Borscht Corporation

Borscht Corporation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and film organization based in Miami, Florida. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial entertainment company, it functions as a creative platform for filmmakers and artists whose work is connected to Miami, its urban culture, and the identities of communities living in or shaped by the city. Its activities combine commissioning, production support, exhibition, festival programming, and filmmaker development. The organization is particularly associated with the Borscht Film Festival, a quasi-annual event in Miami that presents Borscht-commissioned work alongside other experimental, independent, and locally relevant films. The festival has been described by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world and has also received attention for its unconventional and highly distinctive programming. The event serves both as a public showcase and as a focal point for the organization’s broader effort to create an independent film culture in Miami. Borscht Corporation issues open calls for film and video ideas from artists who come from Miami, live there, or are inspired by the city. It has supported first-time filmmakers as well as established and visiting collaborators. The organization’s commissioning model has helped provide financial and technical assistance to artists who might otherwise lack access to production resources. Its work has frequently foregrounded underrepresented perspectives, including Latin American and other locally rooted identities. A significant turning point came in 2010, when Borscht received a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The grant helped the organization expand its production activity and establish a stronger platform for emerging filmmakers. Additional support has come from Creative Capital and Time Warner OneFifty. Through these resources, Borscht has developed a body of short films that has circulated well beyond Miami. The organization’s commissioned films have appeared at major festivals and cultural institutions, including Sundance, SXSW, AFI Fest, the Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca, Venice, and the Rotterdam International Film Festival. According to the referenced material, 20 Borscht-commissioned shorts had screened at Sundance, 14 at SXSW, and eight at AFI Fest by the time of the source’s account. The films had collectively received 51 festival awards as of 2018, while at least 21 commissions had been selected as Vimeo Staff Picks. Ten films had also been acquired by the Criterion Collection and made available through the Criterion Channel. Borscht’s influence extends beyond the films it directly commissions. Members and alumni associated with the organization include Bernardo Britto, Lucas Leyva, Jillian Mayer, Terence Nance, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Marnie Ellen Hertzler, Barry Jenkins, Alex Lim Haas, Robin Comisar, Sam Kuhn, Faren Humes, Keisha Rae Witherspoon, and Sebastián Silva. Several were recognized by Filmmaker Magazine as New Faces of Independent Film, while Barry Jenkins, Terence Nance, and Sebastián Silva were included in a New York Times list of directors to watch in 2013. The organization has also been the subject of retrospectives and received coverage from publications and broadcasters including Art Papers, CBS News, Interview, The New Yorker, and VICE. Its work has been shown at venues such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim. Borscht Corporation is therefore best understood as a nonprofit cultural producer and commissioning platform whose brand is associated with experimental moving-image work, Miami-specific storytelling, emerging talent, and international circulation.

Borscht Corporation developed as a Miami-centered nonprofit film initiative focused on short films and videos made in, about, or inspired by the city. Its model differs from that of a conventional production studio: it identifies ideas through open calls, commissions artists, offers financial and technical support, and creates exhibition opportunities through its own festival and external cultural partners. This structure allows the organization to support both first-time filmmakers from the local community and invited artists working collaboratively with Miami-based talent. The organization’s most important institutional development documented in the available material was its receipt of a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2010. The grant helped Borscht increase its production activity and build a platform for filmmakers who were not yet established in the industry. Its programming has often emphasized underrepresented perspectives, including Latin American identities and experiences connected to South Florida. Miami is treated not merely as a backdrop but as a source of subject matter, language, visual culture, and community relationships. Borscht Corporation’s public identity is closely tied to the Borscht Film Festival. Held on a quasi-annual basis in Miami, the festival provides a venue for presenting the organization’s commissions and related work. Its reputation has been shaped by unusual programming and a willingness to present experimental and formally adventurous films. MovieMaker Magazine included it among the 25 coolest film festivals in the world, while other descriptions emphasized its eccentricity and unconventional character. The commissions produced through the organization’s network achieved substantial circulation at festivals and museums. The available account reports 20 Borscht commissions screening at Sundance, including four projects in competition in each of the 2016 and 2018 editions. Fourteen shorts screened at SXSW and eight appeared at AFI Fest. These films received three SXSW jury prizes and three AFI Fest jury prizes, while two Borscht-associated films won jury prizes at Sundance. At least 21 commissions were selected as Vimeo Staff Picks, and ten were acquired by the Criterion Collection for streaming on the Criterion Channel. By 2018, Borscht shorts had collectively won 51 festival awards. Several individual works illustrate the range of the organization’s output. Bernardo Britto’s animated films Places Where We Lived and Yearbook won the AFI Fest Animated Short Grand Jury Prize in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Yearbook also received the Sundance Short Film Jury Prize in 2014, and Glove won the Animated Short Grand Jury Award at SXSW in 2016. Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva’s Scenic Jogging was included in the Guggenheim Museums’ YouTube PLAY exhibition in 2010. Their projects Life & Freaky Times of Uncle Luke and #PostModem were Sundance short-film finalists, while the MTV-associated web series NO SEASONS received a 2015 Webby Award for Outstanding Reality Series. Borscht’s significance has also been reflected in the careers of its members and alumni. Thirteen associated filmmakers were named to Filmmaker Magazine’s annual New Faces of Independent Film list. Barry Jenkins, Terence Nance, and Sebastián Silva were also included in The New York Times’ 2013 list of directors to watch. The organization’s films have been presented at hundreds of venues worldwide, ranging from the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim to major international film festivals. In 2015, Borscht was the subject of retrospectives at the Cineglobe International Film Festival at CERN in Geneva and at the Independent Filmmaker Project’s Media Center in Brooklyn. A further retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was planned for 2016. Grants from the Knight Foundation, Creative Capital, and Time Warner OneFifty provided institutional support. Taken together, these activities position Borscht Corporation as a Miami-rooted nonprofit that combines local cultural development with an international platform for experimental short-form cinema.

