To benefit Miami’s growing independent film community by establishing an institute for cultivating, funding and advising local filmmakers.
Winner: Kareem Tabsch and Vivian Marthell
Amount: $400,000
About the project: O Cinema, The Independent will be an art-house cinema in Miami's Upper East Side specializing in independent, foreign, art and niche market films. It will also offer lectures and discussions around its cinematic programming. O Cinema will strive to provide intriguing and entertaining high quality films at prices that are accessible to the widest audience possible.
About the winner: O Cinema is the brainchild of Vivian Marthell and Kareem Tabsch, co-directors of Living Arts Trust. Vivian Marthell is a visual artist and collaborator working across multiple mediums. As an arts and non-profit administrator, she has formerly served as co-director of Lab6, project manager for Tigertail Productions, arts administrators for Working Classroom and former executive director for Pridelines. Kareem Tabsch is program director of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, one of the leading LGBT film festivals in the world. He is co-creator of Merge Miami, a queer film and media conference funded by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (Oscars). As a freelance writer, he has written about arts and entertainment for local and national publications.
Web site: http://www.o-cinema.org