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Register now for Getting Down to Business!
Getting Down to Business is a 3-Part Webinar Series to help filmmakers manage budgeting, accounting, and fiscal sponsorship for their films.
Presented by Filmmakers Collaborative SF and Re-Present Media
Free / Sliding scale donation ($0 and up)
More info and registration: https://filmmakerscollaborative.org/events
Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jennifer Huang, was selected for the Inaugural Sundance Institute Cultural Impact Residency for her film, The Long Rescue. The residency program was created in honor of social justice advocate Michael Latt’s legacy and aims to uplift early-career underrepresented storytellers with a focus on creative, social, and cultural impact.
The Long Rescue follows Filipina teen sex trafficking survivors who dream of safety, family, and romance in a secret shelter – but, once home, they confront the poverty, pimps, and predators of their pasts. Over nine years, their coming-of-age journeys are a lens into the struggles and strengths of survivors everywhere.
Irei: To Console the Spirits, directed by For Us, By Us fellow Megan Martinez Goltz, will be screening in Films of Remembrance, a showcase of films commemorating the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans in American concentration camps during World War II.
Sat, Feb 22nd, 2:30 PM @ AMC Kabuki 8, San Francisco
Sun, Feb 23rd, 3:00 PM @ San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, San Jose
Sat, Mar 8th, 2:30 PM @ Tateuchi Democracy Forum, Los Angeles
Sun, Mar 9th, 3:00 PM @ Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, Gardena
Irei: To Console the Spirits: In an act of collective remembrance, descendants of Japanese American WWII incarceration survivors come together to honor their ancestors by voicing their names aloud. In creating a sonic refuge that connects past and present, they ensure their story remains a part of our national memory.
Two of our supported films will be screening together in 3rd i Shorts: Women Behind the Lens, presented by 3rd i Films. The films are PARAMITA, directed by Re-Take Oakland fellow Kirthi Nath, and Saranam Gacchâmi, directed by For Us, By Us fellow Priyanka Suryaneni.
Sat, March 15, 1:30 pm
Roxie Theater, San Francisco
FREE – Tickets are available only at the Roxie box office, 30 minutes before the screening.
PARAMITA is a documentary short that blends poetry, memoir, and prayer to explore the transformative power of mindfulness, acceptance, and belonging. The film bears witness to Prajna Choudhury’s 25-year journey of coming out to her traditional Bangladeshi mother. Told with intimacy, tenderness, and quiet power, PARAMITA invites viewers into a meditative spiritual experience, as Prajna connects with Buddhist practices and nature as pathways to intergenerational healing and reconciliation.
Saranam Gacchâmi is a documentary short that tells a story of cultural preservation through the life of visionary Tibetan monk Thupten Donyo—a refugee driven by a dream. Born in the foothills of Mt. Everest in Nepal, he traveled to California with only his ideas. He established the Bay Area’s largest Tibetan Monastery to safeguard their endangered heritage, an invaluable sanctuary for Tibetan culture and community in diaspora. Now, nearing retirement, he hopes to find a worthy successor to carry forward the Monastery’s legacy.
The For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator nurtures a cohort of local documentary filmmakers of different backgrounds who are telling personal stories from Bay Area communities not often seen in media.
Filmmakers participate in workshops, receive mentoring, and use program stipends to strategically advance their films.
Applications are now open for the 2025 program.
Deadline: Feb 24, 2025.
Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Jenn Lee Smith, is a producer on the film Home Court, which premieres on Independent Lens on March 24, 2025.
Home Court is a feature documentary that traces the ascent of Ashley Chea, a basketball prodigy whose life intensifies amid recruitment, injury, and triumph throughout her high school years.
Learn more on Home Court’s website.
ALIVE IN BRONZE: Huey P. Newton, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker A.K. Sandhu, won the Realscreen Award for Short-Form Content and was nominated for the Dialog Award.
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.
Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jessica Jones, for being selected for the Wexner Center for the Arts Studio Film Residency at the University of Ohio. The residencies support projects in the post-production process and offer artists time and space to focus on their work without distraction.
Jessica Jones is currently in post-production on her film, Women Who Ride, an intimate portrait of D’Vious Wayz Motorcycle Club, Oakland’s first Black all-women motorcycle club. Led by Tish Edwards, this group has been together for 20 years, but as membership dwindles during COVID and family responsibilities mount, multiple challenges will need to be addressed on the journey ahead.
Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jay Gash, was the Director of Photography and Editor on the short film, Equity at Work: ReWork the Bay’s Journey to Reimagining an Equitable Economy, in collaboration with Producer, Niema Jordan.
ReWork the Bay is a powerful initiative committed to transforming the Bay Area’s workforce ecosystem by empowering workers, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and driving systemic change. The short film explores how this effort brings together leaders from diverse sectors who share a vision of an equitable future, working collaboratively to address the complex challenges faced by the region’s workers.
Watch the film on YouTube.
Learn more about the project on the ReWork the Bay website and LinkedIn.
Sammy’s Final Arrangement, directed by For Us, By Us fellow, Chad Santo Tomas, screened at the 2024 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest as part of the Bay Area Shorts program on October 19.
In Sammy’s Final Arrangement, Samuel Go must come to terms with the stresses and the dwindling creative freedom that have resulted in his decision to end his practice and begin a new life. As Sammy directs his own cycle of self preservation, he must navigate the final stages of packing the remnants of his studio, a 2nd child with his wife, and the stresses of a final large scale wedding.