For Us, By Us: Our Beloved Communities – We Just Want to Be – April 27

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For Us, By Us: Our Beloved Communities is a multicultural film screening and discussion series highlighting documentary films made by a diverse group of local filmmakers who are telling personal stories of Bay Area community heroes.

Presented by Re-Present Media and Filmmakers Collaborative SF

For Us, By Us: Our Beloved Communities – We Just Want to Be

Saturday, April 27, 2024, 2:15–4:45PM
The New Parkway Theater
474 24th Street Oakland, CA 94612

Screening of new footage from We Just Want to Be, panel discussion with community mental health advocates, and audience Q&A with the filmmakers.

We Just Want to Be is a documentary film in early production that tells the story of a survivor’s lifelong healing from trans conversion therapy, and the friendships across race and generation that helped facilitate that journey.

Free – registration required via Eventbrite

This project is made possible with support from the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation, Hobson Lucas Family Foundation, and California Humanities, a partner of the NEH. Visit www.calhum.org.

Centering Care, Consent and Community in Visual Storytelling – March 25

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Centering Care, Consent and Community in Visual Storytelling


Mon, 25 Mar 2024
17:30 – 20:00 CET

The Hague Humanity Hub
Fluwelen Burgwal 58, The Hague

Join ART WORKS Projects, Re-Present Media, Video Consortium, and The Hague Humanity Hub for a community learning event on best practices for consent-based, trauma-informed, and community-centered visual storytelling. Organised with the Movies that Matter Festival, the evening will engage diverse participants who have been using visual storytelling to create impact, whether in grassroots organising, advocacy, education, fundraising, or policy change.

Over the course of the evening, we will hear from Jennifer Huang, Director and Producer of The Long Rescue, the 2022 recipient of the Storyboard Impact Community Fund from Movies That Matter Industry Film and Impact initiative. We will also host a panel discussion discussing cases from different organisations and mediamakers. Participants will be able to share their ideas on how we can develop hands-on tools that will nurture industry-wide change and promote ethical, responsible, and respectful storytelling processes for trauma survivors, mediamakers, and the people and organisations who amplify these stories.

This initiative is part of the Humanity Hub’s programming in collaboration with visual advocacy organisations aiming to emphasise storytelling, photography, filmmaking, and other visual media as essential tools for conveying narratives, fostering understanding, and amplifying the voices of vulnerable groups. These are critical tools for anyone working in the peace, justice, and humanitarian field. Our primary goal is to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among visual advocacy organisations, extending valuable insights to the broader peace and justice community.

We warmly invite filmmakers as well as other practitioners – including social justice and peace advocates, campaigners, fundraisers, policy makers, justice and legal practitioners, and representatives from civil society organisations – to join us. This event is a unique opportunity for mutual learning, allowing us to deepen our collective understanding of how we can employ visual storytelling in a more ethical, responsible and respectful manner.

Free and open to the public.

Register on Eventbrite.

Workshop Series: Getting Down to Business

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Getting Down to Business

A 3-Part Series to help filmmakers develop practical business strategies to move their project forward.

Filmmakers Collaborative SF and Re-Present Media are presenting a three-workshop webinar series dedicated to helping emerging and mid-career filmmakers develop strategies for the producing and business side of independent films to ensure they are effectively moving their project forward.

Structured around the filmmaking process of development, production, and post-production, the workshops will cover producing strategies related to financial, legal, marketing, and other business topics required throughout the filmmaking process.

This is not a “how to” workshop series, but rather addresses the “why and what” behind developing practical strategies for integrating the business side of film to match the creative approach and goals of your project. Along with our presentation, we will provide case studies, guest speaker insights, and other resources to help you develop your strategies.

This series is ideal for emerging and mid-career filmmakers with a current film project.

  • Workshop 1) Development: Building the Foundation – Wed, March 20, 1:00–2:30pm PT
  • Workshop 2) Production: Moving Forward – Wed, April 24, 1:00–2:30pm PT
  • Workshop 3) Post-Production: Getting to the Finish Line – Wed, May 22, 1:00–2:30pm PT

You can register for the entire series or for individual workshops.

Cost: Free for Filmmakers Collaborative SF members. Sliding scale for non-members ($0-$25 for individual workshops or $0-$50 for the series).

More info and registration: www.filmmakerscollaborative.org/events

EFM Toolbox Programme 2024: Restorative Practices for BIPOC Creatives

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We were invited back to present our session, Restorative Practices for BIPOC Creatives, for the European Film Market Toolbox Programme. The EFM Doc Toolbox Programme and EFM Fiction Toolbox Programme are part of the European Film Market’s Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. The programs empower filmmakers from marginalised groups and the Global South to gain market intelligence, business tools, and connections for effective navigation in the global film market.

Our session focused on principles and practices for BIPOC filmmakers and creatives working within environments rooted in white supremacist culture. The vision was to focus on working sustainably and effectively amid predictable challenges that arise. Themes of the session included shifting perspectives on approaching the work, handling challenging situations in new ways, and building community.

ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton nominated for NAACP Image Award

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Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker A.K. Sandhu! ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton is nominated for Outstanding Short Form Documentary for the 2024 NAACP Image Awards!

In ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton, sculptor Dana King’s hands and activist Fredrika Newton’s memories come together to build a new monument that honors the Black Panther Party’s vital place in American history.

Jessica Jones and A.K. Sandhu selected as 2024 SFFILM FilmHouse Residents

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Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmakers, Jessica Jones and A.K. Sandhu, for being selected as 2024 SFFILM FilmHouse Residents. The FilmHouse Residency is managed by SFFILM Makers, the artist development program at SFFILM, and provides 12-month residencies to local filmmakers actively engaged in various stages of production.

Jessica Jones‘s documentary short, Women Who Ride, profiles Tish Edwards, the founder of Oakland’s first black women’s motorcycle club D’Vious Wayz.

A.K. Sandhu‘s feature documentary, UNTITLED MOTHERHOOD Project, follows women who dare to choose while defying the patriarchy in a time when their reproductive rights are no longer guaranteed.

Priyanka Suryaneni awarded East Bay Fund for Artists grant

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Congratulations to For Us, By Us fellow, Priyanka Suryaneni, for being awarded the East Bay Fund for Artists grant from the East Bay Community Foundation for her film, Saranam Gacchâmi (I take refuge).

Saranam Gacchâmi is a documentary film about an enterprising Buddhist Monk who defies all odds to set up one of the largest Tibetan Monasteries in the Bay Area to preserve the endangered Tibetan culture and traditions.

Chad Santo Tomas featured in SF Commons Presents: Personal Docs

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For Us, By Us fellow, Chad Santo Tomas, was featured in BAVC Media‘s SF Commons Presents: Personal Docs event on December 14, 2023 at Ninth Street Independent Film Center in San Francisco.

The event highlighted personal documentary filmmaking from local Bay Area filmmakers through a series of snippets from films and moderated discussion with the filmmakers about the challenges and triumphs in their creative process from development to distribution. Other featured filmmakers were Elizabeth Herrera, Mabel Valdevizio, and Vanessa Smith.

ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton streaming on Paramount+

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ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker A.K. Sandhu, was acquired by MTV Films and is now streaming on Paramount+.

In ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton, sculptor Dana King’s hands and activist Fredrika Newton’s memories come together to build a new monument that honors the Black Panther Party’s vital place in American history.