Tag: black filmmakers

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The Download ft. BTFC x Netflix ‘Created By’ Fellow Latasha Mercer

Join us for this exclusive virtual conversation! 

On Wednesday, March 8th at 7:30 PM ET, join us at the virtual table for The Download with Latasha Mercer, BTFC x Netflix ‘Created By’ Fellow and Screenwriter!

 

We’re discussing Latasha’s journey as a storyteller – from starting out in independent entertainment and creating her own work, navigating challenges and experiencing growth as a creative , to her latest opportunity – receiving a script development deal from Netflix.

Join us and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork!

Meet Latasha Mercer

Latasha Mercer is a screenwriter who began by producing digital content since 2010. Her first was the celebrity and indie interview platform, Dope Files, predating her position as the Writer & Producer of two seasons of the comedy web series Sit Black & Relax. She is currently starring in the third series she wrote and produced, JustLatasha’s Inner Actions.

Her popular Dissection series on YouTube expanded her film notoriety, grabbing digital nods from Lena Waithe and Katori Hall. Latasha was also a staple panelist on The Grapevine TV, and has been featured on Entertainment Tonight Canada, AFROPUNK, Dark & Lovely, Teen Vogue, and more.

Her writing has been top rated and awarded, as well as placed on Coverfly’s The Red List. She was the 2022 Roadmap Writer’s Diversity Recipient, 2022 OTV Writing Fellow, and is signed to Damn Write Originals. Credits include Revolt TV, Keke Palmer’s KeyTV Network, and a script development deal with Netflix.

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

#MakeYourWork

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

Members, use your code to access your discount!

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Interested in becoming a member? Sign up for our BTFC Membership!

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Office Hours: Get Help On Your Project

WRITERS, this one’s for YOU! Need some extra support to help you #MakeYourWork? Let ‘s go!

On Tuesday, February 28th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM ET, chat with BTFC Member, Netflix ‘Created By’ Fellow and writer and director Elisee Junior St Preux during BTFC Office Hours! He’ll do his best to support you and help you move your project forward!

 

During BTFC Office Hours we’ll answer general production questions and provide an environment where you can get advice and feedback on your projects from industry professionals.

How can we better describe them? It’s an open door for any member who would like to just come in and ask a question. Get a second pair of eyes on a rough cut, get some help on budgets, have your script reviewed…

Remember back in the day when our professors had office hours and you would just go in to ask a question or get some help? That is what these office hours are like.

Join us to talk about your project and ideas, so that you’re better equipped to move them forward. It’s all-time well spent.

Meet Elisee

Elisee Junior St Preux is a Haitian Filmmaker born in North Miami Beach, FL. A self-taught artist and cinephile, Elisee is the owner of the film blog “The Movie Butter Playbook”, and the screenwriting label, “À La MODE Films”. Elisee is a recipient of Indeed’s Rising Voices partnered with Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions, a 53rd NAACP Image Awards nominee, an HBO Short Film Award Finalist at the American Black Film Festival, and a Netflix Created By Fellow. With a distinct style of vintage storytelling combined with modern cinema, Elisee’s solemn goal is to bear witness and share stories that reflect today, honor the past, and reimagine the future.

NOTE: 40-minute slots will be assigned on a first RSVP basis. A Zoom link and information form will be sent to you 48 hours before your session. Please block out 5:00 – 7:00 PM ET on your calendar until your slot is received.

This event is for BTFC Members Only.

Members, please use your access code to RSVP.

Need help? Contact [email protected]!

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

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Office Hours: Get Help On Your Project

WRITERS & PRODUCERS, this one’s for YOU! Need some extra support to help you #MakeYourWork? Let ‘s go!

On Monday, March 13th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM ET, chat with BTFC Black Producers Fellow and award-winning writer, producer and director Craig T. Williams during BTFC Office Hours! He’ll do his best to support you and help you move your project forward!

 

During BTFC Office Hours we’ll answer general production questions and provide an environment where you can get advice and feedback on your projects from industry professionals.

