Cinema St. Louis to Receive $15,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

ST. LOUIS - Feb. 18, 2019 - PRLog -- National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $27 million in grants as part of the NEA's first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2019. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $15,000 to Cinema St. Louis for the 28th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF).

Art Works is the Arts Endowment's principal grantmaking program. The agency received 1,605 Art Works applications for this round of grantmaking, and will award 972 grants in this category.

"The arts enhance our communities and our lives, and we look forward to seeing these projects take place throughout the country, giving Americans opportunities to learn, to create, to heal, and to celebrate," said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The 28th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival will be held Nov. 7-17, 2019. The fest will screen more than 300 animated, narrative, and documentary feature and short films, and will host master classes, special events, and an ambitious Cinema for Students program. Panels and Q&As with filmmakers and documentary subjects will accompany a third of the screenings. Programming streams will include the Women in Film Spotlight, Race in America: The Black Experience, and the Human Rights Spotlight.

The nonprofit Cinema St. Louis (CSL) produces SLIFF, one of the largest and highest-profile international film festivals in the Midwest. The fest was recently lauded in USA Today's 10 Best (https://www.10best.com/interests/festivals-events/10-amaz...) list. CSL also annually produces the locally focused St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, the LGBTQ-centric QFest St. Louis, and the Classic French Film Festival. In addition, CSL serves as  the local producer of the 48 Hour Film Project and hosts educational programs, competitions, screenings, and special events throughout the year.

Cinema St. Louis' festivals and film screenings attracted 26,947 patrons, and film camps and Cinema for Students served 12,532 youth from the Greater St. Louis area.

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news. For info on SLIFF and other CSL programs, visit cinemastlouis.org or call 314-289-4150.