This morning, Milwaukee Film announced the creation of the Brico Forward Fund, a new granting program with the aim to help fund opportunities for local filmmakers and provide the necessary financial and technical needs of promising film projects. 

In its first year, the Brico Forward Fund has collected a pool of $50,000 in cash plus $76,000 in sponsor-donated production resources – such as rentals for camera and lighting equipment, and post-production services – which will be awarded in combined cash and services packages to jury-selected recipients. Milwaukee Film anticipates that, in this granting program's inaugural year, three to five projects will be able to be awarded. 

"Milwaukee Film is dedicated to growing the local filmmaking community," said Milwaukee Film artistic and executive director Jonathan Jackson in a press release. "No one doubts the incredible talent here, but over the years, we have noticed a lack of funding opportunities that go directly to artists and their work. We are attempting to do our part to address that with the launch of the Brico Forward Fund."

"We share Milwaukee Film’s commitment to nurturing a sustainable environment for local filmmakers, while engendering dialogue about issues of relevance to our community," said Anne Summers, CEO of the Brico Fund. "This aligned vision has inspired the Brico Fund to provide lead support for the inaugural year of the Brico Forward Fund, that will offer the financial and production assistance critical to ensuring the creation of high quality and meaningful film projects by local artists."

Applications for the 2015 Brico Forward Fund open online today and will be accepted through Sunday, Aug. 16. The process is open to residents of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Kenosha, Racine Ozaukee, Walworth and Washington counties, and requires a description of the project, as well as a work sample and an explanation into what will help push the project forward. The jury-selected recipients will be announced during the upcoming Milwaukee Film Festival this fall. 

After this inaugural year, the fund aims to increase its pool to $100,000 annually and develop long-term support to continue its work long into the future. 

For more information on the Brico Forward Fund and applications, visit Milwaukee Film's website.