Grantee Database
QUEER WOMEN OF COLOR MEDIA ARTS PROJECT-QWOCMAP
Grant Year
2025-26
Grant Program
Arts and Youth
Award Amount
$20,500.00
Project Description
With support from the California Arts Council, QUEER WOMEN OF COLOR MEDIA ARTS PROJECT-QWOCMAP will activate youth voices, narratives, and perspectives through the Film & Freedom Academy, which provides FREE artistically rigorous, culturally responsive filmmaking workshop that provides social/emotional learning for LBTQIA+ BIPOC Youth ages 18-24 (African descent/Black; Native American/American Indian, Indigenous, First Nations; Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander; Asian, incl. Southeast Asian & South Asian; Latinx, incl. indígena & afrodescendiente; Southwest Asian, North African, Arab, “Middle Eastern,” & Muslim; and multi-ethnic & multi-racial people of color). QWOCMAP will offer creative experiences in a safe, healthy, and appropriate learning environment that empowers youth, fosters creative abilities, and cultivates transferable leadership skills through this workforce development program.
Organization Summary
QWOCMAP transforms film into a tool for systemic change by and for LBTQIA+ BIPOC communities through three core programs:
1. Filmmaker Training Program
Our FREE flagship program dismantles economic and educational barriers to film as an art form providing professional instruction, mentorship, equipment, meals, and emotional wellness support. The Filmmaker Training Program also has 3 arms that create economic opportunity, on-the-job training, and professional development to filmmakers expanding the creative workforce. QWOCMAP has launched the careers of 350+ filmmakers with organizations like NBCUniversal, CBS Studios, and Google.
IMPACT:
– 507 new films created by LBTQIA+ BIPOC filmmakers
– 80+ free professional workshops delivered
– 632 filmmakers trained
– $226,125 paid to Black filmmakers in 2024
– $95,427 in stipends since 2018
– Trauma-informed and access-centered instruction, meals, and support services
Testimonial (Dr. Yvonne Welbon):
“It’s accessible to everyone… You don’t have to pay $50,000 a year in tuition. That’s remarkable.”
2. International Queer Women of Color Film Festival
Celebrates LBTQIA+ BIPOC stories while modeling radical access and cross-movement solidarity. The FREE Film Festival forges transnational connections between filmmakers, their films, and 300+ Community Partner organizations.
IMPACT:
– 754 films screened
– 94 FREE fully accessible screenings featuring open captions, audio description, ASL, fragrance-free spaces, and trauma support
– 28,324 attendees since 2007
– $50,000 in filmmaker support since 2003
Testimonial:
“This is my favorite Pride event… It was the first place I saw people who looked like me on the big screen, living quiet, happy lives.”
3. Boutique Film Distribution Program
The boutique film Distribution Program provides education that strengthens movements and builds impact by distributing the world’s largest catalog of queer and trans films of color to global audiences, including releasing QWOCMAP films to the acclaim of international film festival jury and audience awards.
IMPACT:
– 25,000+ people reached across 6 continents
– Custom-curated programs for schools, movements, and media institutions
Organization
QWOCMAP
Address
1014 Torney Avenue Suite 111
SAN FRANCISCO
94129-1755
County
San Francisco
Region
Bay Area – San Francisco
Phone
(415) 752-0868
Congressional District
California's 12th congressional district
State Assembly District
District 19
State Senate District
District 11
