Honolulu filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford has been nominated for an EPIC Emerging Artist Award for her documentary “;Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority,”; about the late U.S. Rep. Patsy Takemoto Mink.

Bassford is one of 12 nominees; a winner will be determined by online vote, open through March 31 at the White House Project's Web site, thewhitehouseproject.org/epic/emerging_artist. The project is a nonpartisan group that aims to advance women's leadership.

Bassford's documentary hailed Mink as the first woman of color in the U.S. Congress and the co-author of Title IX, legislation that opened up higher education and athletics for women.

The documentary premiered at the 2008 Hawaii International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Favorite Documentary.

Bassford, a 1995 graduate of Punahou School, also has produced a PBS documentary, “;Cheerleader,”; about a squad of California cheerleaders in its quest for a national championship, which won the Student Academy Award in Documentary and the CINE Golden Eagle, and screened at the Cannes Film Festival and on HBO Family.