Tag: Tribeca

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Office Hours: Get Help On Your Project

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

On Thursday, January 26th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM ET, chat with BTFC Co-Founder and award-winning producer and director Huriyyah Muhammad during BTFC Office Hours! She’ll do her 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 Huriyyah Muhammad

Huriyyah is an award-winning writer, director and producer whose projects have been invited to the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Institute, AFI, Austin Film Festival, New Voices in Black Cinema, American Black Film Festival and many others.

She is recipient of the 2020 Sundance Institute’s Producers Award for Farewell Amor, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and the 2021 SFFILM Rainin Grant for Screenwriting and 2021 Black List Feature Residency for her feature screenplay, God Help the Gayes, will mark her narrative feature directorial debut. The film is slated for production in Fall 2023.

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.

 

Members, use your code to RSVP for this event!

Need help? Email [email protected]

This event is exclusive to BTFC MEMBERS ONLY.

Interested in becoming a member? Visit www.blacktvfilmcollective.org/join

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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 BTFC presents ScreenCraft Works Mentoring Program Info Session

On Friday, July 22nd at 11:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM ET, join us for a virtual informational session with ScreenCraft Works International Mentoring Program for Film, TV and online work.

We will be discussing the program, the requirements and how to apply! RSVP to get more information and see how you can advance your film and TV career on an international scale!

If you’re looking for a mentor in the Film & TV industry this info session is for you!

About ScreenCraft Works

ScreenCraft Works International Mentoring Scheme provides structured career development with an international outlook, to enrich careers in film, TV and online work.

A not-for-profit career, learning and advocacy network, ScreenCraft Works matches under-represented production and post-production talent with international mentors, to share knowledge and experience, widen employment and peer-to-peer networks and bring new cultural perspectives to the mentoring groups’ local and international co-productions.

Meet Our Panelists

Elizabeth McIntyre is Co-Director of SCREENCRAFT WORKS, a career, learning and advocacy network supporting under-represented ‘behind-the-camera’ talent for a culture-shift in local and international film, TV & online production.

With a career across conference, exhibition, commissioning and documentary filmmaking, Elizabeth’s work includes curation for OKRE, a Wellcome Trust-supported story ideas platform, and consultancy for ProQuote Film Berlin (UK and Irish speakers). Previous positions include Director of Sheffield Doc/Fest, Head of Masterschool Documentary Campus and Head of Production & Development (UK Factual) for Discovery Networks International, where she commissioned single films and series for local and global markets, including You Have Been Warned, The Great White Silence and Inside the Gangsters’ Code. Documentary credits include The Lost Children of Berlin for Steven Spielberg, Dangerous Love (BBC), No Place Like Home (BBC) and Five Steps to Tyranny (BBC).

Advisory roles include UK Muslim Film and, formerly BAFTA TV/Learning, Inclusion & Talent committees and WFTV trustee. She contributes to mentoring and masterclass programmes such as Wonder Women and ScreenSkills. Elizabeth is based in Germany and the UK.

Rebecca Del Tufo’s career spans film, law, and charity governance, with a focus on cinema exhibition, conference and learning. Rebecca began her career as a solicitor in a City law firm, specialising in international corporate litigation, working in the UK and Hong Kong, before joining and helping establish a start-up law firm. She then developed a new corporate relations role at the University of Cambridge’s Business School, supporting international students in their career choices and working with companies to organise business projects and speaker events.

Rebecca led the team which set up the successful independent cinema Saffron Screen, for many years running and programming the cinema, giving her a deep knowledge of the industry. She has spoken at conferences about aspects of cinema exhibition and hosted Q&As with a range of industry talent including many in ‘behind-the-camera’ roles. She is now combines freelance film production with exhibition roles.

Rebecca is a trustee of the charity Refugees at Home and chair of theatre-in-education charity TIC Box Productions.

Prince May, a mentee of the ScreenCraft Works Program, is an assistant editor working in HETV and short films, with a focus on drama. Prince has participated in a range of schemes to gain knowledge of the film and TV industry such as the workshop with Signature Pictures and the BBC training scheme. Prince went to college to study animation but discovered film as he was studying and fell in love with editing, which he then pursued as his career. Later he attended and studied film practice at South Bank University in London, UK.

Growing up, he attended a youth centre where he could edit and create his own stories. In his free time, he mentored children in the same centre. During the Covid pandemic, he went online and taught himself some VFX. Prince May has recently worked as an assistant editor on TV shows such as The Watch, The Fear Index and Three Pines.

#MakeYourWork

Join us for this informational session and expand your film career on an international scale. Get the knowledge and inspiration you need to Make Your Work! RSVP today! 

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

Questions? Contact [email protected].

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Music Licensing for Film by The Filmmakers Legal Clinic

On Monday, July 18th at 3:00 PM PT | 6:00 PM ET, The Black TV & Film Collective and The Filmmakers Legal Clinic at the Cardozo School of Law are partnering up for a conversation on Music Licensing for Films.

Music is a necessary component in films. Whether it’s a well-known artist or your friend’s music produced in his basement, the proper licensing contracts are required. Get a better understanding of synchronization and master use agreements.

