How This ScreenCraft Winner Launched a Grassroots Oscar FYC Campaign

Funding may not be the most exciting part of filmmaking but it’s probably the most crucial to getting your project across the finish line. Just ask ScreenCraft Film Fund winner Colin K. Gray. He managed to leverage his Film Fund win to complete principal photography on his documentary Unzipped: An Autopsy of American Inequality, which is now officially in the running for best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards.

We got the chance to ask him about his long and arduous journey of bringing Unzipped to life — from spending years in production, finding funding, and launching a For Your Consideration Oscar campaign from the ground up.

 

ScreenCraft: What was your career situation before entering the ScreenCraft Film Fund? 

Colin K. Gray: I was a mid-career documentary filmmaker and screenwriter before entering the ScreenCraft Film Fund in 2018. I had written and directed 6 feature documentaries that had debuted at various festivals and been picked up for release (Freedom’s Fury, etc) and had written over 10 scripted projects, features, and series, of which only one had been produced (Meena).

Each of my prior films had been incredibly hard to fund, but I’d been lucky enough to unearth amazing stories, find great collaborators, and secure releases for my films. I was looking to take my storytelling to the next level and had locked into a super topical issue for my latest feature documentary UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality. The film is a local lens on an urgent national issue, the growing affordable housing crisis in America, and profiles several families struggling to survive in their rapidly gentrifying Venice, CA 90291 community. 

I had previously funded my films through a combination of private equity and crowd-funding initiatives. Though typical for independent films, it is a long and arduous process. Most of my films took anywhere from 6-8 years to finance, film, and release (most of them were produced through my production company, GRAiNEY PICTURES, which I launched with my sister Megan Raney Aarons in 2003). I was hoping to find a provocative topic for my next film that could attract more diverse funding sources and commercial support, while also getting UNZIPPED produced and to market more quickly.

Since we were also planning to launch an affordable housing impact campaign alongside the film release (#RaiseTheRoof) we decided to explore applying for some grants for both the film and impact campaign (which I had never done before with any of my other films). We were beyond thrilled to make it into the final round for the ScreenCraft Film Fund (with a group of incredible finalist

filmmakers) and we were thoroughly shocked/surprised when we actually won the grant!

“ScreenCraft’s early support turbo-charged everything for us. With the Film Fund grant, we were able to complete principal photography.”

ScreenCraft: How were you able to leverage your Film Fund competition win?

CG: ScreenCraft’s early support turbo-charged everything for us. With the Film Fund grant, we were able to complete principal photography (we filmed for almost 3 years), and then we used the momentum from finishing production to get Ley Line Entertainment (Oscar winners for Everything Everywhere All At Once) to come on board for our completion financing so we could finish post.

We then debuted the film at the Newport Film Festival (we actually won the audience award for “Best Documentary”), found a great sales agent, and released it globally this summer. The icing on the cake was making it into Oscar consideration for Best Documentary Feature last month. From top to bottom, it still took us 5 years to make and release UNZIPPED, but having ScreenCraft’s early support and co-sign was a game changer for us!

Read More: More than Just Funding: How Film Grants Help You Build Important Relationships

ScreenCraft: As someone who has won a screenwriting competition, how can emerging writers maximize their competition victories?

CG: It’s all about building allies, keeping them informed of your progress (both good and bad), and making sure to bring them along to celebrate your victories. When we needed to raise additional money for post-production for UNZIPPED, we reached out to ScreenCraft for ideas and suggestions. We did the same thing when we started the festival circuit (asking for help/outreach/advice for festival submissions). We also made sure to keep ScreenCraft updated on our progress with our grassroots campaign this past year to build alliances with housing services organizations across the country for our #RaiseTheRoof impact campaign. And when we secured distribution, we made sure to update ScreenCraft, invite them to our premieres, etc.

Put simply, screenwriting competitions want to see their winners and grantees succeed, but, it’s up to you to keep them involved and engaged in the developments of your project!

ScreenCraft: All journeys toward success are different, but can you tell us about yours after winning Film Fund? 

CG: The story is unfolding. I was a staff writer last year on the Netflix animated kids show Phantom Pups (probably less to do with my writing skills and more based on the fact I have a 7-year-old daughter and I’m a lifelong dog owner and dog lover!).

