The Adrienne Shelly Foundation: Supporting Women Filmmakers

The Adrienne Shelly Foundation is a New York-based non-profit organization with a simple yet critical mission: supporting women filmmakers. According to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State University, only 6 percent of the 250 top-grossing films of 2013 were directed by women. Through partnerships with the finest academic and filmmaking institutions, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation provides scholarships, production grants, finishing funds, and living stipends to women filmmakers.

The Adrienne Shelly Foundation's partners include the American Film Institute, the Independent Filmmaker Project, the Sundance Institute, Women in Film, the Nantucket Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Institute, Columbia University, Boston University, and Rooftop Films. To date, the Foundation has granted more than 50 awards to women filmmakers, including Academy Award winner Cynthia Wade, Maryam Keshevarz, Nanette Burstein, Dee Rees, Ana Lily Amirpour, Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern, Ondi Timoner, Lucy Mulloy, and Stacie Passon.

A talented actor, writer, and director, Adrienne Shelly began her film career in 1988 when she starred in Hal Hartley's acclaimed The Unbelievable Truth. She also starred in the classic Trust and appeared in more than 20 other films, including Factotum with Matt Dillon. Fiercely dedicated to the art of filmmaking, Shelly successfully transitioned from actor to filmmaker. She wrote, directed, and starred in three feature films: Sudden Manhattan, I'll Take You There, and Waitress. Waitress premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, was purchased hours later by Fox Searchlight Films, and became a nationwide box-office success. It is currently being developed as a Broadway musical. Serious Moonlight, another film written by Shelly, and is now being adapted for the stage.

Following Shelly's tragic death in 2006, her husband, Andy Ostroy, established the Adrienne Shelly Foundation to support other women who are also passionate about making movies and living for their art.