Rising Up

Leilani makes the commute to SF every day from her new apartment in Vallejo.

We just wrapped post-production on a short doc by Director Natasha Florentino called Rising Up. The film explores the initiative, also called Rising Up, that was started by Mayor London Breed to reduce youth homelessness in San Francisco by 50% by 2023. The program provides short term support to prevent entry into homelessness and then offers up to three years of rent subsidy with intensive case management, so youth like Leilani, the featured character in this film, can gradually become independent. We got to cut beautiful footage into a moving story and at the same time learn all about this innovative effort to tackle the problem of youth homelessness.

Creating a Bay Area for Everyone

In a large grassy lot in Walnut Creek, Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley is about to break ground on Esperanza Place, a new development that will make affordable homeownership possible for 42 families! Always happy to help Habitat promote the much-needed work they do in the Bay.

Production in the Owyhee Wilderness

We were in production in rural eastern Oregon for a conservation push for the Owyhee Wilderness! We interviewed people about how they connect with the land and the importance of keeping it protected.

Commercial for legendary SF shop

In December we created several holiday ad spots for Gump’s, the renowned Union Square shop founded in 1861. The videos aired locally and nationally on cable channels such as Hallmark and the team at Gump’s were a blast to work with!

Building A SOLUTION

We teamed up again with Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley to create a year-end video that showcases the important work they did in 2020 to address the Bay Area housing crisis. We looked at the projects under construction for future Habitat families, as well as their partnership with the city of San Jose on Emergency Interim Housing. You can see the video here.

Plastic in our oceans

We filmed this interview in idyllic Lake Arrowhead, CA with award-winning filmmaker Craig Leeson zooming in from the UK to discuss his film A Plastic Ocean. Leeson explains that when plastics enter the ocean, they break up into small particulates that attract toxins. These increasingly toxic particulates work their way up the food chain and are eventually consumed by us. In this video Craig Leeson chats with Bank of the West’s Leslie Nuccio about the danger of plastic particulates, the current state of the world’s oceans, and how we can help reduce plastic waste. Thanks Sevdije Kastrati and crew!

Read article here

Sustainable Recovery & the Return of Tennis

It was a huge disappointment for all tennis players and fans when the BNP Paribas Open was postponed this year because of the pandemic. In this video tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Bank of the West’s Leslie Nuccio discuss how tennis and the world can come back more sustainably and better than ever.

GAME. SET. EQUALITY.

As Pride month comes to a close, Martina Navratilova opens up to Bank of the West’s Leslie Nuccio about the importance of bringing your authentic self to the tennis court and the workplace. We could have made many more videos from this interview because there was so much amazing material; it was hard to keep it to one. Thanks for sharing your story, Martina!

Queer Genius

Frameline, the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, was postponed this year due to the pandemic. As part of Bank of the West’s #Changemakers series we had the chance to revisit Chet Pancake’s film Queer Genius, which was featured at the 2019 festival. Queer Genius explores the lives of four visionary queer artists: Eileen Myles, Barbara Hammer, Jibz Cameron and Black Quantum Futurism. In this interview Chet talks about why they made the film and offers advice to aspiring filmmakers and entrepreneurs.

Sustainability in the Clothing Industry

We just wrapped up a video for Higg Co. The video features the Higg Index, a powerful tool which helps apparel companies improve and monitor their practices to create more sustainable products. Thanks Jason Kibbey and John Armstrong for the great collaboration and for your important work!

A Big Year for Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley accomplished a great deal in 2019! Our end-of-year video highlighted their Central Commons development in Fremont, their Bridge Housing Communities’ small homes for the homeless in San Jose, their Cycle of Hope fundraising ride, and their house-building trip to Malawi. Looking forward to more in 2020!

OSIsoft's PI System

This month we made a series of promotional videos for OSIsoft highlighting their PI System – a way for companies to collect, enhance, and deliver operations data in real time. One video featured BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., which develops therapies for rare genetic diseases and is headquartered in San Rafael, California. Nice working with you Nick D’Orazio and Sam Cunningham.

The Green Home Makeover

Setting up to interview the Cardenas family in their San Pablo home

Bank of the West and Grid Alternatives are partnering to provide a Green Home Makeover for a family in San Pablo, CA. Yesterday we spent the day documenting the solar panel installation with videographers Matt Rome and Eugene Huang. We’ll be covering the electric car delivery in a few weeks. The three videos we’ll be putting together will raise awareness of the bank’s commitment to the environment and show the impact of energy transition on local communities, and underserved communities in California in particular. We are excited to tell this story!

Interview with Alonzo King of LINES Ballet

“We all start with me. Me. Me. Me. Then with more development it becomes we. We. Then that's not enough. It inevitably goes into oneness where the plant, the animal, the chemical, it's no different than me, so I won't tear this mountain down thinking of what kind of money I can generate from its demise because I'm part of that oneness and that's what the world is aiming for.”

Alonzo King, Founder and Artistic Director of LINES Ballet

We are just finishing up four videos featuring Alonzo King for Bank of the West’s “Changemakers” series, which also includes conversations with Billie Jean King and filmmaker Chet Catherine Pancake.

San José State University: Spartan Rec Center

Just wrapped a video for San José State University that highlights their truly amazing new recreation center! Our local YMCA is looking hopelessly shabby after basking in the glorious light of this monument to fitness. Great working with you Rubén Bravo, Evan Henkel, and Jonathan McDermott!

BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells

Fine Grain Pictures spent five days at the BNP Paribas Open shooting and editing content for Bank of the West, a longtime sponsor of the tournament. We got to interview the legendary Billie Jean King (!), chat with CEO Nandita Bakhshi about gender equality, and watch Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal clean house.

Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley video!

We’re delighted with the video we produced for the East Bay/Silicon Valley chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Working with the team there, we conceptualized a video that encapsulates the power of owning a home through Habitat, and the community that it helps create. We’re so lucky to work with such amazing people in the community!

Greentech Media Livestream 2018

We wrapped up the year with two Greentech Media events - the Power and Renewables Summit in Austin and the Energy Storage Summit here in San Francisco - featuring Casey Johnson, Lauren Veen, and Taj Musco on the risers and Vincent Tremblay as the man behind the curtain. Great work producing a seamless show everyone!

"The GirL That got away" Update

We made the From the Heart Productions’ Hot Films list Summer 2018!
http://fromtheheartproductions.com/hot-films-in-the-making/

Unframed Sight: Filmmakers Showcase

Our quarterly free screening is this Saturday! We plan to show lots of interesting work from local east bay filmmakers. Come support your local artists, activists and friends. Light snacks and drinks provided. 

Saturday, September 29th —7:30PM - 9:30PM 
Panorama Framing
3350 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610

Check out the work we will be showcasing!

Landscape Brigades 
Directed by Vincent Tremblay
A kaleidoscopic look at a changing landscape as the members of a band from San Francisco embark on a DIY tour across the country.

The Girl That Got Away (work in progress)
Directed by Lauren Veen and Ephi Stempler
A 64-year-old transgender actor must choose between her career (playing men) and living her life as a woman.

The Spirit of a Child (work in progress)
Directed by Louis Bryant
Round two with first time filmmaker Louis Bryant III. Since our last showing, new clips have been developed which dive deeper into the story of Mama Laadi and her children in Ghana.

Baghdad to the Bay (Trailer)
Directed by Erin Palmquist
A documentary that follows the journey of an Iraqi refugee and former translator for the US military. Wrongfully accused of being a double agent, tortured by the U.S., and ostracized from his family and country, Ghazwan Alsharif struggles to rebuild his life in the United States while coming out as an openly gay man.