S.C. FILM COMMISSION ANNOUNCES 2023-24 INDIE GRANTS SELECTIONS

Columbia, SC -- The South Carolina Film Commission has announced 2023-24 selections for their Indie Grants program, funding and producing South Carolina short films as professional development and workforce training for state media professionals.  

“It has always been a dream to marry my love of film with my love of my hometown, which molded me into the woman I am today,” said Shayla Racquel of Columbia, director and co-writer of THE OFF-BRANDS, one of the three short film projects selected. “To receive this grant feels like a major acknowledgment to keep going, and I cannot wait to make South Carolina proud with this project.”

Each short film will employ top-notch industry department heads and a wide range of South Carolina-based production professionals, providing real-world workforce training for emerging crew through Trident Technical College.

“Production jobs are lucrative and employ a wide variety of skill-sets in the state,” said Matt Storm, Director of the South Carolina Film Commission. “It’s an industry used by all sectors of our economy, and we’re focused on training South Carolinians to take advantage.”

Past Indie Grants projects have screened at festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca, American Black Film Festival, Palm Springs, Slamdance, Austin, Fantastic Fest, and hundreds more. Collaborators have included Oscar-winning Cinematographer Russell Carpenter (Avatar: The Way of Water, Titanic), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect, Perfect Harmony), Madeleine McGraw (Black Phone, Outcast), Jackie Hoffman (Glass Onion, Only Murders In The Building), and writer Brad Land (Goat). 

“We can’t wait to show you something you've never seen before,” said Michelle Iannantuono, writer/director of LAZZO, another of the films selected. “And offer unique opportunities to the local film community while doing it."

For more information on Indie Grants and other workforce training programs, visit indiegrants.org. 

Next Indie Grants funding cycle will open in Spring 2024.

The projects selected are:

THE OFF-BRANDS (Columbia, SC)
Constance, a quirky teenager, tries to gain recognition in her high school beyond being labeled as "sickly."

Shayla Racquel, Co-Writer/Director
Shayla Racquel is an energetic, quintessential creative with a passion for storytelling birthed and honed by her southern roots. She is no stranger to overcoming odds - diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease at birth and a stroke at the mere age of 12, her battle with this illness brought her closer to the art of storytelling, which unlocked her love for filmmaking. 

Shayla’s work has been featured in over 40 film festivals and has received over 20 awards to date, including a Student Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences - National Capital Chapter.  Her storytelling capabilities have been featured by the Washington Post, VIBE magazine, and a plethora of other notable outlets.

In 2021, she was tapped to direct a short project on behalf of the John Singleton embRACE Initiative in collaboration with the city of Los Angeles. The award-winning short was acquired by AMC ALLBLK and given a seven-figure budget to expand into a feature film. Shayla Racquel was the lead director of the premiere show for Keke Palmer's KeyTV Network and has since garnered over a million views. She was the 2023 Finalist for the National Black Arts Horizon Award for Emerging Artists and the 2023 Seriesfest x Shondaland Women's Directing Mentorship Program finalist.

LAZZO (North Charleston, SC) (In collaboration with Trident Technical College, incorporating motion capture and UnReal Engine 5)
A sci-fi romcom. A trans street kid named Lazzo smashes every obstacle in his cyberpunk world to acquire a new arm for his disabled android girlfriend - even if it means stealing one.

Michelle Iannantuono, Writer/Director
Michelle (She/Her) is a Charleston-based queer writer and director. Her previous features include 2018's LIVESCREAM, which was nominated for a Rondo Award and won Best Director at Nightmares Film Festival; 2020's DETROIT EVOLUTION, a queer transformative fan film in the "Detroit Become Human" video game universe which has surpassed 2 million views on YouTube; and 2023's LIVESCREAMERS, currently on the fest circuit and winner of Best Screenplay and Best Ensemble at Genreblast. 

Her previous shorts include FAME FATALE, which screened at NYC Horror Film Festival and won Best Comedy and Best Actor at 2022's Genreblast; DETROIT REAWAKENING, which has half a million views on YouTube; and she produced Michael Smallwood's WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING, which screened at FilmQuest, NYC Horror Film Fest, and more.

She is at the helm of Octopunk Media, a media production company with over $25,000 raised for charity to date, a combined 70,000+ worldwide followers, and with screening events hosted in NYC, Detroit, Munich, and London.An avid video game fan, most of Michelle's work exists at a cross section between queerness and video game culture, and she is excited to bring her skills in Unreal Engine to the table to make LAZZO a reality. 

Maddox-Julien Slide, 1st AD/Line Producer
MJ Slide (They/Them) was born and raised in Upstate South Carolina and now calls the Eastside of Detroit home base. They have almost 15 years of film experience under their belt including producing, 1st ADing and screenwriting. They’re the joint recipient of the 2020 New Orleans Film Festival South Pitch Grant Award alongside their creative partner Rebecca Isbill Davis for their Southern Black Queer Sci-fi Feature film - E IS FOR:. They’re currently in development as Showrunner for a narrative story podcast entitled The Lost and Found Friendship Hotline with Toronto based production company DumbDumbsAndDice, part of the Fable and Folly network.

Neil Newbon, Performance Capture Director
Neil is a professional actor, voice over artist, and performance capture artist working in film, television, theatre, and video games. He began his training at the internationally acclaimed National Youth Theatre and began his professional career at the Royal Court Theatre, Bloomsbury Theatre and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. His acting career spans 20+ years, with 12+ years experience in the exciting new medium of performance capture. Recent credits include lead roles in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis playing both Nicholai and Nemesis, lead role in Planet of the Apes: Last Frontier by Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium, supporting leads in Resident Evil 8 Village as Karl Heisenberg and Detroit: Become Human as Elijah Kamski and Gavin Reed, and Baldur’s Gate 3 playing lead Astarion.

CLONELY (Greenville, SC)
A lonely man resorts to cloning himself to improve his financial situation, only to have his clone go rogue, leading them both on a comical and heartwarming
voyage of self-discovery.

Rhodes Farrell, Producer
Rhodes’ experience spans more than 15 years within the realm of filmmaking. His portfolio encompasses a wide array of projects, ranging from promotional videos for businesses of varying scales to educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Notably, several of his cinematic works have been nominated and showcased at local film festivals.In his capacity as the Founder of Film Bar Monday in Greenville, he has successfully instituted a vibrant networking community, contributing significantly to the enrichment of the filmmaking landscape in the Upstate of South Carolina, fostering growth, education, and encouragement within the industry.

McKinley Benson, Writer/Director
McKinley is an alumnus of the Savannah College of Art and Design, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in Film & Television. He’s a director, producer, and writer responsible for dozens of narrative shorts, TV pilots, and documentaries, playing at festivals around the world and garnering three Student Emmy awards. In 2017, McKinley co-founded an independent production studio, Room 330, specializing in high-quality, genre-focused narrative work. Throughout his professional history, he has had the pleasure of working with companies such as Netflix, Amazon Studios, Disney, 20th Century, and XYZ Films. Currently, McKinley is directing his first animated film in partnership with the Oscar-nominated production cooperative COLA Animation.