How can we better describe them? It’s an open door for any member who would like to just come in and ask a question. Get a second pair of eyes on a rough cut, get some help on budgets, have your script reviewed…

Remember back in the day when our professors had office hours and you would just go in to ask a question or get some help? That is what these office hours are like.

Join us to talk about your project and ideas, so that you’re better equipped to move them forward. It’s all-time well spent.

Meet Craig

Craig T. Williams is a Film/TV writer and producer. Having just completed production of Game Nite, a feature film he wrote and produced, directed by Tonya Pinkins and starring Shamika Cotton and Jamie Lincoln Smith, Craig is on the writing staff for a TV show on the ALLBLK network.

Craig was part of the prestigious 2022 WarnerMedia Discovery Access Writers Program (formerly the HBO All Access Writers Program.) As one of only 20 writers chosen from over four thousand applicants, he created an original 30-minute TV Pilot.

Craig has many scripts in various stages of development including the award winning one-hour TV pilot How Ya Like Me Now, about the ‘80s rap rivalry between Kool Moe Dee and LL Cool J, a Christmas Movie Musical and a 30-minute dramedy inspired by his mother finding her long lost sister when they were both in their 60’s.

In 2021, he won a $25,000 Producers grant from the Black TV and Film Collective with fiscal support from Wavelength and Cinereach to produce the short film Mechanics Rose, which is now playing the festival circuit. Craig is a writing mentor for Start with 8, The Craft Institute, and for teen filmmakers at Reel Works Mentorship Program in Brooklyn. A native New Yorker, Craig honed his skills creating a string of quirky, comedic, romantic short films with his wife of 21 years. Together they’ve made more than fifty film projects. They have an 18-year-old son and make their life in the heart of midtown Manhattan.

NOTE: 40-minute slots will be assigned on a first RSVP basis. A Zoom link and information form will be sent to you 48 hours before your session. Please block out 4:00 – 6:00 PM ET on your calendar until your slot is received.

This event is for BTFC Members Only.

Members, please use your access code to RSVP.

Need help? Contact [email protected]!

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

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The BTFC Partners with Delta Airlines

The BTFC Partnered with Delta Airlines for their second Black History Month film collection!

 

The BTFC is making moves in the sky! ⁠
⁠
We’ve partnered with Delta Airlines to curate a special list of some of our favorite films selected by BTFC members! You gave us your top picks, and we listened! Now you can stream our Black History Month collection all month long! ⁠
⁠

Check out these picks from Black TV & Film Collective members:

 

The Black Panther

Delta’s Equal Justice Initiative

Do The Right Thing

Fences

Get Out

Hidden Figures

Just Mercy

Malcolm X

Selma

The Color Purple

The Last Black Man in San Francisco

To Sir, With Love

42

 

 

 

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The Black TV & Film Collective and Black Girls Film Camp present Rising Stars

Join the BTFC & Black Girls Film Camp for a virtual film screening and panel discussion featuring the next generation of Black female filmmakers!

 

Rising Stars is shining a light on the next generation of filmmakers who are starting their journey!

Thurs. April 6th at 6:00 PM ET, Black TV & Film Collective and Black Girls Film Camp are combining forces to hosting a virtual film screening featuring films written and directed by Black teen filmmakers with a passion for seeing their stories told their way!

With heartfelt films that range from comedy to drama to documentary, the Black Girls Film Camp Teen Directors share messages of self-acceptance, advocacy, intersectionality, beauty and more!

Join us as we screen the films and welcome the BGFC Teen Directors to the virtual table to discuss their film and their future as filmmakers!

About Black Girls Film Camp

Black Girls Film Camp is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that provides a FREE, national, and virtual 12-week experience (held once a year) where high school Black girls across the country pitch a story idea, and a final ten are selected to have their short film project produced by the program. Over 200 Black girls across the country applied for the 2022 camp and 10 finalists were selected to direct and develop their own short films. The camp is an incubator for the 10 girls and each of their films.

