One Love and The Allstate Foundation Announce 2021 Film Fellows
New York, NY (October 1, 2021)—The One Love Foundation and The Allstate Foundation have teamed up to offer five young filmmakers the opportunity to create short films that uplift underrepresented voices in relationship health. The awardees of the 2021 Allstate Foundation Film Fellowship program are Cortiana Barnes and Hypatia Sorunke (joint film) from Austin, TX, Isaiah Thomas (individual film) from Denver, CO, Ling Yu (individual film) from New York, NY, and Spencer Tsang (individual film) from Sacramento, CA.
Selected from a talented group of over 50 applicants from across the country, each fellow or fellow team received an Allstate Foundation grant of $15,000 to produce their film, as well as master classes with top filmmakers, screenwriters, and producers to help bring their vision to life.
The 2021 Allstate Foundation Film Fellowship was open to people of color and/or LGTBQ+ filmmakers in the United States between the ages of 18 and 25. The four short films include themes of financial abuse, the 10 Signs of a Healthy and Unhealthy Relationship, practicing healthy relationship behaviors, communicating boundaries and practicing consent, helping a friend, navigating relationship endings, and accessing resources.
To ensure the films address an increasingly diverse audience of young people, the filmmakers focused on one or more of the following topics:
- Relationships that center around people of color and/or LGBTQ+ young people
- How young men/masculine-identifying people experience romantic relationships and/or friendships
- Language and/or religious diversity
- Socio-economic diversity
- People from rural or urban communities
Over the last decade, One Love has transformed the traditional narrative around relationship health and helped young people recognize the early warning signs of abuse as well as how to build healthy relationships, by offering compelling original content and workshops. Similarly, since 2005, The Allstate Foundation has worked to end domestic violence by empowering survivors with the education and resources to break free from financial abuse and by equipping young people with the information and confidence they need to help prevent unhealthy relationships before they start.
“Increasing youth’s access to educational tools that were designed for and by them will better ensure a diverse and inclusive definition of what healthy relationships look like,” said Francie Schnipke Richards, vice president of social responsibility and The Allstate Foundation. “We’re proud to partner with One Love and these talented young filmmakers to create powerful films that will help youth engage in healthy relationships and disrupt the cycle of violence.”
The fellows’ films will launch throughout 2022 and be featured alongside One Love’s 40+ pieces of educational video content, discussion guides, and blog, available anytime to anyone at no cost through One Love’s online Education Center.
“We are thrilled to partner with The Allstate Foundation to provide the critical resources young people need to create impactful films that spotlight healthy and unhealthy relationships,” said One Love CEO Katie Hood. “So much of what we bring to our own relationships is learned through what we see in movies and TV, and it is our hope that these young filmmakers can be a catalyst for more positive representation within the media we consume. We thank the fellows for sharing their stories and talents to help educate all youth about relationship health.”
Please visit joinonelove.org for the latest updates on the Allstate Foundation Film Fellowship program, including future opportunities to choose which film will win The Allstate Foundation Award at One Love’s annual One Night for One Love in New York City this coming April.
About The Allstate Foundation
The Allstate Foundation advances equity so that everyone can thrive. The Allstate Foundation has invested more than $85 million to end domestic violence through financial empowerment. The Foundation empowers victims with the tools to achieve financial independence and a life free from abuse and educates young people on the elements of healthy relationships to help stop abuse before it starts.
About The One Love Foundation
The One Love Foundation was founded in honor of Yeardley Love, a 22-year-old college student whose life was tragically cut short when she was killed by her ex-boyfriend. Since its launch, the foundation has educated more than 1.5 million young people through online and in-person workshops on signs of unhealthy and healthy relationship behaviors—emerging as a leader in preventing relationship violence and abuse. Partners have included professional athletic teams, governmental, financial and educational institutions. For more information on the One Love Foundation, please visit joinonelove.org.
