SWAMP is a non-profit organization that encourages a multicultural community to create and appreciate film. We encourage the creation of film by offering: workshops, youth programs, film conferences, screening, coverage services, competitions, grants and fiscal sponsorships. We encourage the appreciation of film by offering: screenings, events, salons, lectures, The Territory and a Kids Club.

We serve to preserve the history of film in Houston as well as support the future of film culture in our region.

DESCRIPTION

Incorporated as a non-profit media arts center in 1977, SWAMP promotes film, video and new media through education, information and presentation activities for all ages.

PHILOSOPHY

SWAMP is a Texas-based media arts center committed to the film and video art of this region, the artists producing independent images, and to the cultivation of an engaged audience. It is vital to the intellectual and cultural development of any community to have the ability and resources to create its own artistic vision. In order to cultivate a climate for media representation of this region, SWAMP supports the tradition of artists who express their visions through film, video, and new media. SWAMP encourages development of audiences who seek out artistic voices that reflect, celebrate, and examine the cultural, social, and political diversity of their localities.

BRIEF HISTORY

SOUTHWEST ALTERNATE MEDIA PROJECT, INC.

In 1977, through the vision of the internationally acclaimed filmmaker and educator James Blue, with founding director Ed Hugetz and initial financial support of Houston philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, SWAMP became the first Texas independent nonprofit organization for the “citizen filmmaker.” Over the course of its history, SWAMP recognized and supported the work of such noted filmmakers as Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez and Jane Campion, and helped Texas filmmakers receive over $2 million for their non-commercial films in the last 13 years alone.

Today SWAMP offers aspiring filmmakers of all ages professional development workshops, after-school programs, summer film classes, special screenings, fiscal sponsorship, THE TERRITORY (our Texas PBS broadcast series), grant opportunities, collaborative events, and much more in our mission to promote the creation and appreciation of film, video and new media as art forms of our multicultural community.

SWAMP’s educational programs and screenings, directly benefit an average of some 2800 filmmakers and film-lovers annually. We depend on partial funding from The Houston Endowment, The City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, The Brown Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Houston Film Commission, and we depend on individual donors like YOU!

As we enter our 38th year of service to Texas filmmakers and film fans, your involvement and support will help SWAMP to fulfill our mission and shape the course of our future for the next 38 years.

SWAMP supports artists who express their visions through film, video, and new media. In addition to supporting filmmakers, SWAMP serves film entusiasts who who seek out creative voices that reflect, celebrate, and examine the cultural, social, and political diversity of their localities.

Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts center in 1977, SWAMP is Houston’s premier creative resource for filmmakers and film lovers. SWAMP promotes film, video and new media through education, information, and presentation activities for all ages.