Category: Filmmaker Support

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.

Arts Administrators of Color Network Annual Convening 2023

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Toni Bell, Re-Present Media’s Impact Consultant, and Jennifer Crystal Chien, Re-Present Media’s Director, presented a workshop, Restorative Practices for BIPOC Arts Administrators, at the Arts Administrators Color Network Annual Convening on November 12, 2023 in Chicago.

This workshop focused on principles and practices for BIPOC arts administrators working within environments rooted in white supremacist culture. The vision was to focus on working sustainably and effectively amid predictable challenges that arise.

We discussed common institutional and interpersonal dynamics within white dominant culture organizations and introduced restorative practices and strategies within the areas of sustainability, recentering BIPOCs, and community building.

Concepts we covered included:

  • Letting go of having to convince or get the approval of others and the idea that “struggle” is a necessity
  • Engaging in strategic healing practices
  • Making language, concepts, and attitudes from your cultural perspective(s) as the root of communications
  • Acknowledging power differentials between groups by using Dr. Ken Hardy’s communication responsibilities
  • Creating community, support, and programming that is needed without waiting for permission or funding
  • Cultivating a collective rather than an individualistic mindset in work
  • Understanding how to advocate for change while still creating and presenting art within your fields

The goal of this workshop was to support decolonization of participants towards healthier ways of relating to organizations, others, oneself, and the work, which relates to the conference theme of “We Will Flourish.” This session was intended for those who are BIPOC working with or inside white dominant culture organizations and environments and come from a collective empowerment cultural lens.

Pallavi Somusetty awarded IDA Logan Elevate Grant

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Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Pallavi Somusetty, for being awarded the IDA Logan Elevate Grant, for her film, Coach Emily. With this grant, she will receive $30,000, story consulting, dedicated artist support, year-long individualized professional development opportunities and filmmaker-guided public programming.

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.