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EXCLUSIVE: Vera Drew’s Trandemic is nan first recipient of nan Transgender Film Center Found Footage Feature Fund award.
Drew’s task was selected from an applicant excavation pursuing a multi-stage reappraisal process. Applications were first evaluated by nan Transgender Film Center and partner representatives, pinch finalists past presented to Duplass Brothers Productions, who selected nan winning project. Duplass Brothers Productions is 1 of nan original supporters of nan fund, which was created to support micro-budget characteristic filmmaking by transgender creators.
Drew’s task is described arsenic a “cosmic recovered footage horror-comedy.” Specific specifications astir nan title are being kept nether wraps. Genre supplier Chroma has made a distribution connection to Drew.
As nan fund’s inaugural winner, Drew will person a $25,000 rate assistance to support accumulation of Trandemic. The grant package besides includes imaginative advisory support from Duplass Brothers Productions; mentorship pinch Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice; a last book reappraisal from Duplass earlier production; improvement guidance from Kevin Nicklaus of Sandstone Artists; 15 days of in-kind post-production services from Aesthetica Post, including conform, colour grading, ray VFX, DCP transportation and festival-ready masters; a $37,000 post-sound package from Aura Sound and Color; and show submission waivers from Transgender Film Center and partner festivals, including Fantastic Fest.
“I’m truthful wildly stoked and honored to beryllium receiving this assistance from nan Trans Film Center and Duplass Brothers Productions,” said Drew. “Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass reinvented nan recovered footage genre pinch nan Creep franchise, truthful their support intends nan world to maine arsenic I cogwheel up to do nan aforesaid pinch my sophomore characteristic movie Trandemic.”
In summation to nan expansive prize package for Trandemic, Duplass Brothers Productions will besides support nan remaining 3 finalist projects from nan last action information pinch $1,000 crowdfunding matching contributions to thief those teams proceed advancing their films.
“There were truthful galore unthinkable projects submitted to us, I wish we could person picked each 1 of them,” Mark Duplass said successful a statement. “But here’s nan bully news … everyone who built their projects to beryllium made astatine a $25k budget? The difficult portion is already done. They tin now spell out, crowdfund it, and bring it to nan world astatine a clip erstwhile auteur-driven recovered footage scary is having a existent moment.”
Drew is simply a director, writer, editor, and performer. Her erstwhile feature was The People’s Joker (2022), which was a 2025 Nominee for nan John Cassavetes Award astatine nan Indie Spirits.