• 2018

  Borscht commissions reach a reported 51 festival awards

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The available account stated that Borscht shorts had collectively won 51 festival awards by 2018.

• 2016

  Glove wins at SXSW

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Bernardo Britto’s animated short Glove received the Animated Short Grand Jury Award at the SXSW Film Festival.

• 2016

  Planned LACMA retrospective

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The Los Angeles County Museum of Art was reported as planning a Borscht Corporation retrospective.

• 2015

  Borscht receives international retrospectives

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was the subject of retrospectives at CERN’s Cineglobe International Film Festival in Geneva and at the Independent Filmmaker Project’s Media Center in Brooklyn.

• 2015

  NO SEASONS wins a Webby Award

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The web series NO SEASONS, produced in association with MTV by Mayer/Leyva, received a Webby Award for Outstanding Reality Series.

• 2014

  Yearbook receives major short-film recognition

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Bernardo Britto’s Yearbook won the AFI Fest Animated Short Grand Jury Prize and the Sundance Short Film Jury Prize.

• 2013

  Places Where We Lived wins at AFI Fest

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Bernardo Britto’s animated short Places Where We Lived received the AFI Fest Animated Short Grand Jury Prize.

• 2010

  Knight Foundation challenge grant

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Borscht received a challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, supporting expanded production and opportunities for emerging filmmakers.

• 2010

  Scenic Jogging enters the Guggenheim YouTube PLAY exhibition

  [1]Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva’s Scenic Jogging was selected for the Guggenheim Museums’ YouTube PLAY exhibition across New York, Berlin, Bilbao, and Venice.

A nonprofit, artist-centered film platform that develops distinctive short-form cinema connected to Miami and provides visibility and production support for emerging and underrepresented filmmakers.

• Film festival

  Borscht Film Festival

  Borscht Corporation’s quasi-annual Miami film festival is its principal public exhibition platform. It presents Borscht commissions and related independent or experimental work, using an unconventional program to connect local audiences with filmmakers and artists. The festival has attracted international attention and has been recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the world’s coolest film festivals.

• Short film production

  Borscht-commissioned short films

  These films are developed through open calls and collaborations involving artists from Miami, living in Miami, or inspired by the city. Borscht provides selected creators with financial and technical assistance, with an emphasis on emerging filmmakers and perspectives that are underrepresented in mainstream cinema. The resulting works span animation, experimental video, narrative shorts, documentary approaches, and hybrid forms.

• Web series

  NO SEASONS

  NO SEASONS was a web series produced by Mayer/Leyva in association with MTV. Its recognition with a 2015 Webby Award for Outstanding Reality Series illustrates Borscht’s reach beyond conventional short-film festival programming and into digitally distributed episodic work.

• 2010

  Expand commissioning and filmmaker support through grant fundingStrategy

  Background

  Borscht sought to create more opportunities for untested filmmakers and strengthen a Miami-centered creative platform.

  Action taken

  Following a Knight Foundation challenge grant, the organization expanded production activity and provided financial and technical support to commissioned artists.

  Aftermath

  The expanded commissioning model contributed to a body of work that reached major festivals, museums, digital platforms, and the Criterion Collection.

  Source

• Use open calls to develop Miami-connected short filmsStrategy

  Background

  The organization’s mission centers on creating films in and about Miami while widening access for local and underrepresented artists.

  Action taken

  Borscht solicits project ideas from artists connected to Miami and combines commissioning with production assistance and festival exhibition.

  Aftermath

  The approach produced an internationally exhibited catalog and helped launch or amplify the careers of multiple independent filmmakers.

  Source

1. 1Borscht Corporationen.wikipedia.org