New Yorker given a Sloan ‘kick’

     (PNAN-NY) – “We are delighted to join Film Independent in supporting Valley of Saints with a post-production grant through their distinguished Producer’s Lab,” said Doron Weber at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “Sloan originally supported this film with an NYU-Tisch production grant in 2009, and we remain committed to every stage of support for talented new work that dramatizes science and technology themes in a universal way.”

     New York-based filmmaker Nicholas Bruckman was awarded the 4^th annual Sloan Producers Grant for his featured film, “Valley of Saints” which was written-directed by Musa Syeed. The film is a story about a young Kashmiri boatman who tries to flee his war-torn, environmentally devastated homeland.  In his escape, the boatman crosses paths with a mysterious female scientist, whereas it leads to a tenuous romance that forces him to choose: abandon his fragile community or stay and rebuild.

     The award is given by Film Independent, the producers of the Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival. Bruckman receives the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s $25,000 post-production grant, which “makes grants to support original research and broad-based education related to science, technology, and economic performance; and to improve the quality of American life,” as well as to assist them to commercial production with national and international distribution.

     Past recipients of the Sloan Producers Grant were: Jenny Deller and Kristin Fairweather for “Future Weather”, Jim Young, “The Man Who Knew Infinity” and Monique Caulfield for “Basmati Blues.”

     For more information, see www.filmindependent.org or www.sloan.org.