Participants receive free technology (iPads, ring lights, wireless mics, tripods, etc.) free software (Final Draft and Adobe Premiere), a personal production team of exemplary Black women creatives (editor and creative coach) contracted out by the camp, an all-expense paid weekend retreat in LA, and free workshops from Black women that are award-winning filmmakers and Ph.D. scholars. Films created by the teen girls and their production teams are showcased live during a virtual event over the summer and at film festivals (i.e. 2021 Mill Valley Film Festival) and college events (i.e. Emory University, USC, UNCC, etc.) in the US throughout the year. Following the 12-week camp, alumni participate in international outreach events throughout the year to share their stories with the world and support other aspiring young Black girl filmmakers.

Another allure to the camp has been the amazing award-winning filmmakers that are featured speakers over the 12-week period. This year’s speaker lineup for the 12-week camp includes BET award-winning Media Executive, Connie Orlando, award-winning Writer and Director Gina Prince-Bythewood, Franchise Manager and Media Professional Monique Mitchell, Manager of Pre-School Animation, Hannah Cope, Head of Studio for Black Women Animate, Fatimah Abdullah, award-winning filmmaker and Casting Director, Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd, Senior VP of Talent Relations & Casting at Revolt, Donyell Kennedy-McCullough, and more! Some of the partners for this year’s 2023 camp include the University of Southern California, Beats By Dre, Final Draft, Tik Tok, PBS, and Women In Film LA.

#MakeYourWork

Join us and support the next generation of Black filmmakers!

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Interested in becoming a member? Sign up for our BTFC Membership!

This event will NOT be recorded.

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Office Hours: Get Help On Your Project

WRITERS & PRODUCERS, this one’s for YOU! Need some extra support to help you #MakeYourWork? Let ‘s go!

On Thursday, March 23rd from 4:00 to 6:00 PM ET, chat with BTFC Black Producers Fellow and award-winning writer, producer and director Gem Little during BTFC Office Hours! She’ll do his best to support you and help you move your project forward!

 

During BTFC Office Hours we’ll answer general production questions and provide an environment where you can get advice and feedback on your projects from industry professionals.

How can we better describe them? It’s an open door for any member who would like to just come in and ask a question. Get a second pair of eyes on a rough cut, get some help on budgets, have your script reviewed…

Remember back in the day when our professors had office hours and you would just go in to ask a question or get some help? That is what these office hours are like.

Join us to talk about your project and ideas, so that you’re better equipped to move them forward. It’s all-time well spent.

Meet Gem

Gem Little, a Chicago native, is an award-winning writer/director/producer based in Los Angeles. Gem found her love of filmmaking when she was a professional dancer and choreographer, picking up a camera for the first time to capture dance films and studio performances.

In 2018, Gem moved to Los Angeles to work for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority after graduating with an MA in urban planning. Her passion for building a better world as an urban planner lingers in her style of storytelling. Gem tends to write off-kilter genre stories that make us think differently about the dark-sides of human nature.

Gem is an MFA graduate of the American Film Institute where she honed her craft as a storyteller. While there, she held internships with Charles King’s MACRO and Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks. Gem is currently a showrunner’s assistant to Patrick Somerville (STATION ELEVEN, MANIAC).

Gem’s more than a decade of experience has earned her recognition from TRIBECA, AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL’S HBO SHORT AWARD, TORONTO BLACK FILM FESTIVAL, BRONZELENS, HARLEM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, and many others.

Most recently, she received a $25,000 grant from the BLACK TV & FILM COLLECTIVE to write and produce her short film, PENS & PENCILS. The film has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award (2023) and has been acquired by HBO MAX (now streaming). Gem also produced WARNERMEDIA ONEFIFTY pilot, REMEMBER, alongside creator, Bernard David Jones. The series has been picked up by Berlanti Productions.

Gem is also an activist, known for her work in community development, including starting Indiana’s state-wide program that helps justice-involved people start small businesses.

While building community through filmmaking in LA, Gem is currently developing a slate of projects under her production company banner, NATURE VS NURTURE, alongside her partner, Nagee Brown.

NOTE: 40-minute slots will be assigned on a first RSVP basis. A Zoom link and information form will be sent to you 48 hours before your session. Please block out 4:00 – 6:00 PM ET on your calendar until your slot is received.

This event is for BTFC Members Only.

Members, please use your access code to RSVP.

Need help? Contact [email protected]!

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