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WIF.D Scholarship Winners Announced! |
Meet our 2008 Award Winners!
 $3500 Project Completion Funds
Arvind Singh – UNT
Arvind was born to a theatre couple, raised on the stage. Her father is a well known Punjabi Playwright and as stage Director used theatre as a tool of mass awareness. She was actively involved with his group as an actor and organizer. Traveling with him from village to village with the theatre group, she noticed the effect of the art although limited because it reached only a small section of society. Arvind wanted to reach more people in India and throughout the world but was unsure what creative medium to use.
From this frustration and her idealism, she began practicing law at the age of 22. However, her dream of changing the world crumbled when she realized that the people who needed help the most or were victims of a corrupt society were often unaware that they’d been wronged. Returning to her original idea, she had to find a creative and wide ranging awareness tool that was stimulating and would help the people understand the corrupt system in which they lived.
Documentary films seemed to be the viable answer and this realization gave birth to her first production company in India named Srijan (To Create). She faced many obstacles because it was impossible to get grants or any financial aid for what she wanted to achieve. Finally the situation in Punjab deteriorated due to State oppression and the people’s retaliation to State terrorism. Arvind ended up making a documentary on this subject but it offended the watchdogs of the system and she decided to move to America.
Wanting to continue to make films, she decided to learn the craft aspect of the art and joined the Masters of Fine Arts program with the University of North Texas. Women In Film.Dallas has provided finishing funds for her film, “The Rising Tide” through the 2008 scholarship program. In the introduction of her business plan Arvind wrote, “Amidst the deafening noise created by the mainstream American media, some people are trying to recover the voice of the people that has the ultimate power to question the actions of their system. Ironically, this muffled voice never reaches the outside world creating an impression that American people are either too complacent or ignorant towards the miseries of the rest of the world...” Clearly, the talents of Arvind Singh can change that misconception.
 $1500 Tuition Scholarship
Sharie Vance – UT Arlington
When Sharie Vance submitted her essay with her WIF.D Scholarship application, she chose the title “Making a Difference” and in her opening line she quotes Abraham Maslow: “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be.”
While raising her family of 4, Sharie took jobs strictly for the income. After her children were grown she realized she could no longer force herself to work at jobs that had no meaning. Always wanting to creatively express herself and make a difference in the world, Sharie had been raised to believe that one could not do both at the same time – that it wasn’t practical. After putting together a video for a past employer, she discovered an outlet for her talents but it took over a year to develop the courage to go back to school and pursue something that wasn’t “practical”.
As a student she has watched herself do things she’s never thought possible, such as making a short film, two music videos and a documentary called “Shelter Walkers”. It was her reaction to this documentary about animal rescue that wiped away any lingering doubts. She has had an overwhelming response from people who were moved by the story she wrote and produced which has resulted in saving the lives of countless animals in North Texas. In her own eyes, something even better has happened. Sharie’s children now think of her as their hero, inspired by her example to strive for their own dreams. Women In Film.Dallas is proud to award Sharie Vance the tuition scholarship as she continues to grow as a filmmaker.
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