Simone LeClaire leads a film directing workshop at Fresh Eye Gallery (August, 2022, Minneapolis, MN).

On June 21, 2022 the MRAC board approved $1,344,880 in funding for 93 groups and organizations to receive grant awards in Round 2 of the Flexible Support grant program for FY22. Moonplay Cinema was among this group. We are proud of this achievement as it was first grant and one we needed since we launched in 2020. It was necessary funding to kickstart our first in person programming. We offered filmmaker Simone LeClaire’s intro to filmmaking workshop + mentorship called Yes, You! Specifically designed for gender marginalized folk, Yes, You! was a 6-week class to give space to people who are curious dip their toes into the art of filmmaking while planting the vision of themselves as a film director. Two students from this class, Victor Kirksey-Brown and Hannah Hayes, were ready to explore film directing and complete their first short films with guidance from Simone. Their films were screened December 11, 2022 at a sold out event at The Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater. 

This activity was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.