Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
'Big Tell' Short Films That Captured Valley Stories Win Big Awards
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 4 years ago on
June 11, 2021

Share

Two of the short films produced last year for the Central Valley Community Foundation‘s annual The Big Tell project were recognized with 2021 Hometown Media Awards by the Foundation of the Alliance for Community Media.

Filmmakers Matt Mealer and Jason Duong told GV Wire they’re hoping to win another $5,000 grant for a new Big Tell project this year.

Mealer’s story on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, “The Steam,” was recognized by the foundation as the best documentary in the independent producer division. “Love in Anxiety,” produced by Duong and his former Fresno State classmate Julease Graham, was sparked by the death of George Floyd and rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. It was recognized in the independent producer division of the racial justice and civil rights programming category.

CMAC, the Community Media Access Collaborative, was the fiscal sponsor for the two films and nominated them for the foundation’s competition. They were among more than 1,000 entries for the Hometown Media Awards and were evaluated for several factors, including budget, experience, and subject. The Alliance for Community Media is a nonprofit devoted to encouraging civic engagement through community media.

CMAC Executive Director Bryan Harley said the goal of The Big Tell project is to shine light on stories of the six-county region — Merced, Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, and Kings counties — that might otherwise go untold.

Only 10 projects are selected each year, and the films must be no longer than five minutes.

‘The Steam’

Mealer, a professional photographer and cinemaphotographer based in Fresno, heard last year that there were comparatively few grant applications for stories outside the Fresno metro area. He remembered with fondness the ride he took as a 5-year-old on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad near Fish Camp in Madera County.

But Mealer’s documentary doesn’t focus only on the iron horse. He also tells the stories of longtime engineer Joe Bispo and his co-worker, fireman Diego Morales, their attraction to steam engines, and their desire to keep them running.

The multi-generational views of Bispo and Morales woven into the steam train’s story “is absolutely what I was hoping to capture,” Mealer said.

‘Love in Anxiety’

For Duong and Graham, “Love in Anxiety” was their creative response to the turmoil and emotional distress many people experienced as a result of Floyd’s murder. Duong, who teaches video production to high schoolers, said that as an Asian American he “didn’t feel it was my place” to do a video on racism’s impact on the Black community, so he sought out Graham.

She, too, had been mulling over how to tap into the angst and anger in the Black community. The resulting video is a mix of interviews with family and friends, including her father James. Her 7-year-old son, James, gives life to a motif shot in black and white that Duong said represents the deaths of Black boys and men.

Duong said they were so inspired that the project was nearly completed when they learned they had been awarded a Big Tell grant. “Me and Julease were going to make it whether they chose it or not,” he said.


Big Tell Application Deadline Approaching

Duong said he’s preparing to apply for a grant this year, but this time he plans to stick closer to home and tell the story of his parents and their immigration from Southeast Asia.

The deadline to apply for a Big Tell grant is midnight June 18. The 10 finalists will have three months to create their films and will receive one-on-one mentorship from Emmy-nominated documentarian Sascha Rice and a one-year membership to CMAC.

To apply, go here.

Applicants should review prior year grant winners at The Big Tell website, because the screeners are looking for novel ideas to award grants to. The projects should be new, nonfiction, not previously screened, and focus on art, music, tradition, history, culture, technology, education, hope, determination, innovation, industry, or community in the six-county area.

At least one film will be chosen from each county among the 10 winners.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

UP NEXT

Riverdale High School Coach Arrested for Allegedly Arranging to Meet Minor

UP NEXT

Could Cuddly Colby Be the Darling Gem for You?

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

15 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

21 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

21 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

22 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

22 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

22 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

22 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

22 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

2 days ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

2 days ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the United States ahead of a planned sale of the app to a group of investors, The I...

15 hours ago

A logo is displayed over a door at the U.S. headquarters of the social media company TikTok in Culver City, California, U.S. January 17, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

Boxes of aid are stacked as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Hamas Government Office Rejects US Accusation of Involvement in Gaza Aid Site Attack

A volunteer searches for flood victims after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
15 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 78, Trump Plans Visit

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk listens as US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, U.S. on November 13, 2024. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

A 22-year-old suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked CHP motorcycle and tow truck on Highway 99 near Fresno, narrowly missing an officer and bystanders, CHP said Saturday, July 5, 2025. (CHP)
21 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A service member of a drone unit of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces controls a heavy combat drone while it flies over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Region, Ukraine June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
21 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

An Israeli tank maneuvers in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
22 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned nearly 80,000 acres as of Sunday, July 6, 2025, morning, prompting widespread evacuation orders and warnings across three counties. (CalFire)
22 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend