Filmmakers for Ukraine is the 2022 recipient of arts organization Humanitas’ Kieser Award. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news in this article. The award will be presented at the 46th Annual Humanitas Prizes on Sept. 9 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“We are inspired and humbled by Filmmakers for Ukraine support of writers and filmmakers. As they continue their work chronicling the human condition through these dire and dangerous circumstances.” said Michelle Franke, Humanitas’ executive director. “It’s vital to celebrate courageous creative responses to upheaval and violence during this historical moment.”
The Kieser Award comes with a $10,000 cash prize. Distributed by the NGO Filmmakers for Refugees through ten $1,000 micro grants aimed at supporting individuals’ basic needs and/or the continuation of creative projects. Among those, members of Ukraine’s film and TV community who since the war began have become refugees, enlisted as soldiers, are acting as documentarians of war crimes or have otherwise seen their life circumstances radically altered.
Click here to know more about the Kieser Award
The volunteers working at Filmmakers for Ukraine came together from all over Europe within the first days of the Russian invasion. And since then, they have been connecting members of Ukraine’s film and TV community impacted by the Russia-Ukrainian War with resources, jobs and funding for basic needs.
“Since the full-scale invasion began, driven by community solidarity, we have worked relentlessly on behalf of our fellow filmmakers from Ukraine.” says Oliver Zenglein, founder of Filmmakers for Ukraine. “These incredibly talented and hard-working people have been changing the world through their films. Now they are fighting on the front lines. Transporting the wounded to hospitals, organizing humanitarian aid and capturing warfare at the risk of their lives. They are desperately fighting for their country’s freedom and for the world’s attention“.
“We are with you”
“The Kieser Award is a great honor but also a great responsibility,” Zenglein continues. “We accept it both with humility and gratitude. And we are very happy to tell our Ukrainian friends: The world has not forgotten you. We are with you“.
The volunteers at Filmmakers for Ukraine will not rest until our Ukrainian friends are able to return to what they do best: making great movies.
Read the original story on The Hollywood Reporter