Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jay Gash, is now the Strategic Capacity Coordinator for QWOCMAP. Jay’s film, When the Garden Comes, which she started producing in Re-Take Oakland, premiered at the 18th Annual Queer Women of Color Film Festival in 2022. Jay was also a participant in QWOCMAP’s 2014 Film & Freedom Academy and has been a Mentor to other QWOCMAP Filmmakers since 2017.

As Strategic Capacity Coordinator, Jay supports core artistic programs and events including the Film Freedom Academy Filmmaker Training Program (4-Day Workshop), annual International Queer Women of Color Film Festival, Boutique Distribution Program, and the Critical Juncture Program for LBTQIA+ people of color supported by the Dream Keeper Initiative and Human Rights Commission.

Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Pallavi Somusetty, for winning the $40,000 DocPitch 2023 Jury Award for her film, Coach Emily. Presented by DocLands Documentary Film Festival, DocPitch is an invitation for North American based filmmakers to submit their unfinished feature-length documentary projects currently in early to late stages of production. A jury selected five filmmaking teams to present a verbal pitch and a three-to-five minute trailer.

Coach Emily is a feature documentary that follows Emily Taylor, an Oakland-based Black and queer rock climbing coach, as she battles systemic racism in her professional and personal life. Through her Brown Girls Climbing program, Emily trains young girls of color, including her own daughter, as they resist discrimination in the climbing world and work to define themselves in the outdoors.

Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jennifer Huang, who was selected for the DOC NYC x Video Consortium Storytelling Incubator for her film, The Long Rescue. This initiative provides first-time feature documentary filmmakers with hands-on creative consultation and professional guidance from established industry voices.

The Long Rescue follows Filipina teen sex trafficking survivors for six years where we learn of their dark pasts through brief flashbacks that reveal the cyclical nature of exploitation that haunts women and their children for generations.

The Long Rescue, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Jennifer Huang, was accepted into the Film Independent CNN Docuseries Intensive. Supported by Founding Sponsor CNN Original Series, the Intensive helps Fellows walk away with a deeper understanding of the industry through executive and peer mentorships, creative workshopping and industry networking.

The Long Rescue follows Filipina teen sex trafficking survivors for six years in an intimate journey of recovery.

Grandma Lai is a recipient of the LIMCA-Hidden Gems III Award. The purpose of the awards program is to recognize individuals for their story, creative work, and contributions to the LIMCA Iu Mien community.

Grandma Lai is the subject of My Name is Lai, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Lucy Saephan.

In My Name is Lai, a first generation Mien American elder, shares the events leading up to her arrival to the U.S. as a refugee survivor of war. Lai retraces moments of her life from memories as a young child, to being a newly arrived refugee finding her way in the U.S. Through these memories, Lai reflects on her life, passing on cultural traditions, fears of losing her independence, and hopes for the future.

This Adventure Called California, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Jennifer Huang, will screen at the 2022 United Nations Association Film Festival on Sunday, October 23 at 1pm in Palo Alto.

This Adventure Called California is a short documentary film about recently divorced Arnoldo, who comes to the United States from Mexico to win back his family but meets only brutality and despair, until a chance encounter at a racquetball court changes the course of his life.

For more information, visit this page.

Coach Emily, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Pallavi Somusetty, is having its first in-person screenings! The film will screen:

October 22 at 4:00pm with BAMMS at the Roxie
For more information and tickets, visit this page.

October 23 at 12:30pm with Kearny Street Workshop at the Roxie
Pallavi Somusetty is a featured artist for this showcase.
For more information and tickets, visit this page.

Coach Emily follows Emily Taylor, a Black woman rock climbing coach determined to close the adventure gap for her team of young girls of color in Oakland.

When the Garden Comes, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker Jay Gash, is screening at Femininity Framed on Friday, October 7th at 5pm at Rose Mary Jane in Oakland.

When the Garden Comes follows how the legacy of homeownership and gardening pumps through the veins of a Black family in North Oakland.

Femininity Framed features female filmmakers of color exploring their femininity within short films.

For more information and tickets, visit this page.

For Love and Legacy, directed by Re-Take Oakland filmmaker A.K. Sandhu, is making its way back to the Bay Area at Mill Valley Film Festival. The film is screening in the Shorts Program: Painting Pictures, October 12 at 3:45pm at Rafael 3.

For Love and Legacy tells the personal stories of sculptor Dana King and activist Fredrika Newton who come together to build a new monument that honors the Black Panther Party’s vital place in American history.

For more information and tickets, visit this page.

A.K. Sandhu will also be leading an archival workshop, Reel Life: History on Film, with Bay Area archivist, Alex Cherian, on October 15 at 11:30am. Exploring themes of history and memory, A.K. will talk about the curated archival footage she considered and utilized for the film, and participants will be able to study and learn how archives expand historical significance.

For more information and tickets, visit this page.

For Love and Legacy will also be screening at these upcoming festivals: DocNYC, HotSprings, Montreal Black FF, New Haven Docs, Montclair, and Urbanworld FF.

Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, A.K. Sandhu, who is the winner of Spotlight Your Town for her docuseries, We Beg Your Pardon, America. Spotlight Your Town is presented by SeriesFest and National Geographic Documentary Films.

We Beg Your Pardon, America tackles America’s version of history about the Black Panther Party through poetic interrogation by womxn Panthers. 

A.K. Sandhu will receive a $20,000 grant to be applied to her production, an opportunity to pitch to National Geographic Documentary Films, and unscripted teams in one-on-one curated meetings, as well as receive a six-month mentorship with Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, City So Real).