WASHINGTON (Jan. 31, 2012)—National Geographic-supported filmmaker Lucy Walker found her film “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” thrust onto the national stage last week when it was nominated for an Academy Award® in the Short Documentary Film category. Additionally, the film, an official selection of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, took home the Jury Prize in Short Film, Non-Fiction at Sundance.
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” is supported by a Women In Film/National Geographic All Roads Film Project Grant. The documentary shows survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan’s recent tsunami as they rebuild at the start of cherry blossom season. The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival Doc Conference and was an official selection of the Hamptons International Film Festival.
For the past three years, National Geographic’s All Roads Film Project has partnered with Women In Film to support up-and-coming female storytellers who are writing or making films about underrepresented cultures. “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” is the first from this cooperation to be honored with an Academy Award® nomination.
“All Roads has been working for years to support the creation and distribution of films by dynamic minority and indigenous culture storytellers,” said Francene Blythe, director of the All Roads Film Project. “This Oscar® nomination just confirms what we already knew: that the work of All Roads is supporting some of the best and brightest in film and giving them both the means to create their work as well as a platform to showcase it.”
Walker’s film will be screened at the Environmental Film Festival taking place in Washington, D.C., from March 13 to 25.
About All Roads Film Project
The All Roads Film Project is a National Geographic program created to provide an international platform for indigenous and under-represented minority-culture artists to share cultures, stories and perspectives through the power of film and photography. In addition to providing a venue for their films, All Roads offers its filmmakers a series of networking opportunities and awards a minimum of 10 seed grants a year to support the development and production of film and video projects by or about indigenous and under-represented minority-culture communities. Seed grant recipients are considered for inclusion in the All Roads Film Festival and other National Geographic-affiliated broadcast outlets.
About Women In Film
Women In Film (WIF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women achieve their highest potential within the global entertainment, communication and media industries and to preserving the legacy of women within those industries. Founded in 1973, WIF and its Women In Film Foundation provide for members an extensive network of contacts, educational programs, scholarships, film finishing funds and grants, access to employment opportunities, mentorships and numerous practical services in support of this mission. In the independent film world, the organization focuses on assisting female independent filmmakers who have exhibited advanced and innovative skills, specifically through its Film Finishing Fund and award-winning PSA program.
Contacts:
Kelsey Flora
202-828-8023
kflora@ngs.org