Colin Higgins Foundation

07/03/2025

🌟 What an incredible celebration at Frameline49! We were thrilled to honor our 2025 Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant recipients — Remi Gabriel, and co-directors Carmela Murphy & AJ Dubler — at a special screening of their films, Barbie Boy and A Bird Hit My Window and Now I’m a Le***an.

From stop motion puppets on the red carpet to heartfelt speeches on stage, these emerging LGBTQ+ storytellers lit up the festival with their talent and passion. 🎥🌈

Take a peek at some highlights from this unforgettable night, and celebrate these visionary young filmmakers with us!

👉 Learn more about their work: www.colinhiggins.org

05/02/2025

Say hello to 2025 grant recipient Remi Gabriel, director of Barbie Boy — a poetic short film reflecting on love, memory, and q***r identity through the eyes of a grandson and his Abuela. 💖

Remi is one of this year’s Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant winners and will debut their work at Frameline49 in San Francisco this June. 🎥🌈

Let’s give a round of applause for this powerful storyteller helping to shape the future of q***r cinema!

Learn more: www.colinhiggins.org

05/02/2025

Meet Carmela Murphy & AJ Dubler, recipients of the 2025 Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant for their co-directed short film A Bird Hit My Window and Now I'm a Le***an. 💐🐦

With stop motion artistry and heartfelt storytelling, these two q***r filmmakers are reimagining what coming-of-age looks like. Their film will be featured at Frameline49 this June in San Francisco! 🎉

👏 Help us celebrate the next generation of LGBTQ+ cinematic voices.

More info: www.colinhiggins.org

05/02/2025

📣 We’re thrilled to announce the 2025 Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant recipients!

👏 Please join us in congratulating this year’s winners:
✨ Remi Gabriel (Barbie Boy)
✨ Carmela Murphy & AJ Dubler (A Bird Hit My Window and Now I'm a Le***an)

These inspiring young LGBTQ+ filmmakers are each receiving a $15,000 grant and will have their films showcased at Frameline49 this June in San Francisco. 🌈🎥

Learn more: www.colinhiggins.org

07/16/2024

Congrats again to this year's Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant recipients - Farah Jabir & Leaf Lieber. They were each awarded $15,000 at Frameline's SF International LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Learn more: https://colinhiggins.org/press/

06/25/2024

For a second year, Colin Higgins Foundation has once again partnered with Frameline, the arts nonprofit that hosts the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, to announce the recipients of the 2024 Colin Higgins Youth Foundation Grant. The partnership centers on providing young LGBTQ+ filmmakers with financial support to continue their work. Eligible applicants must self-identify as LGBTQ+ filmmakers, be under the age of 25, and currently reside in the U.S. The 2024 winners are New York-based filmmakers Farah Jabir (Kasbi) and Leaf Lieber (Burrow).

Learn more about our winners at: https://colinhiggins.org/press/

01/23/2023

Join us at the Sedona International Film Festival for a screening of "Celebrating Laughter: The Life & Films of Colin Higgins" on February 18!

07/25/2022

Watch now! Congratulations to our Colin Higgins Foundation LGBTQ+ Youth Filmmaker Grant Winners... From the awards ceremony at Outfest!

LGBTQ+ YOUTH FILMMAKERS AWARDEDColin Higgins Foundation Honors LGBTQIA+ Youth Filmmakers with $15,000 Grants at OutfestColin Higgins Foundation and Outfest ...

07/25/2022

Congratulations to our Colin Higgins Foundation's LGBTQ+ Youth Filmmaker Grant Winners!

Colin Higgins Foundation and Outfest announced the three recipients of the “Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant,” including Eliana Pipes, Alexis Zall and Jacob Roberts. The winners’ short films were showcased during the Outfest film festival.

As part a ceremony before the Outfest sneak preview screening of the new documentary Celebrating Laughter: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins, each recipient was awarded a $15,000 grant to continue their work.

The Winners:
• Eliana Pipes is a q***r, Black/white/Puerto Rican artist based in her hometown of Los Angeles. She is a playwright, filmmaker and performer who wrote and directed the animated short film ¡Nails! which was originally a live action project that she reimagined after COVID halted production. She has been awarded the Academy Gold Fellowship for Women through the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and her play DREAM HOU$E had a world premiere triple co-production with the Alliance Theater, Long Wharf Theater, and Baltimore Center Stage.

• Alexis G. Zall is 24 years old, self identifies as q***r and resides in Los Angeles. She is a young & cutting-edge creator who wrote and directed the short film the beginning & the middle. Her work explores the central question of: what now? with characters who have experienced life-changing situations, such as coming out or preceding trauma. She began posting YouTube videos when she was 13 years old and cultivated an audience over a decade that has grown to more than one million subscribers and over 81 million total views on her self-titled channel. She directed and starred in a branded commercial for Google, developed a half-hour comedy for FX and an original pilot with Kay Cannon producing. In front of the camera, Zall had a memorable guest star on RAMY’s first season, heavily recurred on THE GOLDBERGS and was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Digital Series for her work on ZAC & MIA.

