U.S. in Progress
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“Foreign Aid for American Indies”: US in Progress 2024
Here’s a funny thing to think about: One of the best places to get a handle on what’s happening in American (and sometimes Canadian) independent film is a very long travel day away from New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, at the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland, a millennium-old city with a historic Old Town. Adjacent is the very modern cineplex New Horizons, which shares its name with a sprawling summer festival and each November also hosts AFF and its industry-only sidebar, US in Progress. Described by one attendee as “foreign aid for American indies,” USIP has, over its […]
by Steve Dollar on Dec 5, 2024 -
U.S. in Progress 2024 Submissions Now Open for American Independents Seeking Finishing Funds
U.S. in Progress is now through September 8 accepting submissions from American independent filmmakers with pictures in post-production seeking finishing funds. Accepted filmmakers and projects will attend the in-person event at Wroclaw, Poland’s American Film Festival from November 7 – 9, where they will present the rough cuts of their narrative projects to European buyers and Polish post-production companies providing over $100,000 in post services. Recent and upcoming projects that are alumni of U.S. in Progress include the Venice-bound Familiar Touch, directed by 2023 25 New Face Sarah Friedland; the recently released Summer Solstice, by writer/director Noah Schamus; India Donaldson’s […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 5, 2024 -
U.S. in Progress Wroclaw Announces 8 Selected 2022 Edition Projects
The American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland has announced the eight feature film projects selected for the 12th edition of the U.S. in Progress co-production forum, taking place November 9 – 11, 2022 at the festival. Invite-only work-in-progress screenings of American independent films in their final editing stages, curated from a record number of submissions, will be screened for European and Polish film professionals, festival programmers and buyers. Additionally, projects will compete for in-kind awards of post-production service pcckages. The selected projects are: Crooked Finger directed by Julia Halperin and Jason Cortlund, produced by Julia Halperin and Todd Remis Falling […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Oct 4, 2022 -
U.S. in Progress Submissions Now Open for American Independents Seeking Finishing Funds
Submissions are now open for the 2022 edition of U.S. in Progress, which awards $100,000 in post-production services to American independent filmmakers with films in post-production. The event will take place November 9 – 11 at the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland, where American projects in their final stages will meet European buyers as well as top Polish image and sound post-production companies. From the press release: The program’s objective is to inspire U.S. producers to work with Poland, either by fostering co-productions or to connect them with services and, for future projects, locations. The Polish Film Institute offers […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Aug 10, 2022 -
U.S. and Canada in Progress Program Extends Work-in-Progress Deadline to September 17
U.S. and Canada in Progress, the event taking place during Wroclaw’s American Film Festival each November, has extended its submission deadline for American and Canadian independent filmmakers with works-in-progress seeking post-production support to September 17. The program offers selected American and Canadian projects in final production stages European sales agents, distributors, and festival programmers) and partnering Polish top post-production companies (including Fixafilm, Orka Studio, Soundflower, XANF). In-kind services valued at $40,000 will be awarded, and the Polish Film Institute additionally offers a prize of $10,000 in Polish post-production services. There’s no fee to apply, and submission details can be found […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 8, 2021 -
US in Progress Seeks American Filmmakers with Works-in-Progress for Its Upcoming 10th Edition
Until September 7 American filmmakers can submit their works-in-progress to one of the leading European programs supporting new US filmmakers, US in Progress. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, US in Progress has always taken place within the American Film Festival in Poland and has consisted of events and a live pitching forum. For this edition — November 11-13, when international travel, particularly from the US, is uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic — US in Progress will take place virtually while an in-person American Film Festival unspools in Wroclaw alongside the New Horizons Film Festival. “It’s the same structure as before,” […]
by Scott Macaulay on Aug 18, 2020 -
Outside of the “Business-Oriented U.S.,” A Showcase for U.S. Independent Films: the 2019 American Film Festival in Wroclaw
Cinephiles looking to cook up a zesty decade recap of the best in American indie film could have taken a Polish holiday this fall and landed in the eastern European cultural capital of Wroclaw for the 10th annual American Film Festival. The intensive marathon nods to red-white-and-blue archetypes in branding, which makes festival avatars of such staples of American mythology as motorcycle cops, 18-wheelers, Afro-sporting disco queens, football running backs, astronauts and desperadoes. Its mission, however, is at once more incisive and expansive than all that apple-pie iconography, distilling highlights and discoveries from the year’s major U.S. film gatherings, sprinkled […]
by Steve Dollar on Dec 30, 2019 -
Beast Beast, Lingua Franca Take Prizes at U.S. in Progress Paris
Beast Beast, the first feature from Danny Madden, took the top prize at U.S. in Progress Paris on Friday. In a statement, the jury (of which I was a member), wrote of the multi-strand story, “The film is a successful attempt to capture the present teenage generation. The director approaches his protagonists with empathy and understanding. The film has a strong political (gun control in particular) and social aspect while remaining an entertaining and creative piece of work.” Beast Beast is produced by Vanishing Angle (Matt Miller, Tara Ansley, and Benjamin Wiessner), and Alec Baldwin is an executive producer. A […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 23, 2019 -
Stinking Heaven Actors Hannah Gross and Deragh Campbell
Filmmaker‘s Taylor Hess recently attended and reported on the U.S. in Progress series at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival. While there, she spoke to a number of female directors, producers and actresses. Below, her conversation with Hannah Gross and Deragh Campbell, who both appear in Nathan Silver’s Stinking Heaven. Filmmaker: I Used To be Darker was your first film together, and Deragh, your first time acting? Campbell: Right, I’m not trained. My college degree is in writing and my background is publishing and writing. In a lot of ways I look at acting as another way of interacting with material and […]
by Taylor Hess on Jun 27, 2015 -
Applesauce Producer Melodie Sisk
Filmmaker‘s Taylor Hess recently attended and reported on the U.S. in Progress series at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival. While there, she spoke to a number of female directors and producers. Below, her conversation with Applesauce producer Melodie Sisk. Filmmaker: What was your timeline on Applesauce? Sisk: Applesauce moved so fast! We essentially had no real pre-production and had to jump right in. This made our schedule erratic, we’d shoot a few days at a time, jumping around between holidays, and then, just like that, we premiered at Tribeca exactly five months to the date of our first day of shooting. It […]
by Taylor Hess on Jun 26, 2015
