Colin Higgins is an acclaimed screenwriter, director, and producer of films such as Harold and Maude and 9 to 5. He established the Colin Higgins Foundation in 1986 to further his humanitarian goals.
Colin Higgins is an acclaimed screenwriter, director, and producer of films such as Harold and Maude and 9 to 5. He established the Colin Higgins Foundation in 1986 to further his humanitarian goals.
Since the inception, the Colin Higgins Foundation has handed out $5.8 million in grants to a wide variety of institutions, groups and individuals.
Since 2022, the Foundation has shifted its focus to award Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grants, centered on providing young LGBTQ+ filmmakers with financial support to continue their work. Eligible applicants must identify as LGBTQ+ filmmakers, be under the age of 25 and currently reside in the U.S. Previously, the Foundation awarded grants through its Youth Courage Awards.
San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival in June 2024.
2024 Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant Receipients!
For a second year, Colin Higgins Foundation has once again partnered with Frameline, the arts nonprofit that hosts the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, to announce the recipients of the 2024 Colin Higgins Youth Foundation Grant. The partnership, which began in 2023, centers on providing young LGBTQ+ filmmakers with financial support to continue their work. Eligible applicants must self-identify as LGBTQ+ filmmakers, be under the age of 25, and currently reside in the U.S. The 2024 winners are New York-based filmmakers Farah Jabir (Kasbi) and Leaf Lieber (Burrow).
In addition to being in attendance for their respective screenings, Jabir and Lieber will be hosted by Frameline48 for the Festival’s run.
Learn more about the 2024 winners here.
In 2023, three young American filmmakers, Daisy Friedman, Karina Dandashi and Emilio Subia (picture below left to right), were selected as the recipients of the Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant, and each received $15,000 to support their film projects, for a total of $45,000 awarded to these filmmakers. In addition, the winners’ short films were showcased at the Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival that took place in June 2023.
In 2022, Colin Higgins Foundation officially partnered with Outfest and launched the “Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant,” a new initiative centered on providing LGBTQIA+ youth filmmakers with financial support to continue their work.
Learn more here.
CELEBRATE COLIN HIGGINS:
50TH ANNIVERSARY & A NEW DOCUMENTARY
CELEBRATING LAUGHTER: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins
For the last 31 years, the Foundation has been funding a documentary on Colin Higgins, called Celebrating Laughter: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins, directed and edited by Nicholas Eliopoulos.
The documentary ran a week at the NuArt Theater in Santa Monica, qualifying the film for placement on the Motion Picture Academy website for two years for all twelve thousand members to view.
Stay tuned for updates on where to watch the film…
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