Winning Film Projects 2021

The finalists listed below were selected to receive $8,000 each to fund their film projects. The selection committee believes each of them presents a specific vision for the exploration of truly interesting and dynamic themes. Previews of the three finalists were screened during a Virtual Film Festival in 2021.  The winner “Potentially Dangerous” by Zach & Naomi Baliva was announced during the Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday, October 23, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

Zach & Naomi Baliva
Potentially Dangerous: When it was a Crime to be Italian
Winner
Potentially Dangerous tells the tragic enemy alien story of Italians living in America during WWII
Brandon Mather & Zach Laws
Calzone’s Pizza
First Runner-Up
Calzone’s Pizza spotlights a quirky, charming love affair that develops during a cable food network interview of a pizzeria owner
Jeffrey & Nick Santoro
BIG CITY, Little Italy
First Runner-Up
BIG CITY, Little Italy, documents the history, culture, food and traditions of six important Little Italy’s throughout our country

Additional Grant Recipients

Peter Ferraro
il Messaggero relates how an immigrant’s quaint story brings joy to an Italian village and its sister community 5,000 miles away
Rosanne Limoncelli
Two Teresas explores the relationship between two Americans of different generations and cultures whose friendship shows we have more in common than divides us
Ann Potenza
The Hollywood Feast – A San Gennaro Story relates the recreation of the storied NY festival in Los Angeles as told through the eyes of the event organizers
Rajeswari Ramanathan
Becoming America’s Doctor chronicles the life of America’s Doctor, from his Italian American upbringing to his nationally renowned medical career