Join the BTFC in our ongoing partnership with the Filmmakers Legal Clinic at Cardozo’s School of Law as we talk about music licensing. Learn about the legal intricacies to plan ahead for one of the most important elements of filmmaking that can often turn into one of the most frustrating.

About The Filmmakers Legal Clinic

The Filmmakers Legal Clinic (FLC) at Cardozo School of Law, formerly known as the Indie Film Clinic, provides free transactional, intellectual property, and First Amendment legal services to visual advocates, filmmakers and video journalists working to move the social justice needle and diversify the stories that are told through media.

The Cardozo School of Law helps filmmakers navigate contractual, legal, and business issues so that their important films can be made and distributed. To empower creators, the FLC provides individual client representation, educational services, “know your rights” trainings for community partners and pop-up legal clinics.

Client films have screened in leading U.S. and international film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale, South by Southwest, Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, the Tribeca Film Festival, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the Los Angeles Film Festival, Hot Docs, DOC NYC and more.

Make Your Work

During this chat they will break down exactly what the necessary agreements and terms are, when they should be used, and how. Don’t miss this opportunity to work smarter not harder and meet the knowledgeable team from the Filmmakers Legal Clinic! 

**If you had a previous ticket for this rescheduled event, please note you do not have to purchase a new ticket.

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

Questions? Email [email protected]!

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

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Deep Focus: Distribution & Festivals

On Thurs. July 7th at 5:00 PM PT | 8:00 PM ET, join us for our new hands-on virtual workshop series DEEP FOCUS! We’re partnering with Distribution Advocates, a movement to reclaim the means of distribution for independent storytellers, to discuss navigating distribution and strategizing festival season.

Deep Focus

Deep Focus is a workshop series centered on filmmaking from acting to cinematography and distribution. In these exclusive workshops, experts teach hands-on techniques coupled with a segment for Q & A and workbooks as takeaways. Those who are unable to attend can take advantage of a replay accessed from our Black TV & Film Collective library.

About Distribution Advocates

Distribution Advocates works to collectively reclaim power for independent storytellers in the current systems of distribution and exhibition. We are a coalition-in-formation striving to advocate for filmmakers and maintain plurality and originality in a culture that needs it more than ever. We fight for radical transparency, rebalancing entrenched inequities and blazing a new, more interesting, accessible and inclusive way forward.

Meet Our Moderator

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 at SXSW and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. Jinn gained distribution through MGM/Orion Classics and continues to be seen throughout the world. Avril has also produced several films including Hosea and the upcoming comedy Dotty & Soul, starring Leslie Uggams, Gary Owen and David Koechner.

Her latest projects include the NAACP Image Award nominated film African America, which is available on Netflix, and the docu-series Black America Is…, which has received support from The Blackhouse Producer’s Lab, the CNN/Film Independent Docu-Series Intensive, and the Kettering Foundation. Most recently, Avril was the Showrunner and Director of the docu-series Uprooted: The Untold Keith Warren Story, which is available on Discovery+. Currently, Avril is the producer of the feature film Pure, which is based on the short film streaming on HBO Max.

Avril has been selected for producing labs with Film Independent, Sundance, IFP, Rotterdam and Cannes, was a 2020 Sundance Momentum Fellow, and is currently a 2022 recipient of the Dear Producer Award. She is also a member of Distribution Advocates and is part of the Executive Committee for the newly formed Producer’s Union.

Meet our Panelists

Whitney Skauge is an award-winning filmmaker dedicated to diverse storytelling and representation. They are Vice President of Development at two-time Oscar-nominated Breakwater Studios, dedicated to the craft of the short documentary. Their debut short film, produced by Breakwater Studios, premiered at SXSW and was distributed by LA Times Short Docs in 2021. Their films act as an extension of social and political activism with hopes of helping audiences understand themselves and the world around them better.

Quincy Ledbetter is a filmmaker, musician, and artist from Brooklyn, New York, by way of Woodbridge, Virginia. As a self-taught jack of all trades, Quincy excels in writing, directing, editing, cinematography, and music composition. He’s made films for notable organizations such as BET, PARAMOUNT PLAYERS, NPR, TIME, COLOR OF CHANCE, MASHABLE, MIC.com, HUFFPOST, VOX, and THE NEW YORK TIMES. His work in media has garnered two Edward R. Murrow Awards (2018 and 2021), a ASME Ellie Award for News Documentary (2018), an Emmy Nomination for Short Format Daytime Program (2017), and two Webby Awards (2016 and 2021).

Quincy is the inaugural winner of BET’s Project CRE8 competition through which he received a one-million-dollar budget to write, direct, and compose the score for his first feature film, ALIEU THE DREAMER. His most recent short film, THE BLACK DISQUISITION, has been accepted into 16 film festivals, has won two awards for Best Narrative Animated Short Film, and one for Best Director.

In 2021, Quincy and his partner Yuki Maekawa-Ledbetter founded their production company, ML-NEBULA.

#MakeYourWork

Join us for Deep Focus: Distribution & Festivals and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork! RSVP today!

Questions? Contact [email protected].

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