• Jacob Roberts is 25 years old, self identifies as a bis*xual man and lives in Los Angeles. Jacob’s films tell off-beat stories about s*x and s*xuality. Jacob wrote, directed, and performed in Half because he was upset that pop culture “sucks at showing what it's like to be bis*xual.” He wanted to see a story that went beyond stereotypes of bi people as confused or promiscuous and portrayed the reality of being bis*xual. So, he decided to write that story himself.

“We’re proud to celebrate Colin’s legacy by honoring LGBTQ+ youth filmmakers,” said James Rogers, board president of the Colin Higgins Foundation. “Our hope is that the documentary Celebrating Laughter offers a glimpse into Colin’s life and inspires our LGBTQ+ youth to have the courage to continue telling their stories using their authentic, unique and powerful voices.”

About Colin Higgins Foundation
The Colin Higgins Foundation is dedicated to supporting LQBTQ youth in underserved communities and the programs and organizations that foster and build their leadership and empowerment. In addition to recognizing the exemplary achievements of individual youth through the Colin Higgins Youth Courage Awards, the Foundation has also supported the work of numerous organizations such as The Trevor Project, the Le***an and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force, the Japanese-American Citizens League, the Audre Lorde Project, FAMILIA: Trans Q***r Liberation Movement, and more. For more information on the Colin Higgins Foundation, visit www.colinhiggins.org.

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06/23/2022

Colin Higgins Foundation announced today the documentary Celebrating Laughter: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins will have a sneak preview at Outfest Los Angeles on Sunday, July 24 at 3:30 pm at the Director Guild of America.

As part of the screening, the Colin Higgins Foundation will also honor the three recipients of the “Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker Grant,” a new initiative in partnership with Outfest, centered on providing LGBTQIA+ youth filmmakers with $15,000 grants to continue their work. Tickets are available at outfest.org.

Produced, edited and directed by Nicholas Eliopoulos, Celebrating Laughter is a story of a shy Australian boy who came to America as a teenager and rose to the pinnacle of success in Hollywood as a comedy screenwriter/director. With clips from Colin’s hit films Harold and Maude, Silver Streak, Foul Play, 9 to 5 and Best Little Wh******se in Texas, the documentary also features interviews with Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton, Lily Tomin, Charles Durning and Jean Claude Carriere. Shirley MacLaine tells of co-writing with Colin the TV mini-series adaptation of her book, Out on a Limb.

“Colin was a true icon of his time and we’re excited that more audiences will be able to get to know and appreciate his work and his life through Celebrating Laughter,” said Eliopoulos.

After being diagnosed with HIV in 1985, Colin founded the Colin Higgins Foundation as a means of supporting LGBTQ youth in underserved communities. Over the last 24 years, the Foundation has awarded over 660 grants, totaling nearly $6 million, through its Colin Higgins Youth Courage Awards and other initiatives.

“We are excited to be Celebrating Laughter and honoring LGBTQ+ youth filmmakers at Outfest this year. The documentary and the LGBTQ+ youth filmmaker grants are a perfect tribute to our dear friend Colin,” said James Rogers, board president of the Colin Higgins Foundation.

About Nicholas Eliopoulos
Producer/Editor/Director – Celebrating Laughter, The Life and Films of Colin Higgins
Mr. Eliopoulos won “Best Film” at the Universal International Film Festival for his documentary of the first 25-year history of American Cinema and its first movie star entitled Mary Pickford, The Muse of the Movies, which was narrated by Michael York. The film Premiered on Turner Classic Movies after finishing runs at over 10 World Film Festivals, including Telluride and Toronto, plus the prestigious Pordenone International Film Festival in Italy.

Mr. Eliopoulos’ has done two previous documentaries, Vision of a New World starring Marsha Mason, and Ted Danson plus his Russia, A Century of Change about the 100-year history of Russia ending with the fall of the Soviet Union, were both internationally reviewed and well-received.

Spanning a 30+ year history in Hollywood as a film editor, Mr. Eliopoulos recently completed producing and directing the feature documentary Celebrating Laughter about the life of the late filmmaker Colin Higgins. Mr. Eliopoulos is a graduate of the American Film Institute and also a member of both the Motion Picture and Television Academies.

About Colin Higgins Foundation
The Colin Higgins Foundation is dedicated to supporting LQBTQ youth in underserved communities and the programs and organizations that foster and build their leadership and empowerment. In addition to recognizing the exemplary achievements of individual youth through the Colin Higgins Youth Courage Awards, the Foundation has also supported the work of numerous organizations such as The Trevor Project, the Le***an and Gay Immigration Rights Task Force, the Japanese-American Citizens League, the Audre Lorde Project, FAMILIA: Trans Q***r Liberation Movement, and more. For more information on the Colin Higgins Foundation, visit www.colinhiggins.org.

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