Oregon Film and the #OregonMade Creative Foundation are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Tell Your Story Grant. This grant program seeks to directly support the individual filmmaker and artist and is not directly linked to a specific project. The TYSG seeks to help early and mid-career creators get to the next step of their career and ensure that career continues to develop in Oregon by providing funding that can be used by the recipient in a more flexible manner. Competition for this grant was extremely high as there were a large group of amazing submissions to this program this year. It is exciting to see so much talent calling this state home. We thank all of the submitters and creators that sent in their work. The selection process was broad and enlightening.
This year’s winners are Ashland based Nisha Burton and Portland based Tony Altamirano.
Nisha Burton is a filmmaker based in Southern Oregon, working at the intersection of DEI, technology, and film. She has been an award-winning director/producer for 14 years. With first-hand experience of what its is like growing up as a person of color in rural Oregon, her creative work focuses on sharing the stories of traditionally marginalized and ignored communities in the state. Examples of her work include the documentaries “The Separation Myth,” “The Walls We Create,” and “Finding Home at the Mims” amongst others. One of her more recent documentaries, “A Hurricane with Fire,” focused on the fires that happened in Southern Oregon and how they disproportionately impacted the already displaced Latinx and Low-income communities. By centering their voices and visions of how to rebuild with equity many positive policies were actually put into place demonstrating the power of film to shape public opinion. It was featured in an hour-long special on Southern Oregon PBS.
Tony Altamirano is a first-generation immigrant from Lima, Peru who has immersed himself in the world of film and video production, evident in the diverse range of projects he has undertaken. This has been true from his first analog film class at Lane Community College in Eugene through earning his BFA in film from The Portland Art Institute and then on to a brief stint in Los Angeles working for a leading ad agency. Tony has gained experience from many projects, some garnishing awards and some featured in prominent platforms such as Adweek and OPB’s Think Out Loud. His most recent documentary,”The True Quest for Fabled Treasure on the Oregon Coast,” was created in collaboration with two local historians and premiered to a full house at The Hollywood Theater. Through film Tony wants to reach out to other young first-generation immigrants who feel like outcasts in predominantly white communities and let them know that they are not alone. As a musician Tony has also been involved in various local bands, which have profoundly influenced his creative work. He has scored the music for his own projects and plans to compose original music for his upcoming films as well.
Both of these creators will receive a cash grant of $15,000 to continue their work in Oregon as well as the support of Oregon Film and shared created space at Desert Island Studios.
This program is supported by Oregon Film, The #OregonMade Creative Foundation and the Creative Opportunity Program.