Then, with all the momentum from UNZIPPED this year, I recently got signed to CAA and I’m developing an exciting new slate of doc series to take to market. I also have a big, radically hopefully, new kids-focused story and sustainability multiverse project I’m looking to launch next year. Winning the Film Fund has been a wonderful boost for all of my storytelling ambitions and passion!

ScreenCraft: Tell us about Unzipped. What inspired you to tell the story of those affected most by the affordable housing crisis in America?

CG: Throughout my career, I’ve been committed to crafting powerful films that challenge the status quo. Many of the stories I’m drawn to focus on overlooked communities and voices. Certainly, one of the most marginalized communities in America is the unhoused.

I felt it was unconscionable that in a country as wealthy as America there are over 582,000 citizens who experience homelessness every year. I decided to create a film that explored the growing wealth gap in America and the systemic inequities of our system. As I dug into early research, it became clear that homelessness is the most glaring symptom of our larger affordable housing crisis. It’s an incredibly complex issue, but the disinvestment in low-income and affordable housing across the country is one of the primary drivers of our growing housing crisis.

I decided to use a local lens on this urgent national issue and to center the lived experience of several families struggling to survive in their rapidly gentrifying community (Venice CA 90291). We wanted to cut through the abstract statistics and divisive rhetoric by weaving together intimate verite coverage of their journeys, with interviews from various local stakeholders from multiple points of view.

UNZIPPED is deliberately not very prescriptive about solutions. But hopefully, it’s a movie that, after you watch it, you’re galvanized to talk about the issue, learn more, and possibly even get involved. Access to safe and affordable housing is the number one determinant of social health in communities around America and the globe.

This is why we launched our #RaiseTheRoof Impact Hub. It gives people simple ways to get involved and take action to support the growing movement to enshrine housing as a human right. There’s a Community Learning Guide, a solutions section, ways to donate and volunteer, and an interactive zip code tracker where you can type in your zip or postal code and get connected to housing orgs in your own community.

ScreenCraft: What steps did you take to get Unzipped in the running to get on the Oscar shortlist?

CG: Our all-women identifying producing team, my sister Megan Raney Aarons, Carol “CJ” Gronner Jamila Fairley, and our launch producer Chiuara Fornetti, all believed UNZIPPED should and could be in the Oscar running. They made sure we carved out a theatrical release window before our global debut on Waterbear and subsequent release on streaming platforms around the world (Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, etc).

We had an Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles, and once we found out we qualified for the Academy Awards this Fall, we put together a fully indie, grassroots Oscar FYC campaign supported by various housing organizations like Housing California, the New York State Association For Affordable Housing, Safe Place For Youth (S.P.Y.), Venice Community Housing, Venice Family Clinic, and many others. We didn’t have a big distributor’s marketing muscle behind us, so we did it D.I.Y. Venice “Dogtown” style instead!

ScreenCraft: What are a few takeaways from making Unzipped? What was most challenging? What was most encouraging? 

CG: There’s SO much to say! First, on the filmmaking front, it sounds simple, but surround yourself with the most talented, dedicated people possible who share your commitment and passion for a story!   

Second, filmmaking is an inherently collaborative art form and documentary filmmaking is perhaps the most collaborative art form within the industry. Find your storytelling allies, lean on them and trust them to amplify your story.

The unsung heroes on our team were our camera department led by our DP Tyler Heckerman who fearlessly documented the changes taking place in Venice during our 3-year filming journey, as well as our lead editor, Davide Fiore, and the rest of our edit team (Mohamed El Manasterly, Tayler Braasch and Michael Rogers) who waded through over 100 hours of footage to help me shape and craft the finished movie.

Third, I learned we can never have an honest talk about the affordable housing crisis in America if we don’t first acknowledge the devastating impact of our nation’s history of genocide and slavery. The grinding poverty still prevalent in so many Native communities is evidence of our original land grab (27% of Native Americans live below the poverty line vs 8% of White Americans). Meanwhile, the shocking Black-White wealth gap is stark evidence of the systemic injustices of our housing policies (white families still have almost 10 times as much wealth as Black families, today, in America).

Fourth, never underestimate the power of community and the leverage we still hold as caring advocates for one another. Whether it’s the heroic front-line service providers who take care of the most vulnerable in our societies that we profile in UNZIPPED or the community organizers who successfully lobbied to protect the First Baptist Church from predatory developers, people are making a difference in their communities!

“I learned that creating new coalitions and real change is possible, even with something as complex as the housing crisis. We often feel like systemic change is impossible. We can’t begin to imagine new possibilities.”

