Oregon Film is proud to announce the winners of their Impact Grants for Feature Films. Designed to support film projects that will make a positive impact on Oregon’s film industry, this grant aims to help grow Oregon’s film scene, create local job opportunities, and bring people together through stories that celebrate Oregon’s culture, history, and landscape.
In its first year the quality and the amount of submissions was incredible and a testament to the depth of talent living and working in Oregon. A total of $85,000 was awarded with selected projects receiving grant funds of $10,000 to $20,000 to help move their projects into production and, eventually, to an audience.
The Impact Grants are awarded by Oregon Film through its Creative Opportunity Program.
The winning projects are:
“If the Land Wins”
“If The Land Wins,” is a feature documentary that follows rancher Jeanne Carver’s fight to revive America’s wool industry through regenerative agriculture.
When globalization and synthetic materials threatened to wipe out America’s centuries-old wool industry, many ranchers abandoned hope. But on a historic Oregon ranch, Jeanne Carver and her late husband Dan forged a revolutionary path where regenerative ranching could produce world-class wool while healing the land. After Dan’s untimely death in 2021, Jeanne pushed forward alone, uniting ten independent ranches across 3.6 million acres to become the leading producer of regenerative wool in the United States.
The project is directed by award-winning filmmakers Sean O’Connor (founder of Story Gorge, whose “Kumari: A Father’s Dream” earned ten international awards) and Andrea Wing (co-founder of Well Travelled Collective, Vimeo’s Best of the Year recipient), with Emmy-nominated producer Tahria Sheather (“Mountain Queen,” Netflix; “Wildcat,” Amazon) and Emmy Award-winning director of photography Pablo Durana (“The Trade,” Showtime; “Wild Life,” National Geographic). Executive producers include Sarah Steele (co-founder of Well Travelled Collective, impact strategist) and Andy McDonough (“Sam Now,” Peabody Award finalist).
“Valley of the Tall Grass”
“Valley of the Tall Grass” is a story of Indigenous people who lost ties to their land and found themselves in Oregon. We don’t always have our traditional ways intact, and sometimes we’ve lost our language. But we carry connections to family and value ways to sustain life and forgotten objects, like the TV/VCR at the center of the film. Masami Kawai has written the script and will produce and direct. The film will also be produced by Sophie Luo and Sarah Kim will act as a Executive Producer.
Masami Kawai is a Los Angeles-born filmmaker who lives in Eugene, Oregon. She’s of Ryukyuan descent from the island of Amami. Her work integrates issues of race, Indigeneity, class, and what it means to be an immigrant/settler in the United States. Kawai’s films have screened at venues including the Rotterdam Film Festival, LACMA, and Indie Memphis. Her film TIDES won Best Narrative Short at the Northwest Film Forum’s Film Festival and the Eastern Oregon Film Festival. Her film ZONA won Best Narrative Short at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
“Something About the Tide”
“Something About the Tide”, is a coming-of-middle-age dramedy following Jen, a Type A addict in recovery who finds out that her dying mother gave up a previous child for adoption and wants to reunite with him before she passes. But Jen’s life plunges into chaos when she realizes this newfound half-brother is the perfect child she should have been. The script was a Top 5 Finalist at Tribeca Untold Stories and an Academy Nicholl Quarter-Finalist in 2024. The film was written and will be produced by Julia Morizawa, will be directed by Desdemona Chiang and also produced by Ashley Song and Joanna Fang.
Julia Morizawa (she/her) is a writer/producer/actor with over 20 years of experience in film, television, new media, theater, and fiction podcasting. Produced projects include DRAGONFLY (animated short film), JESUSCAT (OR HOW I ACCIDENTALLY JOINED A CULT) (feature film), SIN & LYLE (short film), TWENTY-TWO (play), and AMERICAN COMEDY HORROR STORY: ORPHANAGE (fiction podcast). She is also a freelance script analyst, the Short Film Fund Manager at Shore Scripts, and the proud mom of two tiny superheroes.
“Unmatched: The Team that Changed the Beautiful Game”
“Unmatched: The Team That Changed the Beautiful Game” will tell the untold story of the 2005 Portland Pilots: Megan Rapinoe, Christine Sinclair, and the greatest college soccer team of all time. It’s about greatness on the field, changemakers off the field, and a city that support women’s soccer unlike anywhere else in the world. 
Its Portland-based filmmaking team includes director Joe Kuffner, director of photography Ariane Kunze, and producers Zach Putnam, Jen Tate, and Jackie Weissman.
“Taste Black Portland”
“Taste of Black Portland” is a feature-length celebration of the city’s Black-owned restaurants, roasters, bars, and farms — and the stories 
of the people who keep us fed. This examination of Portland’s culinary ecosystem through a cultural, historical, and community-centered lens serves up a cinematic experience that’s as uplifting as it is appetizing. Director Jared Leaf is an award-winning Portland-based filmmaker and the founder of Ninety Third Story. He is one of five filmmakers selected for Monkeypaw and Universal’s inaugural No Drama initiative and most recently directed all ten episodes of Season 2 of Churchy on BET+. Black Bald Films and Emmy-winning producer Dru Holley (Buffalo Soldiers, Albina Vision Series, Travel Portland) will produce.
