2011 JT3 Art Film Screening and Fundraiser
to Benefit Young People in the Arts
Join us for an exciting evening of film, food and live music and meet the next generation of promising young screenwriter/ directors
from DC and Brooklyn.
Our 2010 JT3 Artist program awarded unrestricted grants to emerging
screenwriter/directors, ages 18 to 32 who reside in Brooklyn, NY and the
Washington, DC Metropolitan area. Winners were chosen by an independent panel of film
industry professionals who considered a completed short film, screenplay,
and essay for each applicant.
Join us on Friday, May 6th in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Gallery,
1330 Maryland Avenue Southwest,
Washington DC, 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM, for an exciting film screening and fundraiser, with
proceeds to benefit our 2011 awards program. Enjoy a
delectable gourmet meal by Mandarin Oriental catering; live music
presented by the Charles Rahmat Woods Quartet; and a silent auction.
General admission is $35 and donor tickets may be purchased for $100.*
Directions
Add this event to your Outlook Calendar
*A $100 donor ticket includes a $65 tax-deductible portion. The
$35 ticket does not include a tax-deductible portion.
Visit us often to learn MORE DETAILS about this exciting event.
If you have questions or problems purchasing tickets, please contact
us at 202-587-5600 or info@jt3art.org. If unable to purchase online you may
send a check, with the note JT3 Art DC Screen, to Jesse Thompkins III
Foundation, 1425 K Street, NW, Suite 350,
Washington DC 20005.
Our 2010 JT3 Artist Program winners are:
- Christina Choe, JT3 Artist Award of Distinction
- Himkar Tak, JT3 Artist Award of Distinction
- Willi Patton, JT3 Artist Award
- William Wonders III, Spirit of Jesse Award
- William D. Caballero, Creative Vision Award
| Awardee |
Award |
Short Film |
Screenplay |
Excerpt from Personal Essay |
Christina Choe |
JT3 Artist Award of Distinction |
The Queen - Bobby, a Korean-American teenage outcast, is working at his parents' dry cleaners on prom weekend.
When the prom queen and her boyfriend stop by with their dress and tuxedo, Bobby has his own prom to remember. |
Guess Who's Coming for Kimchee - A quirky, romantic comedy about a Korean-American performance
artist who goes to extremes to hide her pregnancy with her African-American boyfriend from her traditional family. |
"...once people responded to my personal
story, it really made me feel more alive than anything I've ever done....This is my destiny,
and my struggle in one. And I wouldn't have it any other way." |
Himkar Tak |
JT3 Artist Award of Distinction |
Medicine Man - Jimi, a 15-year-old kid from the projects in Brooklyn, New York, journeys
deep into the Adirondack Mountains in search of a fabled plant that might cure his father
of paralysis. |
Fight - Antone, a 19-year-old Latino from Brooklyn enters the Golden Gloves Boxing
tournament as a long shot in hopes that winning it would make a better life for him and his family. |
"When I think of how this grant
would help me, I think of how (it) would've helped
the person it was created to memorialize... It's the
realization that... through the actions, guidance, support and
recognition of others that I will be able to...tell stories with truth.." |
Willi Patton |
JT3 Artist Award |
The Big Fiddle - A conceptual drama exploring the nature of music in cinema, and
specifically what happens when a character provides a live score that shapes and shifts
the ways in which the other characters interact with each other. |
Monk Fish - A character study of a famous chef and how he deals with personal anguish
and loss in private. |
"I tend to see a production as a creative gathering, and I am the host. I strive to be receptive to any and
all ideas, and I find that often another perspective can add nuance and sincerity to the writing….I
especially love experiencing the evolution of a story as it is taken through the process of making
a film (and) it becomes an unspoken contract..." |
William Wonders III |
JT3 Artist Spirit of Jesse Award |
Fear Itself - After a year in sabbatical a pastor returns to the same pulpit where he was shot
by a young man. |
Just Say It - Eddie, an elementary school teacher always tells everyone in his life that he
loves them, except his girlfriend, Samantha. She has given him an ultimatum-- finally tell her he loves her or lose her
forever. |
"I started an afterschool program to
teach these teens how to make movies. That
year we entered a citywide competition...when the host said 'First place'
...I couldn’t breathe....On that stage, I knew that I wanted to
make films for the rest of my life. Not because we won, but because I was able to change
young people’s lives with one script, one camera, and one love." |
William D. Caballero
Photo by Martine Bisagni |
JT3 Artist Creative Vision Award |
The Inspiragenesis - Frustrated by a lack of inspiration, two young artists set out to find
creative inspiration in this vibrantly animated music video. |
Ay...Que Familia - Through a series of flashbacks, an apathetic young man comes to
terms with his boisterous Latino family. |
"Ideally, a great work would....contain...my entire ideals
when it comes to promoting cultural diversity
and understanding, philosophy, spirituality, and
oneness with each other and the earth....I hope that one day, I can influence a new
generation, the same way my role models have
influenced me."
