Colley – Playwright
- Dani Milton – Filmmaker
- Grace Smith – Missouri Film Office Coordinator
- Justin Begnaud – Film & TV Producer
- Trai Cartwright – Screenwriter, Producer, Professor
- Vy Nguyen – Writer, Director, Photographer and past Teri Rogers grantee
ArtsKC aims to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive film community by investing in emerging talent. For more information about the Teri Rogers Film Grants, visit artskc.org.
