Category: Filmmaker Support
Congratulations to Re-Take Oakland filmmaker, Jessica Jones, for being selected as a Sundance Contributing Editor Fellow.
The yearlong fellowship spotlights emerging talents committed to the art and craft of editing nonfiction feature films. Contributing editor fellows receive a stipend, a dedicated mentor, and access to curated workshops and small gatherings through the fellowship year.
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.
Re-Present Media director, Jennifer Crystal Chien, was recognized as an unsung hero of documentary filmmaking by Brown Girls Doc Mafia. Thank you to BGDM for spotlighting documentary women and femme leaders of color!
Read the article here.
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.
We presented a Community Building session titled, 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.
Filmmakers Collaborative SF and Re-Present Media are collaborating to present the For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator, a six month intensive to support a diverse cohort of six local documentary filmmakers who are telling personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area.
For Us, By Us will support a diverse cohort of six local documentary filmmakers who are telling personal stories from underrepresented communities in the Bay Area. The filmmakers will participate in workshops, receive mentoring, and be given stipends to strategically use for their films. The mentoring will be focused on a group setting, with additional individual mentoring with program directors as needed. The six month program will run from March-August 2023.
Our goal is to nurture stories that expand our understanding of those who live in our Bay Area communities, especially those who are marginalized that will benefit from seeing their perspectives realistically represented, validating their lived experiences and providing insight into how we can better understand each other and ourselves.
Filmmakers Collaborative SF is a nonprofit media organization with a mission to catalyze positive change through the power of filmmaking. Re-Present Media is an organization dedicated to advocating for personal storytelling from underrepresented communities in documentary film and nonfiction media. The launch of the For Us, By Us Filmmaker Incubator marks an exciting next step in our work to support diverse storytellers and strengthen the Bay Area’s filmmaker ecosystem.
The six month program includes:
To be eligible, applicants must:
Application deadline: February 22, 2023 at 11:59pm PST
For more information and to apply: filmmakerscollaborative.org/for-us-by-us
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.