Tag: Black executive producers

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The Download featuring Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield, Directors (“Flames,” “The Chi”)

On Wed. August 10th at 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET, join us for another edition of The Download – a special VIRTUAL guest conversation series featuring impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives make their work.

This edition we are in conversation with married directing duo Deondray Gossfield & Quincy LeNear Gossfield, Directors (“Flames,” “The Chi”). Deondray and Quincy will be discussing their work on The Chi as well as their journey as Black directors and the continued importance of diversity in the industry.

Meet the Gossfield’s

Dubbed the “Godfathers of LGBTQ+ TV”, real-life married couple, Deondray & Quincy LeNear Gossfield are the creators, writers and directors of the iconic GLAAD award-winning anthology series, The DL Chronicles.

Building on their brand and following their passion of telling Black, LGBTQ+ stories, they created and directed the Amazon Prime spinoff series, The Chadwick Journals. The third season, featuring Jamar Michael (Dear White People), won a 2021 Silver Telly Award and garnered a 2020 Daytime Emmy® Nomination for lead actor, Damian Toofeek Raven (“Chadwick”)

The Gossfields were also tapped to be part of the producing teams for hit shows like, Kocktails with Khloé (FYI), and Sunday Best (BET).

Their short film, Flames Executive Produced by Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani, starring Deion Smith (Outer Banks) and Dontavius Williams, premiered with critical acclaim at 2021’s Tribeca Film Festival and won two Telly Awards for “Best Directing” and “Best Drama”, several SFAAF awards including “Best Directing” and “Best LGBT Short”, 1st Runner Up for “Best Local Short” and the Jury Award for “Excellence in Cinematography” at Out On Film, Atlanta.

Their short film, Congo Cabaret, highlighting the LGBTQ+ contribution to the Harlem Renaissance, has won numerous awards, and features Parisa Fitz-Henley (Luke Cage), Kevin Daniels (Modern Family), and Darryl Stephens (B Positive).

Their film, Smoke, Lilies and Jade, narrated by Emmy® and Tony Winner, Billy Porter (Pose) premiered at Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles and went on to win “Best Short Film” at 2021’s Black Alphabet Film Festival in Chicago.

The pair made their TV directorial debut in 2022 on Lena Waithe’s and Showtime Network’s drama, The Chi.

The Download

Offered multiple times a year, The Download is a special virtual guest conversation series hosted by the Black TV & Film Collective. It features impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives do their work.

First, our guest participates in a 1:1 conversation with our host about their journey and current career.

Then, we provide selected BTFC members with an opportunity to take a seat at the table with our guests and ask questions and advice of this industry veteran. In turn, our members are provided with an opportunity to engage in conversation with someone whose career might inspire them. Those who attend are also further encouraged and motivated to make their work! Recent guests on The Download have included Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Charlene Polite Corley, the editing team of A Black Lady Sketch Show and Janine Sherman Barrois. 

#MakeYourWork

Join us at this edition of The Download and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork! RSVP today!

Questions? Contact [email protected]

Become a member and get discounts for BTFC events! Visit www.blacktvfilmcollective.org/join

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The Download featuring Pete Chatmon, Director (“The Flight Attendant”)

On Thurs. June 23rd at 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET, join us for another edition of The Download – a special VIRTUAL guest conversation series featuring impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives make their work.

This edition we are in conversation with director Pete Chatmon (“The Flight Attendant”, “Insecure”, “Silicon Valley”). Pete will be discussing his work on The Flight Attendant as well as his journey as a Black director and the continued importance of diversity in the industry.

Meet Pete Chatmon

With a deft ability to balance both half-hour single-camera comedies and one-hour dramas, Pete Chatmon has directed over 50 episodes of television including HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, Insecure, Silicon Valley, and Love Life, Netflix’s You, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Black-ish, Starz’ Blindspotting, FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the Apple TV+ series Mythic Quest. He is in development on The Education of Matt Barnes with Showtime, for which he will direct the pilot and serve as executive producer and is currently co-executive producer and producing director on Reasonable Doubt, the first project to be produced via Hulu’s Onyx Collective.

Chatmon’s career began in 2001 with the Sundance selection of his NYU thesis film, 3D, starring Kerry Washington. His most recent short film, BlackCard, premiered on HBO, and his narrative podcast, Wednesday Morning, engaged voters around the 2020 election. His podcast, Let’s Shoot! with Pete Chatmon is available on YouTube, iTunes, and all podcast platforms. In January 2022 his book, Transitions: A Director’s Journey + Motivational Handbook was released by Michael Wiese Productions. Follow him on Instagram @petechatmon and @letsshootwithpetechatmon.

Meet Our Moderator

Yhá Mourhia Wright is a multi-hyphenate artist from San José, CA. In May 2016, she graduated with her MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School. Upon graduation, she founded her production company, YháWright Productions, and developed the company’s first original series, #LoveMyRoomie now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. She has produced for MadameNoire and interviewed beloved talent such as Kim Fields, Robin Givens, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Ester Dean, and Emil Wilbekin. Additional Credits Include Spot A True Period Piece (Short Film, Producer, Assistant Director); Pillow Talk streaming on BET+ (Supporting); It Stays Here (Short Film, Writer/Producer); The Basement (LABryinth Theater Company, Writer). Yhá Mourhia recently completed her first short film, Don’t Be Desperate, slated to release in 2022. Her most recent podcast, Inside Out Podcast, can be found on iHeart Radio, Spotify, and Apple Podcast.

Meet our Panelists

Okema T. Moore is an Emmy Nominated, PGA producer and rising director. She produced the narrative 2019 ABFF winner Little Apple, and The Future is Then, which was a Tribeca N.O.W. 2019 selection. She has directed and produced branded content for clients including Lifetime, Netflix, Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, FOX, and Disney/Marvel. Her most recent work includes docs The Color of Care (OWN), UNLADYLIKE (PBS/American Masters) and Klutch Academy (BET), as well as culinary hits The Kitchen and Beat Bobby Flay (Food Network).

She Showran and Directed her first series in 2021, Hella Late! with Hollie Harper (BRIC TV), and was a finalist in this year’s Blackhouse Producer’s Lab, as well as a semifinalist Stowe Story Lab Diverse Voices Fellowship, the Commercial Diversity Director’s Program and The Sundance Producer’s Track for 2022. In 2021 Okema was a Fellow for Minority in FILM’s inaugural 2021 Branded Lab for directors while helping to run the Black TV & Film Collective’s Black Producer Fellowship. Okema serves on the boards of both The Black TV & Film Collective Board of Directors and NY Women in Film & TV and is committed to continuing to lift while she climbs to build up womxn, queer, IPOC and Black creatives.

Writer and director, Eunice Levis is a first-generation Dominican American from the Bronx, New York. Eunice’s work focuses on genre-bending stories that combine her love of horror, sci-fi, thriller and fantasy, often through a diasporic lens. She is a two-time Sundance Lab Second Rounder, a Stowe Story Lab Fellow, and a Netflix/NALIP Women of Color Short Film Incubator Fellow. Eunice’s latest work includes INVADE, an environmental sci-fi short film and RO & THE STARDUST, a space fantasy short film. In addition to writing and directing, Eunice teaches and cohosts Café Negro con Genre, a podcast that promotes creatives working in the genre space. Eunice is a graduate of New York University and is managed by 3 Arts Entertainment.

Emeka Mbadiwe is an award-winning Writer/Director. With a focus in the area of storytelling, he has written and directed over 20 short films, many of which have gained millions of views on social media, with the highest viewed short film called Found Dead, hitting over 10.6 million views on Facebook. His films have been recognized nationally and he has been featured on many talk shows talking about the social issues in which his films tackle. His highly anticipated 6-episode Web-Series entitled, Bear Fruit has won an audience award from the Audience Awards Film Festival with 1,690 votes for most anticipated web-series in a pre-production category. Emeka focuses on creating films that inspire, educate, encourage and motivate his viewers to have hope.

