This June we are dedicating our newsletter to organizations and resources that support Black filmmakers and professionals within our industry.
Hire, Fund, and Collaborate with Black & Brown Women through Brown Girls Doc Mafia
Brown Girls Doc Mafia have put together a resource of their members consisting of professionals in the U.S. and around the world in every aspect of filmmaking including all departments of post-production, production, and more. BGDM have requested everyone to take a look through, and just note the first two columns: the first denotes whether a member has opted to work on just BGDM led projects vs any project, and the second denotes whether they have opted to work in Covid-19 environments, protest environments, or neither. Please respect these two elements. We will also be sure to share the in-progress Brown Girls Doc Mafia Member Directory in its entirety as soon as it’s up on their site!
Firelight Media’s Fellowship Opportunity
The Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab 2020 fellowship, which supports filmmakers from racially and ethnically underrepresented communities, is still open for applications! Learn more about the program + apply here until June 29th. If you’d like to support this program, you may by donating here.
Support Black Public Media
Want to donate to support a residency initiative for Black filmmakers? Black Public Media is an organization that creates, supports, and distributes content around the Black experience and provides an array of options for independent Black producers. One of the programs they offer is an intensive virtual incubator experience which will lead to their funding opportunity – PitchBlack. With your donation, you can help support an incubator fellow! You could also become a member of Black Public Media’s Corporate Partners Program and support Black Public Media’s Signature Events—Black Media Story Summit, PitchBlack, and BPMPlus. Reach out to alisa@blackpublicmedia.org for more information about the program.
Check Out The Free The Work Platform
Director of Honeyboy and Bombay Beach, Alma Ha’rel, started a talent discovery platform specifically for under presented artists called Free The Work. For Black filmmaker collectives and platforms specifically, Free The Work has an incredible resource of organizations and initiatives here. If these don’t apply to you, they could still use your support through donations if you’d like to uplift their work.
More Film & TV Organizations with Resources for Black Filmmakers
In addition to the above features, we’ve gathered a few more industry resources that specifically support and uplift the Black film and media community. We’ve included their social media handles as well if you’d like to give them a follow!
Array Now | Twitter & Instagram
Array works to elevate women, Black artists, and people of color and progressive change in the industry through production, hiring, distribution, grantmaking, programming, and education.
Black Association of Documentary Filmmakers West | Twitter
BADWEST Is a membership organization for people of African descent working in documentary film or other media.
Cast & Crew of Color
Cast and Crew of Color is an online professional network developed by and for people of color to facilitate collaboration and empowerment.
Organization of Black Screenwriters | Twitter
The Organization of Black Screenwriters works to address and change the lack of Black writers in the entertainment industry.
Black Film Space | Twitter & Instagram
Black Film Space works to build a community of filmmaking professionals from the African Diaspora through skill-enhancing and networking events.
BlackHouse | Twitter & Instagram
BlackHouse uplifts Black creative voices and executives in film and TV through education, opportunities, fellowship programs, and member events.
The Black TV & Film Collective | Twitter & Instagram
Black TV & Film Collective aims to create opportunities for artists of color to achieve their long-term career goals in TV, film, and digital entertainment.
Black Artists for Freedom | Twitter
Black Artists for Freedom is a collective of Black workers in the culture industries.
What to Watch
Based on recommendations from our team and industry friends, we pulled together a list of films and TV shows by platform as an aid to anti-racist education. Check out our slideshow on our Instagram that covers picks from Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, and other important films available for rent across platforms. Share these with your friends and family and urge them to watch at least one of these films or TV shows a week and help dismantle systemic racism and white supremacy.
Have more recommendations? Post them in the comments of our Instagram post!
The Imperative to Hire Black and POC Filmmakers within the Documentary Community | Filmmaker Magazine
Here’s How to Demand Justice for Breonna Taylor | Rolling Stone
It Is Time for Reparations | New York Times, ‘From The Magazine’
Stop Asking And Start Doing. 10 Ways To Be An Active Ally In The Workplace To Black Women | Linkedin
Platitudes and Protest: How the Music Industry Responded to Blackout Tuesday | Rolling Stone
We have more work to do
All of us at Picture Motion are making a stronger commitment to actively speak out against police brutality, advocate for equity measures, and allocate our time and resources to more effectively support our Black colleagues and community. We started by donating thousands of dollars to Black Lives Matter Global Network, Loveland Foundation, The NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, and The Bail Project, and committing to observing Juneteenth as a company holiday from here on. Moving forward, we are dedicating ourselves to using any and all of our platforms to elevate Black voices in our industry, such as this newsletter. As we learned from this Beyond the Acknowledgement Resource Guide, we as a company must continue to ask ourselves these questions:
How are we uniquely positioned to drive systemic change from within our company?
How will we leverage our unique skills, connections and privilege to enact change within the film and entertainment industry?
How will we continue to support Black voices and their stories?
We have more work to do and will never stop.
In solidarity,
Team PicMo
