Frameline And The Colin Higgins Foundation Reveal 2024 Grant Recipients

(L to R) Farah Jabir and Leaf Lieber
Photos courtesy of Carin Leong and Deanie Chen

EXCLUSIVE: Frameline, the arts nonprofit that hosts the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, joined the Colin Higgins Foundation in announcing the recipients of the 2024 Colin Higgins Youth Foundation Grant. The 2024 winners are New York-based filmmakers Farah Jabir (Kasbi) and Leaf Lieber (Burrow).

The partnership, which began in 2023, centers on providing young LGBTQ+ filmmakers with financial support to continue their work. Eligible applicants must self-identify as LGBTQ+ filmmakers, be under the age of 25, and currently reside in the U.S.

“We are deeply honored to continue our partnership with the Colin Higgins Foundation and honor Colin’s enduring legacy by empowering LGBTQ+ youth filmmakers,” said Allegra Madsen, Executive Director of Frameline. “This year’s Festival is centered on the power film has to create change and shape our cultural moment. Youth filmmakers, like Farah Jabir and Leaf Lieber, are not only vital members of the queer film community, but their work speaks volumes about the importance of championing emerging voices in an ever-shifting political and artistic landscape.”

This year, two LGBTQ+ youth filmmakers have been selected as the recipients of the Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant, and will each receive $15,000 to support their future film projects. In addition to awarding a total of $30,000 to these emerging filmmakers, Frameline will screen the grant recipients’ films at the 48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline48), which takes place June 19–29.

In addition to being in attendance for their respective screenings, Jabir and Lieber will be hosted by Frameline48 for the Festival’s run. “I am humbled by Frameline and the Colin Higgins Foundation for choosing me for a continuation grant,” Jabir said. “As an emerging filmmaker, I am incredibly grateful for their support and belief in me and my work.”

The Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant is named after the late Colin Higgins, an acclaimed screenwriter and director responsible for such classic films as Harold and Maude, 9 to 5, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, among others. After being diagnosed with HIV in 1985, he founded the Colin Higgins Foundation as a means of supporting LGBTQ+ youth in underserved communities by helping to fund programs and organizations that foster and build their leadership skills and empowerment. Since 1988, the Foundation has awarded over 660 grants totaling over $5.8 million to further the humanitarian vision of its founder.

“I am honored, shocked, and endlessly grateful. It’s beyond me to have my work recognized in this way,” said Lieber. “It’s especially meaningful to receive the Colin Higgins Youth Grant because my late mother’s favorite film was Harold and Maude. I can’t help but think of her during this time.”

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