Category: Filmmaker Support – Current Activities
The For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator nurtures a diverse cohort of Bay Area documentary filmmakers who are telling personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area.
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.
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
Wed, June 5, 2024, 5:30–7:30 PM
Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Join us for the film screening of Harbor, a film that follows the life of Liza Star, a local Monterey Bay fisherwoman. Get a chance to learn a bit of Liza’s daily life in the fishing and water-based industries in the Monterey Bay along with her journey to how she got here, starting from her childhood and upbringing in Rhode Island. Experience the film beside the ocean at the Seymour Discovery Center, and get a chance to eat locally caught Monterey Bay seafood with the appetizers served at the beginning of the event. There will also be a discussion panel of various Stewards of the Sea: people who are dedicated to the ocean through their jobs and lives.
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.
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
Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 6:30–8:30 PM
CAST, 447 Minna Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Have you ever had to sacrifice a dream to make way for something else? At some point in our lives we all experience giving up something meaningful to make room for something else also important to us.
Join us for this event as we explore that moment in Sammy’s Final Arrangement, a profound and introspective film by Chad Santo Tomas profiling a florist at the peak of his game who comes to terms with his career as he decides to retire. In the process, he reflects on the unexpected grief that comes with pursuing your dreams, and the consequences of loss and making difficult life decisions. Following the film will be a discussion about the themes it explores with the filmmaker and the subject, Sammy, moderated by Melanie Elvena from the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center. Be ready and open to share some of your buried dreams to be released into the ether.
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.
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
Saturday, May 12, 2024, 4:00–6:00PM
Gyuto Foundation
6401 Bernhard Ave, Richmond, CA 94805
Join us for the film screening of Saranam Gacchâmi, an inspiring story about Ven Thupten Donyo, a visionary Buddhist monk from the Himalayan foothills of Nepal. Witness his extraordinary journey to California, where he defied all odds to establish one of the Bay Area’s largest Tibetan Monasteries—a sanctuary preserving endangered Tibetan culture, traditions, and language. Experience the Monastery and glimpse the beautiful Tibetan culture and vibrant community in the Bay Area. Enjoy a guided Monastery Tour and chai before the film with us!
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.
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
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 6:00–8:00PM
Raíces y Cariño
1205 Freedom Boulevard #Unit 3B Watsonville, CA 95076
Join us to honor our Abuelita’s, whether biological or chosen, with food, films and ceremony. We will gather to share stories of our beloved elders, build a collective altar to honor them, and watch films by local filmmakers who share stories of their Abuelos.
This will be a bilingual event in Spanish and English, families of all ages are encouraged to attend.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
We are excited to announce that Re-Present Media received a California Humanities grant for our event series, For Us, By Us: Our Beloved Communities. The series is planned to take place in Spring 2024.
In partnership with Filmmakers Collaborative SF, we are presenting a film screening and discussion event series highlighting six documentary films made by a multicultural group of local filmmakers who are telling personal stories of Bay Area community heroes. The featured filmmakers were fellows in our inaugural For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator program in 2023. We look forward to continuing to amplify their work and are grateful to California Humanities for their support!
Our Director Jennifer Crystal Chien is featured in DOK Leipzig’s new podcast episode “Keep on Keeping On” from What’s Up with Docs. In this episode, host Toni Bell discusses with Jennifer the vital question of who is determining what is of interest and to whom?! They dive into the challenges faces by BIPOC filmmakers working in a dominant white supremacy culture and the need to generate new and more authentic representations and portrayals of BIPOC communities. Jennifer also talks about her commitment to advocacy and the field-building work at Re-Present Media.
Tune in now: What’s Up with Docs feat. Jennifer Crystal Chien – Keep on Keeping on
Curators of the episode: Toni Bell and Brianna Jovahn, MBA.
We are excited to announce our For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator cohort! Seven filmmakers telling personal stories from underrepresented Bay Area communities were selected to participate in our six month intensive. The cohort will participate in workshops, receive mentoring, and be given stipends to strategically use for their films.
Their six projects highlight intersections of race, class, and gender from across the Bay Area. We are thrilled to support these filmmakers’ stories for Bay Area communities by Bay Area filmmakers. With each film comes an opportunity to realistically represent those who have been underrepresented and provide insight into how we can better understand each other and ourselves.
Congratulations to Caroline Julia Cabading, Megan Martinez Goltz, Chad Santo Tomas, Mauro Sifuentes, Sé Sullivan, Erika Staud, and Priyanka Suryaneni. We look forward to supporting these filmmakers on their journeys!
Click here to learn more about the filmmakers and their projects.