Each year, the arts critics at  The Stranger select three nominees from each of the following five categories for the Stranger Genius Award: visual art, literature, performance, film, and music. Nominees can be either individual artists or groups, and are selected based on their commitment to supporting the growth of Seattle’s thriving arts scene in dynamic and innovative ways.  All of this year’s nominees will be recognized at the Stranger Genius Awards show at the Moore Theater on September 24, where Seattle Rock Orchestra will perform and the final winners will be announced.

Washington Filmworks has had the opportunity to work with all three nominees from this year’s film category: Mel Eslyn, Tracy Rector and Sandy Cioffi, each of whom we look forward to highlighting on the blog over the coming months.

First up is Sandy Cioffi, who we have had the pleasure of working with as a jury member for the March 2016 cycle of the Filmworks Innovation Lab, and most recently though our partnership with SIFFX to produce Fly Story, an exclusive event for the local creative community that was designed to both inspire and educate makers about the power of immersive storytelling. Sandy’s nomination comes as no surprise as her involvement in the film community runs deep through her passionate work as a filmmaker as demonstrated in her 2009 documentary Sweet Crude, a charismatic educator, and being at the forefront of promoting the next advancement in content creation: virtual reality.

To read more about about Sandy’s nomination and see all 15 of this year’s nominees, head on over to The Stranger.