Washington Filmworks (WF) is pleased to announce Don Jensen as the new Chair of the WF Board of Directors. Jensen was appointed to the position this month by Governor Jay Inslee. He has over 25 years experience in film and video production, and post-production, and has long been at the helm of Alpha Cine Labs in Seattle. Jensen has been a member of the WF Board of Directors since the organization’s inception. 

As former president of WEIPA, the trade organization that formed to pass the Washington film incentive legislation and improve the business environment for the entertainment industry, Jensen was instrumental in the development and passage of the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program. He was the inaugural recipient of the Seattle Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film. Jensen is also a former board member of IFP/Seattle. Congratulations, Don! 

Abby Dylan, member of the WF Board of Directors, was recently elected to a 2-year term as a SAG-AFTRA National Board Member. She represents SAG-AFTRA Seattle Local, which encompasses Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. You can find herfull bio here. Congratulations, Abby!

WF has received many inquiries as to when we will begin accepting applications for the Filmworks Innovation Lab again. We are currently working with the filmmakers from the inaugural cycles to help them complete principal photography and simultaneously evaluating the pilot program. Head over to the WF blog, where we’ve shared a look back at the first year of the Lab. You’ll also find a short film from the Seattle Channel on the making of Box Walk, the first Innovation Lab project to go into production and be completed. 

Clearwater in production. Photo courtesy of Melissa Woodrow.

People of the Salish Sea is the first documentary-based project to receive funding assistance through any of WF’s programs. The interactive project is made up of new media, including underwater mapping, online environments documenting the Canoe Journey, and community-produced storytelling. At the center of this project is Clearwater, a feature length documentary about the tribal peoples of the Salish Sea. The team behind Clearwater recently documented the 2013 Paddle to Quinalt. The Canoe Journey creates opportunities for tribal members to re-learn, strengthen and reinforce their canoe traditions. As many as 90 US tribes participate, as well as Canadian First Nations and New Zealand tribes. Watch for upcoming “production diaries” on our blog.

Watch the Rocketmen Kickstarter campaign “thank you” video.

Congratulations to Rocketmen the webseries! This web serial is part drama and discussion of “jobs programs,” part comedy, and certainly a deranged adventure. Rocketmen has already completed their pilot episode. The project also successfully raised more than $33,000 for production costs for future episodes through a Kickstarter campaign.

 

Filmmaker Lacey Leavitt. Photo courtesy of Seattle Mag / Hayley Young.

 

Filmmaker Lacey Leavitt was recently honored with the 2013 Spotlight Award from Seattle Magazine. As a recipient of funding assistance through the Innovation Cycle of the Lab, Leavitt will write and direct a web series with transmedia elements known as Emerald City. The project is a neo-noir retelling of The Wizard of Oz, inspired in part by Seattle’s Gas Works Park and set in the Emerald City. Leavitt is no stranger to the Filmworks family, having co-produced Washington incentive filmsLaggies, Touchy Feely, Lucky Them, and Safety Not Guaranteed.

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