Yaddo Filmmaker Caran Hartsfield Wins 2002 Gordon Parks Award

Yaddo artist Caran Hartsfield received a 2002 Gordon Parks Award for Emerging African-American Filmmakers at the IFP Market Awards ceremony October 3 in New York City.

Ms Hartsfield won in the screenwriting category for Bury Me Standing (Swing Down Low), a project she worked on while in residence at Yaddo in 2001. Bury Me Standing is a narrative screenplay featuring an ensemble cast in a comedic drama about life, death, and the madness that follows when the two meet. It is a tale that examines a young woman's reflections on death, a memorial, and a "family" that is forced to face its greatest fears when a young man suddenly dies.

The Gordon Parks Awards, presented to African-American screenwriters and directors, are sponsored by Artists Public Domain and The Directors Guild of America. The awards include a $10,000 prize.

Ms. Hartsfield, who lives in Brooklyn, has won several awards for writing and directing, including the Cannes Film Festival-Cinefoundation Award, The Director's Guild of America Best Emerging Filmmaker Award, the Martin Scorsese Fellowship, the Spike Lee Fellowship, and the Richard Vague Fellowship. She also recently was selected to receive a $10,000 fellowship as part of IFP/New York's Project Involve mentorship program to promote diversity. Ms. Hartsfield was a 2001 designee for the GE Fund Residency for Artists of Color at Yaddo.