Wavelength Productions Awards Inaugural Wave Grant To Eliana Pipes

Dino-Ray Ramos
·3 min read

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EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off of Sundance, Wavelength Productions has revealed Eliana Pipes as the first recipient of their inaugural Wave Grant, a $5,000 grant awarded to a first-time female filmmaker of color to help them finish their short film.

Pipes was selected from over 100 applications from all over the country. In addition to the handsome cash reward, Pipes will also receive mentorship and guidance from the Wavelength Productions team, covering everything from pre-production to distribution and festival strategies.

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“Eliana really wowed us with her creativity and passion. We’re really excited to help make her vision a reality,” said Jenifer Westphal, president of Wavelength Productions. “That being said, it was definitely hard to narrow the winning submission down to one candidate because of the quality and creativity of what was submitted. It just goes to show how many more allies we need in this industry to help get these amazing stories told.”

Applicants were required to submit a resume, budget, production schedule, two letters of recommendation, an introductory video, and a treatment of either a documentary or narrative short film. Pipes submitted the narrative short, Nails which follows Catalina, a wide-eyed 15-year-old Latina taking dance classes to prepare for her Quinceañera. When Catalina develops an unexpected crush on a girl in her class, her fingernails suddenly begin to grow at a superhuman pace – a blessing for a Latina, but a curse for a lesbian.

“This story is so close to my heart, and so true to my voice — I’m proud to bring it to life with the support of Wavelength Productions,” stated Pipes. “Bringing this story to life is an ambitious project but looking at all the incredible voices that Wavelength has shepherded, I know that I’m in good hands.”

Pipes will work hand-in-hand with the team at Wavelength Productions to make her short film, from development through distribution — and Wavelength is a great company to launch your career. With an 80% female staff, the production banner is committed to cultivating a diverse team of creators and filmmakers in all stages of production to create narratives. This year they, had a handful of titles at Sundance including Ekwa Msangi’s Farewell Amor, Arthur Jones’s Feels Good Man, Matt Wolf’s Spaceship Earth and Sam Soko’s Softie.

Wavelength’s library include a roster of impressive and critically acclaimed films including Where’s My Roy Cohn?, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Knock Down the House, Maybe Next Year, Colewell, The Infiltrators, Selah and the Spades and Unschooled.

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