HFPA Residency

In life, as in the movies, they like happy endings. This is the case of Álvaro Gago.

For five years the HFPA Global Residency program has been bringing emerging filmmakers from around the world to Hollywood and fulfilling the HFPA’s mission as ambassadors between the American film industry and world cinema by partnering with some of the world’s premiere film festivals. This year once again the Residency endeavored to give participating fellows a first-hand glimpse of American independent filmmaking.

As part of the 2023 HFPA Residency program, participating film makers introduced their films at a Los Angeles screening, followed by a Q&A moderated by an HFPA journalist.   LA-based Azeri actor/director Tahmina Raffaella screened Banu, an affecting chronicle of a woman’s quest to obtain a divorce and custody of her son, along with a personal emancipation from an abusive marriage, in a lonely struggle against the patriarchal mores that stack the game against her.

We celebrated the residents’ program with four new filmmakers on the terrace of the Excelsior Hotel and the stars turned up, too: Patricia Clarkson, Trace Lysette, director Romain Gavras and even Shia LaBeouf all stopped by, enjoyed some Bellini’s and talked about their projects. Even festival director Alberto Barbera welcomed us back and congratulated the residents.

They hail from 12 countries in four continents united in their love for film making and an abiding passion for storytelling. The fellows of the 2022 HFPA Global Residency are the largest group yet in the program instituted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association four years ago in partnership with the Toronto and Venice film festivals and with Film Independent, which manages the Residency curriculum.

On Sunday September 5th, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) announced the  winners of its fourth annual  Residency Program. At the reception Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice International Film Festival joined members of the HFPA delegation in celebrating the four young film makers which will participate in the program which has partnered the HFPA with the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals in an effort to mentor young artists from around the world.

The HFPA Residency brings young filmmakers to Hollywood for a three-week intensive program of master classes and workshops on film making and distribution and intensive sessions on financing as well as screenings.  Fellows are paired with individual mentors who are respected filmmakers to help hone their skills and help them onto the next stage of their careers.

Among the glitter and glamour of the red carpet, they were a discreet presence but the five young filmmakers nevertheless embodied an important part of what the Golden Globes – and the HFPA – are about: a celebration of storytelling as global art form and universal language. We are talking about the five fellows of the first ever HFPA Residency who attended the HFPA Golden Globe Viewing party as our guests this year.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the first Residency Awards at the Toronto International Film Festival. The program, which builds on last year’s Canada Shorts Award, was aimed at TIFF’s Film Makers Lab, and the twenty-two film makers who participated in the festival’s mentorship program directed by Jane Shoettle.

Six emerging filmmakers from diverse nationalities are the recipients of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s first Residency Grant, in partnership with Film Independent. From the TIFF’s Filmmaker Lab, the USA’s Georgia Fu and Cynthia Kao, and Georgia’s Rati Tsiteladze were the winners.