The Oscars, Sundance, & the Best Films of the Year
One Circuit Ends, Another Begins. The last Portrait newsletter of 2023.
Happy Thursday, friends — and happy holidays. ✨
This is the last Portrait newsletter of 2023 — and the first newsletter for some of you, as our community expands every week.
We’ve grown from 200 filmmakers on a prototype to thousands of award-winning filmmakers, industry leaders, and senior department heads.
We can’t wait to see how you surprise and delight us with your work in 2024.
We hope to do the same for you.
Roll of Honor
Say hello to featured Portrait members on the app.
Festivals & Awards: One Circuit Closes, Another Opens
Palm Springs: The End of the 2023 Circuit. Heading to Palm Springs January 4th? Let Portrait members know on the app. We’ve loved seeing these 40+ films throughout this year. Don’t miss your last chance to see them at a fest.
Sundance: The Beginning of the 2024 Circuit. Park City or Bust!
We’re announcing an official Sundance partnership in January, plus invite-only events and more. Let us know you’re attending on the app. You’ll receive Sundance-specific contacts, content, and tools in the app.
Oscar finalists in 10 categories announced today. Our best to Portrait members with films in contention. Compare Variety’s predictions to the results — and bookmark the talented people behind these films in our Creative Talent of 2023 Lists (in the Discover Tab 🔍 in the app).
What to Watch, Holiday Edition
“In Theaters” Pick: All Of Us Strangers. The LA Times is calling the “quietly devastating movie” the best movie of the year. The Guardian agrees. Jamie Ramsay, DP.
True Crime Binge: Dr. Death: Cutthroat Conman. If you couldn’t get enough of the hit podcast, watch the grisly doc profiling the international conman behind the world’s first synthetic organ transplant. Mary Robertson, EP; Dan Kuvalakis, Line Producer; Ian Hultquist, Music.
New Entrant to the Canon: Our Son. If you loved the quiet melodrama of Kramer vs. Kramer or Marriage Story, watch this story of a gay couple’s divorce starring Billy Porter. Luca Fantini, DP; Jennifer 8. Lee, Producer.
Revisiting The Classics: White Christmas. Rewatch the film, then listen to the Hanging By A Thread podcast from Costume Designer and Fashion Historian Jolene Marie Richardson. This week, she talks about the lasting legacy of the holiday classic with costume designer Marilyn Thomason Locke.
This Week’s Short Quotes from Long Reads
Nicole Newnham (The Disappearance of Shere Hite) on Hite’s obituary:
… it took me down this whole rabbit hole of wondering how did she do the work? Who was she? Who was that impossibly glamorous person in the picture? How did she create herself? And what was the nature of the backlash against her?
Jacob Fertig on his latest doc short on disability and the American family:
As a filmmaker, I’m especially cognizant of the power I have to preserve or redact. What gets cropped out, taped over, or cut for time?
Camilla Hall (with Co-Director Jennifer Tiexiera) on The Thousand Roads Podcast:
We see Subject as a love letter to our [documentary] community.
Window of Opportunity
aka The Discover Tab 🔍
Check out the Discover Tab on Portrait for grants, programs, jobs, and deadlines.
Coming Soon: LA Premiere with Optimist and Portrait
Portrait, Optimist, XTR, and Legion M host the LA premiere of the award-winning documentary This is Not Financial Advice. Join us January 10th!
Check out Director Chris Temple’s post on Portrait — and say hello to the full team.
Chris Temple, Zach Ingrasci, Directors; Justin Lacob, Executive Producer; Jenna Kelly, Carrie Weprin, Martine Phelan-Roberts, Cutter Hodierne, Producers; Nicholas Kraus, Cinematographer; Daniel Hollis, Jacopo Campaiola, Additional Cinematography, Mariana Blanco, Yaniv Elani, Editors; Gil Talmi, Original Music.
Closing Soon: Programs + Grants
Have an opportunity to share? Post it on the app or fill out our form.
The Sriyanka Ray Grant (12/23 deadline)
Stowe Story Labs - Narrative Labs (12/25 deadline)
AmDocs Film Festival - Film Fund (1/6 deadline)
WIF Fellowships (1/8 deadline)
Nantucket Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (1/11 deadline)
Documentary Labs - Film Independent (1/15 deadline)
SagIndie Film Music Connect (rolling deadline)
Elevate Collective (rolling deadline)
Ford Foundation JustFilms Grants (rolling deadline)
Awesome Foundation Grants (rolling deadline)
Perspective Fund (rolling deadline)
Jobs/Gigs Roundup
Have a job to share? Share it on the app or fill out our form.
Animator, ESPN.
Senior Vice President, Global Formats - FOX Entertainment Global, FOX Entertainment.
SVP Scripted Television, 5X Media.
SVP, Production, Game Show Network.
Vice President TV and Films, MolQ Entertainment.
Head of Promotions, Apple TV+ Marketing, Apple TV+.
Unscripted Creative Development Executive (MGM), Amazon Studios.
Senior Creative Executive, Moonbug Entertainment.
Supervising Producer, ITVS.
Bilingual Researcher, The Row (Temporary), Warner Bros. Discovery.
Coordinating Producer, The Walt Disney Company.
Temporary- Digital Imaging Technician, Photography (71104), Pratt Institute.
Colorist (Contractor), Ruggable.
End Credits: Portrait Post of the Week
Until the new year, friends. See you on Portrait — and don’t forget to check out this week’s talent list on the app to see and save contacts.