|
They join our 2009 JT3 Artist Program winners:
- Bridget Palardy, JT3 Artist Award of Distinction
- Nikyatu Jusu, JT3 Artist Award
- Wendy James, JT3 Artist Award
- Chioke Nassor, JT3 Artist Award
- Andrew Brotzman, JT3 Artist Award
| Awardee |
Award |
Short Film |
Screenplay |
Excerpt from Personal Essay |
Bridget Palardy |
JT3 Artist Award of Distinction |
Middletown B-Boys - There are two break-dancing crews in Middletown, CT:
One is run by a Christian church, and the other is headed by Buddhist passionate about the culture of hip hop. |
Spark - In a stifling future, restless teens rebel
against an overprotective society. |
"I was a dancer and choreographer…before I became a filmmaker. Initially, I was drawn to the movement on a film set: dollies gliding,
steadicams waltzing, and actors smartly choreographed within the frame. After working in the film and video industry, I have grown to see a
bigger dance: a collision of mediums, collaboration of people, and an experience shared between audience and story. It is this fleeting dance
which continues to inspire and move me as a filmmaker." |
Nikyatu Jusu |
JT3 Artist Award |
African Booty Scratcher - Prom nears and things seem to be spiraling
out of control for typically composed Isatu. West African tradition conflicts with American idealism as Isatu is forced to reassess her alliances. |
Say Grace Before Drowning - After meeting her African Refugee mother for the first time in six years, 8 year old Hawa is
forced to co-exist with a woman teetering on the brink of insanity. |
"...the filmmaking talents
that make waves are the ones who create their own structure - their own rules. I want to make films that must be made.
I want to be honest, …and never be paralyzed by inaction." |
Wendy James |
JT3 Artist Award |
LaTonya - Tonya, 15, chooses to lose her virginity to her best friend. Little does she know,
the experience will not be what she expected. |
BedStuy Project - Kahlil, 17, has been given a camera to tell the story of his life as a dropout growing up in Bedstuy,
Brooklyn. Will he be able to find a job and help support his family? |
"I was rehearsing with two actresses for a scene from a Mike Leigh film, Secrets and Lies...
I decided to work with my actresses...by rehearsing them separately.... [On] presentation day, the actress who played Cynthia cried...
it was the most powerful moment I felt I created, as a director.
I realized this is where my heart was, I truly cared about the actors and the scene, and what came out was almost magic." |
Chioke Nassor |
JT3 Artist Award |
Breakup - Most movies focus on the beginning or
end of relationships, but the middle is the best part. |
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Based on the Pulitzer Prize finalist novel of the same name,
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, follows the true life of Dave Eggers struggles to take care of his 8 year old brother
after losing both parents to cancer when he was 20. |
"I have made no sacrifices for film. I mean, I’ve been dumped, fired, and evicted because of choices I’ve made to support my filmmaking,
but nothing I would call a sacrifice. (I’ve also gotten to travel the world, meet my best friends,
and support myself from filmmaking, so I feel like it’s a double-edged sword.)" |
Andrew Brotzman
|
JT3 Artist Award |
My Mom and Dad - A childless couple discovers
a puppy abandoned in their back yard and realize they love it just as much as they do each other. |
Nor’easter - A young, struggling priest encourages a family to
declare a long-missing son dead but after they do, the boy returns, alive and well, tearing their island community apart. |
"It was upon deciding to enroll (in Columbia’s MFA film program) that I knew I had committed myself, mind and body, to the
profession, and that I would not stop until my work had played itself out, and I felt my ideas had been expressed properly,
whatever that may mean."
|
In one short year our 2009 winners have gone on to make us proud. We know that
our 2010 awardees will as well.
Support Young Screenwriter/Directors with a Tax-Deductible Donation to JT3 Art
Donate online or send your check to:
Jesse Thompkins III Foundation for Young People in the Arts
1425 K Street NW
Suite 350
Washington DC 20005
Our Mission
We believe that film is one of the most influential arts of our time. It
reaches millions and its most influential artists are screenwriter/directors
who work from a palette of literary arts, photography, animation,
visual arts, choreography, music, costume, and sound to stimulate, amuse, and inspire.
As a relatively new art, very few of these artists receive the
support necessary to bring their unique messages
to the general public. But for young filmmakers like Jesse Thompkins III, the willingness to accept these
challenges comes from an enormous curiosity and involvement in life. These young filmmakers
have stories. They love and live stories and mold them into beautiful works of art that we may
never see, unless we support their lives and their work.
Mission: The Jesse Thompkins III Foundation for Young People in the Arts (JT3Art) invests in the development of emerging artists who best embody our namesake’s tenacity in the pursuit of their artistic passion.
Art has the ability to revitalize and enrich world culture, yet emerging artists are often compelled to choose between advancing their artistic endeavors or supporting their basic needs. Too many talented individuals have to give up on their dream before they have a chance to take flight. We want to help change that. Our goal is to assist these individuals so they can devote more attention to developing their artistic gifts.
Jesse and Judith Thompkins launched The Jesse Thompkins III Foundation for Young People in the Arts in memory of their son, a young filmmaker, who died on August 3, 2008 in a traffic-related accident in Brooklyn, New York. His passion to write and direct was evident in the many short films he created during his lifetime.
“Everything I write is informed by my own experiences and the experiences of the people around [me]. I take strands from here and there to make my rope. Then I tie my own knot. Problem is sometimes the knot doesn’t hold. I try to untie it and re-tie again and again until it holds.” – Jesse Thompkins III
“I urge parents to support the artistic visions of their children whether they pursue art as a profession or as a hobby. Art plays a critical role in our lives by providing education, motivation, and healing. Although I no longer have my son, I have the art through which he continues to communicate his most optimistic, loving, inspired, and humorous self. Our awards celebration, the young people we honor, the loyal donors and supporters, and the collaboration that made it happen are part of the legacy that my son, and other filmmakers and artists create with their work,” JT3 Art Chairwoman Judith Thompkins, Jesse's mom.
We are not currently accepting applications. Please check back
in the early spring of 2011. To learn more about our applications, please visit our awards page.
To read more about our 2010 and 2009 award winners and view their films, please click here.
If you would like to learn more about the Foundation’s activities, plans, and finances, we encourage you to email us at info@jt3art.org.
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