Fifth, I had no idea how much we subsidize home ownership in America vs. public housing and renting. The amount of money given away annually through mortgage interest deductions (to primarily white homeowners) is almost 10 times more than what we spend on public housing and rental subsidies. This was an eye-opener for me!

Last but not least, I learned that creating new coalitions and real change is possible, even with something as complex as the housing crisis. We often feel like systemic change is impossible. We can’t begin to imagine new possibilities. The problems besetting our country and communities are too complex. But this is a canard. Things are the way they are because we choose them. Nothing is set in stone. Why do we spend 10 times as much on the military vs housing? Why, in the wealthiest country in the world, do we allow an average of 5 American citizens to die on the streets of Los Angeles alone, every day, because of a lack of shelter?

These are choices we make as a society. Our policies and our legislation reflect our values. They are our moral documents. I believe we’re ready to envision new social contracts in America and build new coalitions to help make that happen. Housing should be a human right and building more affordable housing should be a non-partisan issue! I believe it is possible to envision and build a better future for all.

“Our crew then had the privilege of returning to our own homes each night, but we were haunted by the desperation we were leaving behind.”

ScreenCraft: Was there ever a moment where you felt like giving up? How did you keep going?

CG: This was the hardest film I’ve ever made. The issue is so overwhelming and we were confronted by scenes of wealth and misery, often on the same city block, throughout the filmmaking process. The crew would meet at my house on each filming day, we’d build cameras, then walk a few blocks and find ourselves in the middle of third-world living conditions in local homeless encampments. Our crew then had the privilege of returning to our own homes each night, but we were haunted by the desperation we were leaving behind. It was tough to reconcile, especially during rain storms or cold weather when we knew all these fellow citizens were struggling to survive outside.

The longer we worked on the film, the more outraged I became about the inequities of our system. The key was [channeling] that anger into creating a film that could hopefully spark awareness and dialogue about this complex issue.

One of the things that helped us keep moving forward was that we partnered with a local housing services provider, Safe Place For Youth (S.P.Y.) to understand and embrace this emerging philosophy of ethical storytelling. Some of the core ideas are that, as filmmakers, we need to be conscious of protecting the well-being of vulnerable people while documenting their stories and journeys. Additionally, it is important that the people in these vulnerable populations not feel pressured to share their stories, and that they feel empowered to own their stories even after they’ve been shared with a film like ours.

“UNZIPPED is a film that asks people to completely re-evaluate what we prioritize as a country and as individuals. It’s a film that challenges people to re-evaluate what we care about and how we take care of each other.”

This helped us continue with our mission. The other thing is that we made sure to document perspectives from all sides of this complex debate – from pro-housing and homeless shelter advocates to local leaders who were opposed to building new homeless shelters or adopting more streamlined affordable housing zoning laws. It was certainly depressing to witness some of the anger and vitriol directed at common-sense housing solutions, especially in a supposedly progressive community like Venice.  But it was also encouraging to witness all the dedicated front-line services providers who have committed their lives to serving others.

This all fueled us to keep going and release the movie. UNZIPPED is a film that asks people to completely re-evaluate what we prioritize as a country and as individuals. It’s a film that challenges people to re-evaluate what we care about and how we take care of each other. I believe systemic change is needed and possible and hopefully UNZIPPED can help catalyze action to help address this urgent humanitarian issue.

“The best storytellers bring a fresh perspective and a new POV to our screens.”

ScreenCraft: Any advice for screenwriters?

CG: Everyone says keep writing… and this is an essential piece of advice for all writers! It’s hard and lonely and there are a lot of rejections along the way. You have to keep at it! No great project materializes easily and without relentless belief, passion, and dedication. 

But as a documentary filmmaker, social impact storyteller, and screenwriter, I would also add a challenge. How are you using your gift and your writing talents to spread joy and uplift others?

My advice is to try new things, garner new life experiences, and get outside of our own bubbles. The best storytellers bring a fresh perspective and a new POV to our screens. You don’t learn that in film school (although you learn a lot there!). Push boundaries, expand your horizons, and always, always challenge the status quo. We need new voices and new ideas in filmmaking!

Read More: The 3 Easiest Types of Films to Get Funding For

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Unzipped is available to rent now on Amazon (U.S., UK & Australia); globally on Vimeo, YouTube, Google Play, and Apple+.

Links:

Photos courtesy @kellyfogelphotography

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