The 2026 Tell Your Story Grant winners have been selected after a submission after review process that was filled with incredible projects by amazing artists. The submission rate for this year’s grant was very high and it is further evidence of the depth of talent that call Oregon home. Each Grantee will receive a $15,000 grant that is not tied to a specific project but is intended to help each artist/filmmaker move towards the next stage of their career.
The winners of this year’s grant are:
HASANI WALKER
Hasani Walker is a writer and animator living in Oregon. “I’ve wanted a career in animation since I was a child in Arizona. That desire stayed with me all through high school, college, and into my adult years. While working retail and call centers, I would learn animation techniques, constantly apply to studios, and keep my creativity going. It wasn’t until 2016, long after graduating art school, that I got my first studio job at LAIKA. From there I would go on to sculpt on ‘Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio,’ story board on ‘Tiny Chef,’ and create puppets for Disney’s ‘Proud Family.’ Unfortunately, the one path I desperately wanted is still closed off to me. Pitching stories to studios has been nothing but rejections for the worst reasons. Not kid friendly or too thought provoking. I’m done asking permission to tell stories and ready to do it independently.”
ROBERTA CUMBIANCHERA
Roberta Cumbianchera is an Argentinian writer, director and performer based in Portland, Oregon. Inspired by Third Cinema wave and Cine de la Base, her films explore the human condition through a working class lens; characters live caught between nostalgia and economic struggle – often opening doors to a whimsical world where joy is found amidst tragedy. Her hope is to be part of a greater working class cinema movement, where the stories of marginalized communities are told by the ones that live it day to day.
VU PHAM
Vu Pham is a Portland-based writer, director, producer, actor, and storyteller. A refugee from Vietnam, his work is deeply influenced by personal and historical trauma, existential philosophy, and an insatiable curiosity about the human experience. His films have been supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and screened at the NW Film Center, PICA, and film festivals across the country. He has twice been featured on OPB’s Oregon Art Beat.
As an actor, Pham has worked alongside Harrison Ford, Jonathan Groff, and Corey Stoll. As a speaker and storyteller, his work has taken him to the stage of the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts and will soon bring him inside prisons through his restorative justice work. He is the screenwriter and story producer of “Pour the Water as I Leave,” an animated hybrid documentary by Daniela Repas that premiered at the 2026 Sarajevo Film Festival.
Pham is currently in production on his first feature film, “Sea Rose Ashes,” a deeply personal docufiction exploring memory, displacement, violence, justice, and the search for meaning in the aftermath of tragedy.
