Local filmmakers Eric Forbes and Zach Myers will use the $7,500 grant to create a transformative five-minute comedy
Voices With Impact has awarded one of its 10 production grants of $7,500 to Colorado-based filmmakers Eric Forbes and Zach Myers. Hundreds of proposals are received from across the globe and reviewed by a jury of filmmakers and mental health
professionals every year.
The grant will enable Forbes and Myers to create their first collaborative film project: “Clubbing.” The film is a comedy about social isolation and anxiety. It follows a college freshman who has never left their rural town as they attend a club fair. At the fair, they are bombarded with comedic yet overwhelming monologues by each club leader on what it takes to join their clique.
Eric and Zach directing “Clubbing.”
Though the two are no strangers to film production, the team is bravely stepping into new territory with “Clubbing.” For the first time, they are relying heavily on set design to create their comedic world. Voices With Impact has connected the duo with mentor Austin Wang, set designer from the HBO hit show “The Last Of Us.”
Forbes is also no stranger to Voices With Impact, being the only filmmaker to ever receive the grant award in consecutive years. Last year, he created a documentary focused on climate change and mental health, “Beyond The Soil,” with Emmy award winner, Jaime Jacobsen.
“We are thrilled to have Eric and Zach as filmmakers this year. Their film proposal takes such a fresh comedic approach to the mental health conversation; I’m not surprised it stuck out to our jury. I can’t wait to share the finished product with the audience at our film festival in June,” says Chris Hyde, Voices With Impact festival director.
Voices With Impact is working closely with the filmmakers to create a short film that will inspire transformative mental health conversations with young people across North America. The film will be used in educational programming to connect people with the support they need.
Clubbing will premiere alongside nine other films produced through the grant at the Voices With Impact festival in June 2024. The films will premiere in the U.S. at the SF LGBT Center in San Francisco, Calif., on June 6, and in Canada at the VIFF Centre, Vancouver, B.C. on June 27. The festival will act as a hub connecting like-minded filmmakers, artists, mental health professionals and advocates. Sessions will facilitate transformative conversations around this year’s topics through discussions between filmmakers, mental health professionals and audience members.
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- Eric Forbes
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- Zach Myers
Event Dates
- World Premiere: June 6, SF LGBT Center, San Francisco
- Serious Mental Illness Global Discussion: June 13, online
- Cliques & Echo Chambers Global Discussion: June 20, online
- Canadian Premiere: June 27, VIFF Centre, Vancouver
Get more information about how to attend the festival and watch the films here.
About the Filmmakers
Eric Forbes is a director and cinematographer. He has performed these roles for multiple films focused on mental health topics, including ADHD and climate anxiety, that are currently in the film festival circuit. Outside his passion for experimenting with narrative shorts, Forbes has gained an extensive background in documentary work while pursuing a master’s degree at Colorado State University in Journalism and Media Communication. He has been involved in major projects with CSU’s Center for Science Communication, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Zach Myers is a writer and director with a bachelor’s degree in filmmaking from the University of Colorado Boulder who has worked independently in film and media for more than six years. He specializes in comedy writing and has directed several sketch comedies that explore the absurd, anxious and endearing qualities of day-to-day social interactions. He has also produced a short documentary series on local artists as well as many commercial projects.
About Voices With Impact
Voices With Impact is a global film production grant and festival that elevates underrepresented mental health narratives. The grant program annually funds 10 filmmakers to create influential short films on various mental health topics. California’s Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission is the anchor funder. Films premiere at a festival in June of each year, creating space for dialogue that fosters a deep inquiry into mental health issues.
About Art With Impact
Art With Impact is a nonprofit organization that leverages short films to redefine how young people perceive, discuss and prioritize their mental health. The mission is to promote mental wellness by creating space for young people to learn and connect through art and media.