RAC Grant Recipient Cinema St. Louis Awarded National Endowment for the Arts Grant

RAC grant recipient Cinema St. Louis received some welcomed news at the beginning of the year – a sizeable American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Arts(NEA). Cinema St. Louis is recommended to receive $100,000 and may use the funding to save jobs and to fund operations and facilities, health and safety supplies, and marketing and promotional efforts to encourage attendance and participation.

“Our nation’s arts sector has been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Endowment for the Arts’ American Rescue Plan funding will help arts organizations, such as Cinema St. Louis, rebuild and reopen,” said Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the NEA. “The arts are crucial in helping America’s communities heal, unite, and inspire, as well as essential to our nation’s economic recovery.”

“Cinema St. Louis is grateful to receive the NEA’s invaluable support during this difficult period for the arts,” said Cliff Froehlich, executive director of CSL. “Cinema St. Louis plans to use the funds to sustain the organization’s needs in staffing, marketing, and film-festival venues.”

The nonprofit Cinema St. Louis produces SLIFF, one of the largest and highest-profile international film festivals in the Midwest. The fest has been lauded in USA Today’s 10Best list. CSL also produces the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, QFest St. Louis, the Classic French Film Festival, and Golden Anniversaries.