The Producers Award, now in its 19th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Mel Eslyn is an independent film producer who splits her time between Seattle and Los Angeles. She produced the 2014 Sundance Film Festival hit The One I Love, directed by Charlie McDowell and starring Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass and Ted Danson (Radius/TWC theatrical release August 2014). At the 2015 SXSW Film Festival Mel premiered two features, Ross Partridge’s Lamb (The Orchard) and Todd Rohal’s Uncle Kent 2 (Factory 25), both in theaters early 2016. Her other features include Improvement Club, Your Sister’s Sister,Treatment, and Touchy Feely. Mel is currently in post on her latest features The Intervention (d. Clea DuVall), Dreamland (d. Robert Schwartzman) and Lane 1974 (d. SJ Chiro), the Seattle-based web series Rocketmen (d. Web Crowell), and is currently in development on a slate of films for Duplass Brothers Productions.
Congrats to Mel and bravo for Seattle filmmaking…even, the mumblecore-y kind!
Here’s the complete list of winners:
