One of the lifelines to local artists in difficult times is the Oregon Arts Commission. They've been helping arrange grants to artists and arts organizations for over half a century. And one of those many grants is the Oregon Media Arts Fellowship, awarded in collaboration with the Northwest Film Center.
Two groundbreaking local filmmakers are this year's Media Arts Fellowship recipients. Masami Kawai is a Los Angeles-born filmmaker, now teaching Cinema Studies at the University of Oregon. She’s been a community organizer, a documentarian, and a selected director in the Francis Ford Coppola One-Act play series. Reed Harkness is a self-taught director and cinematographer who was recently selected as a Film Independent Fellow and a participant in their Documentary Lab and Fast Track programs.
Masami and Reed join S.W. Conser, along with Brian Rogers, Executive Director of the Oregon Arts Commission. They discuss the importance of sharing our stories through film and new media, and addressing the major issues of our day through artistic expression.
- KBOO