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Hendrick Hudson Graduate Wins Sundance Filmmaking Fellowship

CORTLANDT, N.Y. -- Leah Galant, a 2011 Hendrick Hudson High School graduate, was recently awarded the Sundance Ignite Fellowship for emerging filmmakers. 

Leah Galant, a graduate of Hendrick Hudson High School, was recently awarded a Sundance Ignite fellowship.

Leah Galant, a graduate of Hendrick Hudson High School, was recently awarded a Sundance Ignite fellowship.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Galant's documentary film, “Putting the Fire Out,” about a mother and daughter who challenge fear through art, earned her one of only 15 fellowships awarded out of nearly 400 submissions.

She graduated from Ithaca College in 2015 with a degree in Documentary Studies and Production and is currently the Sally Burns Shenkman Woman Filmmaker Fellow at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville.

The young filmmaker credited a number of “incredible teachers” at Hendrick Hudson High School, as well as former student and current filmmaker Andrew Jenks with “influencing me as a documentary filmmaker and inspiring me to tell individual stories that could spark social change.”

To be considered for the fellowship, filmmakers ages 18 to 24,  had to create a short film responding to the question: “What’s Next?” 

The fellowship is an intensive, year-long experience designed to provide artistic and professional development, mentorship, and industry exposure for emerging filmmakers. 

Galant will participate in the Sundance Film Festival and work with a mentor.

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