Emerson Filmmaker Wins Short Film Funding from Vimeo

Master of Fine Art candidate Carmen Pedrero was one of five filmmakers across the country to receive a Vimeo Short Film Grant presented by Nikon and Red to shoot her thesis film, I Remember the House Was Red.

The grant provides $30,000 in financial support for the project, as well as access and training on Nikon and RED cameras, one-on-one mentorship from established filmmakers, and distribution on Vimeo.

“Basically, it will allow me to make the short film with more resources, therefore shooting more comfortably and professionally,” Pedrero said. “Besides that, I’ll have the chance to receive mentorship from filmmakers I really admire (like Charlotte Wells or David Lowery, amongst others), which is very exciting.”

Pedrero said she and her cast and crew are starting on pre-production, and plan to shoot in late-August.

I Remember the House Was Red examines the aftermath of predatory relationships. Paula, 28, runs into 55-year-old Bruno more than a decade after they had a secret online affair.

“The film is based on my own experience, and was born from a desire to de-romanticize teen-adult relationships and expose them for that they truly are,” Pedrero said.

She said fellow MFA candidate and producer Zayan Agha, with whom she applied for the Vimeo grant, has been instrumental in the film getting made, as has project chair Professor Cristina Kotz Cornejo, reader and affiliated faculty member Barbara Doyle, and Associate Professor Elizabeth Fausak, all of whom gave her the space and support to develop her idea.