Patrice D. Bowman is a New York City-based award-winning filmmaker and colorist with over six years of experience. Her films focus on the nuanced spiritual lives of women of color, particularly those of African-American women. She is the owner of the film production and post-production company Bowman Pictures. She received a B.A. in Film and Media Studies from Yale University. Currently, her experimental short adaptation of the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes, Under the Sun After the Wind, is on the film festival circuit. Her previous short, Saturday Grace, was selected to screen at the Academy Award-qualifying Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series. Her first short film, Lean on Him, won the Howard R. Lamar Prize Film & Video at Yale University in 2015. Her color grading work can be seen in a variety of places, from PBS Reel South to Nike.

The Download

Offered multiple times a year, The Download is a special virtual guest conversation series hosted by the Black TV & Film Collective. It features impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives do their work.

First, our guest participates in a 1:1 conversation with our host about their journey and current career.

Then, we provide selected BTFC members with an opportunity to take a seat at the table with our guests and ask questions and advice of this industry veteran. In turn, our members are provided with an opportunity to engage in conversation with someone whose career might inspire them. Those who attend are also further encouraged and motivated to make their work! Recent guests on The Download have included Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Charlene Polite Corley, the editing team of A Black Lady Sketch Show and Janine Sherman Barrois. 

#MakeYourWork

Join us at this edition of The Download and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork! This event will be recorded and the recording will be provided 48 hours after the event! RSVP today!

**Members, don’t forget to get use your SPECIAL CODE for your FREE ticket!

Questions? Contact [email protected]

Become a member and get discounts for BTFC events! Visit www.blacktvfilmcollective.org/join

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The Download: Creating Safe Sets

On Thurs. May 26th at 4:30 PM PT | 7:30 PM ET, join us for another edition of The Download – a special virtual guest conversation series featuring impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives make their work.

 

This edition will be held in partnership with NYWIFT (New York Women In Film & TV) and features a discussion centered on mental & physical health, wellness, and advocacy on sets.

Get ready to take your production to the next level and create a SAFER SET!

Meet Our Moderator – Octavia Pride

Octavia Pride is a Brooklyn-born & raised (Bed Stuy Do or Die) Short Form Branded Content Production Professional. Over the last eight years, she has tackled projects of varying scale, complexities, and budgets.

After spending time at Temple University, she decided that the traditional route was not for her. She began experimenting in commercial retail as a Manger and Visual Merchandiser at some of NYC’s most popular stores and eventually transitioned into leasing and selling apartments and condos as a licensed NYC Real Estate Agent.

In 2013, Octavia was presented with an opportunity to be a part of the ‘Made in NY Production’ Training Program, which led her to become a location coordinator and eventually manage a few major network scripted series. She then moved into branded content, music videos, photoshoots and web shorts – working her way up production ranks.

Octavia has executed many short form branded content projects for brands such as Adidas, Lyft, Paypal, Verizon, Rayban, Puma, Apple Music and more.

Meet our Panelists

Rocio Mendez is an award-winning Actor, Fight and Intimacy director and a proud New Yorker committed to building confidence in brown and black girls through storytelling. Rocio has done multiple independent films showcasing their talents in martial arts and comedy. Rocio has worked on and off-Broadway with a range of theaters including The Shubert Theater, The Metropolitan Opera,The Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and Classical Theater of Harlem, among the many. Rocio has been nominated for multiple awards for their work in Fight Choreography and Movement. Rocio is a team member of UNKLE DAVE’S FIGHT HOUSE – a collective of fight/intimacy/movement directors serving theater, film and educational institutions.

G Stone is a Certified and Board Approved Clinical Sexologist, Certified Master Sexpert, Founder of “Straight”… But Not Narrow Ladies™, Relationship, Intimacy & Business Coach + Thought Partner, Intimacy Coordinator, Influencer, Speaker, Cornell University Women’s Entrepreneurship, Generational Curse Breaker, Brand Ambassador and Event & Travel Experience Curator. G’s very passionate about entrepreneurship, relationships and intimacy. She enjoys helping people go deeper within, transform and experience more intentional, meaningful, aligned and purposeful interactions, relationships and experiences to achieve their goals.

Eldonie Mason, a native of the Caribbean Island of Antigua, established Mason Firm, LLC with the idea that legal services should be personal and accessible. She works with her clients to position them for long-term success by advising them on their legal risks, protecting their rights and interests and anticipating situations or activities that may negatively affect their careers and the bottom line. Additionally, Eldonie advises her clients on copyright, trademark, branding and contractual issues that often arise and help them establish a solid legal, insurance, financial and tax foundation.

Since establishing Mason Firm, LLC, Eldonie has represented an array of clients across the entertainment, media and fashion industries. These clients have included individuals and companies such as, film and music producers, film production companies, DJs, actors, photographers, directors and fashion designers and more.

Olivia Troy, known as Troy (she/her), is the founder of Reps On Set, which advocates for better representation of historically marginalized identities in film and television and helps create safer sets through intimacy coordinating, cultural coordinating, and on set mental health wellness. Troy is a screenwriter (Bonding S2 – Netflix), consulting producer (Billions, Showtime) and certified intimacy coordinator (Love Life S2 – HBOMax, Run the World S2 – Starz). Her IC and consulting work is grounded by 15+ years of experience as a BDSM professional. Troy is deeply invested in bringing her expertise in intersectional, consensual, communication-driven intimacy to film and television productions.

The Download

Offered multiple times a year, The Download is a live-streamed (YouTube and Facebook) special virtual guest conversation series hosted by the Black TV & Film Collective. It features impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives do their work.

First, our guest participates in a 1:1 conversation with our host about their journey and current career.

Then, we provide selected BTFC members with an opportunity to take a seat at the table with our guests and ask questions and advice of this industry veteran. In turn, our members are provided with an opportunity to engage in conversation with someone whose career might inspire them. Those who attend are also further encouraged and motivated to make their work!

Recent guests on The Download have included Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Charlene Polite Corley, the editing team of A Black Lady Sketch Show and Janine Sherman Barrois. 

#MakeYourWork

Join us at this edition of The Download and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork! This event will be recorded and the recording will be provided 48 hours after the event! RSVP today!

**Members, don’t forget to get use your SPECIAL CODE for your FREE ticket!

Questions? Contact [email protected]

Become a member and get discounts for BTFC events! Visit www.blacktvfilmcollective.org/join

BACK TO NEWS & EVENTS

The Download feat. Janine Sherman Barrois, “Kings of Napa,” “Claws”

On Thurs. February 10th at 4:30PM PT | 7:30PM ET, join us another edition of The Download, a special virtual guest conversation series featuring impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives make their work. 

 

This edition features a one-on-one conversation on the foundations of becoming a working showrunner and building a career on your terms featuringJanine Sherman Barrois, an award-winning writer and showrunner under an exclusive multi-year deal with Warner Bros. to create and develop new series.

Barrois was an Executive Producer on all four seasons of Claws, the hit TNT dramedy starring Niecy Nash, and was the Showrunner for the first three seasons. In addition, she was the Co-Showrunner and Executive Producer of Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker, the award-winning Netflix limited series starring Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer.

Currently, Barrois is the Creator/Showrunner of the highly anticipated The Kings of Napa, a drama about an influential family who runs one of the most prestigious Black-owned vineyards in the world. The show premieres on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network at the beginning of 2022. Barrois has numerous other projects in various stages of development at Showtime, Apple and HBO Max.

We will also feature BTFC members who will have an opportunity to take a seat at the table with Janine and ask her questions and advice.

Meet Our Moderator

Avril Speaksis serving as our moderator for this insightful conversation. Avril Speaks has been carving out her path as a bold, innovative content creator for several years, not only as a producer and director but also during her former days as a professor at Howard University. Avril produced the award-winning film Jinn, which premiered in Narrative Competition at SXSW and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. Jinn gained distribution through MGM/Orion Classics and continues to be seen throughout the world. She has also produced several films including Hosea and the upcoming comedy Dotty & Soul, starring Leslie Uggams, Gary Owen, David Koechner and Margot Bingham.

Avril’s latest projects include the South African film African America, which was recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding International Motion Picture and is currently streaming on Netflix, and the docu-series Black America Is…Currently, Avril serves as Director and Showrunner/EP of the upcoming docu-series Uprooted: The Untold Keith Warren Story, which will air on Discovery+.

A Seat at the Table

This conversation will also feature screenwriters Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika. Olu and Tolu are currently in the writer’s room for their original series ZULU. The show was picked up straight-to-series at Showtime off of their pilot script.  Antoine Fuqua will EP the series along with Propagate and Spencer Medof. It will shoot later this year. They served as Executive Story Editors on the upcoming Amazon series THE TERMINAL LIST, which stars Chris Pratt. The pilot was directed by Antoine Fuqua. They previously wrote on both seasons of the upcoming AMC series 61st STREET, from creator Peter Moffat and producer Michael B. Jordan. In features, they recently wrote A WHITE LIE for Tristar and Hello Sunshine, with Zoe Kravitz set to star. They previously wrote the psychological thriller ORIGINS for Paramount and Bad Robot. 

Their upbringing as children of first-generation immigrants, both having lived in Nigeria during their formative years, influences the unique views and sensibilities they bring to their stories.

A Seat at the Table

We will also feature BTFC members who will have an opportunity to take a seat at the table with Janine and ask her questions and advice.

Okema T. Mooreis an EMMY nominated, PGA producer as well as a director, writer and actor. She has worked on projects for OWN, Netflix, FOX, Food Network, TLC and more. Most recently she produced on BET’s Klutch Academy, Showran and Directed BRIC TV’s first late-night talk show and was featured in Variety Magazine speaking on the need for Black Producers to have access to finances to support their work. Okema serves on the board of both NY Women in Film & TV and The Black TV & Film Collective and has committed to lifting while she climbs these industry ladders.

As the Executive Producer & Director at third & wonder production house,Diamonde Williamsonis responsible for developing, producing and directing nonfiction formats for and about Black women. Formats include, documentary series, documentaries, competition shows and branded content.

Over the last 10 years, she’s worked with brands like Amazon, CNBC Make It, Essence and Google and networks like OWN, USA and TVOne while continuing to develop and execute creative unscripted formats and stories for entrepreneurs, brands and networks.

Yhá Mourhia Wright is a multi-hyphenate artist from San José, CA. In May 2016, she graduated with her MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School. Upon graduation, she founded her production company, YháWright Productions, and developed the company’s first original series, #LoveMyRoomie now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. She has produced for MadameNoire and interviewed beloved talent such as Kim Fields, Robin Givens, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Ester Dean, and Emil Wilbekin.

Additional Credits Include Spot A True Period Piece (Short Film, Producer, Assistant Director); Pillow Talk streaming on BET+ (Supporting); It Stays Here (Short Film, Writer/Producer); The Basement (LABryinth Theater Company, Writer). Yhá Mourhia recently completed her first short film, Don’t Be Desperate, slated to release in 2022. Her most recent podcast, Inside Out Podcast, can be found on iHeart Radio, Spotify, and Apple Podcast.

Join us at this edition of The Download and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork! 

 

Become a member and get discounts for BTFC events! Visit www.blacktvfilmcollective.org/join

Members, don’t forget to use your code for your discount on admission to events!