The San Francisco Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation have announced the six recipients of grants totalling $300,000 to fund the next stage of their production.

The SFFS / Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant winners are: Eric Escobar’s The East County, Aurora Guerrero’s Los Valientes (The Brave Ones), Michael Tully’s Ping Pong Summer, Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12, Mario de la Vega’s The Undeniable Charm Of Sloppy Unruh and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale will also screen at Sundance in 2013. Fruitvale will premiere at Sundance.

The panelists were Cheryl Dunye, Ted Hope, Jennifer Rainin, Rachel Rosen and Michele Turnure-Salleo.

“This is an incredibly diverse group of films, featuring filmmakers who demonstrate a true focus towards their community and an eager willingness to collaborate,” the jury said in a statement.

“Throughout the review process, we were impressed by the brave choices made by these artists both in terms of emotional engagement and subject matter. It’s also deeply satisfying to attract such a wide range of high quality work from all over the country with these grants, and contribute to the expansion and development of the already robust filmmaking scene here in the Bay Area.”

SFFS and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation have awarded nearly $2.5m to filmmakers since 2009.