Black TV and Film Collective and Red Wall Productions presentDISSECT THE ACT: LIVE with Shaka King, the inimitable director, co-writer and producer of the Oscar-winning film,Judas and the Black MessiahonMonday, July 15th at 7pm EST. The Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) biopic unfurls as an undercover crime drama where FBI informant, William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield), infiltrates the Illinois Black Panthers and catalyzes Hampton’s eventual assassination. Dissect the Act offers a masterclass on evocative storytelling and genre-blending for Black writers through a critical look at screenplay.

Moderated by Ejeb Dema, BTFC’s Partnerships Lead, this craft-focused conversation will delve into the film’s screenwriting and creative process, covering the crime genre tropes, conflicted characters, and radical themes. Reading the screenplayandviewing the film in advance is highly recommended.

About Shaka

Shaka King is a writer, director and producer. NEWLYWEEDS, his first feature film, was developed in NYU’s Graduate Film Department where Shaka received his MFA in 2013. The dramatic comedy debuted at Sundance and garnered the director the 2014 Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award.

Since then, Shaka has written and directed several episodes of television for such shows as High Maintenance, Random Acts of Flyness, and SHRILL. JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH is his first studio feature. King is a native and resident of Brooklyn, NY.

It marked the first time a film from an all-Black producing team was nominated for Best Picture in the Oscars’ 93 years.

Want access to this event? Sign up for our BTFC Membership!