The Academy Foundation's Institutional Grants Program has awarded a total of $500,000 to 58 film-related nonprofit organizations -- including universities, museums and career development programs -- throughout the United States and in Canada.

Since its establishment in 1968, the foundation, which is the educational wing of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has distributed more than 573 institutional grants.

"One of our primary goals is to increase access to professional opportunities in the motion picture industry," said Grants Committee Chair Andrew Marlowe. "These grants also will help generate greater public interest in film events and screenings throughout the U.S."

The Academy Foundation's Grants Committee selected the following programs for 2008-2009:

Internship Programs
$15,000
California Institute of the Arts (Valencia)
Columbia University School of the Arts (New York City)
Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles)
New York University -- Kanbar Institute of Film & TV
University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
University of Southern California Master of Professional Writing Program
University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts
$13,000
Stanford University
$12,500
Columbia College Hollywood (Tarzana, California)
North Carolina School of the Arts (Winston-Salem)
$10,000
New York University Archiving Program
University of California, Los Angeles -- Film & Television Program
Workplace Hollywood (Hollywood, California)
Yale University Film Studies
$7,500
Emerson College (Boston)
Hampshire College (Amherst, Massachusetts)
Pennsylvania State University (University Park)
University of North Carolina (Wilmington)
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

Institutional Grants
$25,000
FilmAid International (New York City) -- African screening program
$10,000
Facets Multi-Media (Chicago) -- Facets Film School and Facets CineChat
Hollywood Cinema Production Resources (Los Angeles) -- Job training program
The MacDowell Colony (Peterborough, New Hampshire) -- Filmmaker residency
Tufts University (Medford, Massachusetts) -- Filmmaker-in-residence
UCLA Film & Television Archive -- Screening series
$9,500
Whitney Museum of American Art (New York City) -- Alice Guy Blache retrospective program
$7,500
Austin Film Festival, Inc. -- Writers' Ranch and seminar series
Berklee College of Music (Boston) -- Visiting artists
California State Summer School for the Arts (Los Angeles) -- Visiting artists
Drexel University (Philadelphia) -- Visiting filmmakers
Echo Park Film Center (Los Angeles) -- Filmmaking workshop and screening programs
Frameline (San Francisco) -- Screening series
Harvard Film Archive -- Visiting filmmakers
Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe) -- Summer film workshop
Media Arts Center San Diego -- Screening and workshop programs
Miami Film Society -- MIFF Abroad
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston -- Visiting filmmakers
New York Women in Film & Television (New York City) -- Female filmmakers screening series
Salt Lake City Film Center -- Visiting artists
Visual Effects Society (Encino, CA) -- Training and mentoring program
Winnipeg Film Group (Manitoba, Canada) -- Documentary film conference
$6,000
Northwest Screenwriters Guild (Seattle) -- Visiting speaker series
$5,000
Bard College (Annandale, New York) -- Filmmaking workshop
Cineaste Magazine (New York City) -- Film Editing supplement
Cinestory (Idyllwild, California) -- A Film from the Screenwriter's POV
Columbia College (Chicago) -- Artist-in-residence
The Drawing Center (New York City) -- Drawing on Film exhibition
Kentucky Film Lab (Lexington) -- Filmmakers' Studio
Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum (Fremont, Calirfornia) -- Silent film screening series
Ninth Street Independent Film Center (San Francisco) -- Canyon Cinema screening series
Outfest (Los Angeles) -- Access LA Seminar Series and Screenwriting Lab