Now in its tenth year, the 2016 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant has been awarded to Jonathan Olshefski for Quest: The Fury and the Sound and to Matt Yoka for Whirlybird. The recipients will present excerpts from their works-in-progress prior to the screening of The Peacemaker, directed by 2014 grant recipient James Demo.

Quest: The Fury and the Sound

Jonathan Olshefski

Filmed with verité intimacy over the course of ten years, Quest: The Fury and the Sound chronicles the relationships, events, and choices that shape a family’s history. The project began as a portrait of the Rainey family and their home music studio, which serves as a special sanctuary within their North Philadelphia neighborhood. When a stray bullet wounds their youngest daughter, the film shows the family’s strength in the face of adversity and their dedication to being a force for good in their community.

Whirlybird

Matt Yoka

Bob Tur revolutionized news media with his aerial reporting of Los Angeles—and in doing so, defined our recorded memory of the city. Tur’s unmatched eye-in-the-sky video archive captures the spectacle of 1990s L.A. while revealing his own personal complexities. This documentary film weaves intimate interviews with a stunning archive, illustrating the simultaneously gorgeous and horrifying Los Angeles landscape. Throughout the film, we look back on Tur’s life while documenting her return to the media spotlight as she transitions from male to female.