Congratulations to Stranger Genius shortlister (and 2006 Guggenheim fellow) Dayna Hanson, who is the newest recipient of Northwest Film Forum’s Start-to-Finish grant.

As with previous projects, Hanson will create Rainbow through an improvisational process with a tight group of collaborators. Maggie Brown (We Go Way Back) and Dave Proscia (Hanson’s bandmates in Today!) co-star with Linas Phillips (Walking to Werner). Music by Today! (which also features Paul Matthew Moore, who composed the score for Zoo) drives the moody, minimalist tale of four interconnected characters struggling toward hope against the grim, seedy background of a Seattle winter. Development is scheduled to begin in late Spring 2008.

NWFF is also tightening up the funding structure for the grant:

With the new structure, the organization provides $100,000 cash and $150,000 in in-kind services to produce the film, and supports the project at every phase of production. With past features, Start-to-Finish films had elastic budgets, funds were raised throughout production, and films took considerably longer to make. With this new approach, funds will be raised in advance, and artists will be commissioned to complete work on a tighter timeline.