I regret not posting on the occasion of Adrienne Shelly’s untimely death last Fall. I am familiar with her work chiefly as the unassuming but devastatingly complex actor in the Hal Hartley cinematic masterpieces “Trust” and “The Unbelievable Truth.”

These films are difficult to preview — they need to be experienced (preferably, over repeated viewing). Their minimalism, black humor, and somewhat fantastical situations and coincidences would make you think they only tangentially touched upon the actual human condition. But somehow, with the help of Shelly, they go deeper and provoke more thought about what it means to be human — and negotiate an often very impersonal world — than almost any other films I’ve seen.

Shelly, though, has a much larger resume than these early acting stints. She wrote, directed and acted in three feature films, including “Waitress,” which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and is set to be released in early May.

Fortunately, I have been given another opportunity to pay Shelly homage, as The Adrienne Shelly Foundation has just announced its first set of educational initiatives to fulfill part of its mission “to aid in the advancement of talented women filmmakers.” The American Film Institute, New York Women in Film and Television, Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television as well as Columbia University and New York University have all announced awards, grants and scholarships in Shelly’s name.