Today marks three years since the U.S. first celebrated Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday. President Biden signed it into law, on June 17th, 2021, nearly 200 years after the first push to gain national recognition.
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Following his release from prison in February 1990, South Africa's 1st President Nelson Mandela famously embraced Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman, Yasser Arafat in Lusaka, Zambia. He and his political party, the African National Congress (ANC), had long supported Palestinian statehood; comparing the Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank to South Africa's Apartheid, which barred Black South Africans from voting, owning land, and living outside of ethnically segregated areas called "Homelands."
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Closing out the 2023 Holidays, ReelWorks hosted a gathering of Alumni from each of their training courses over the years. What’s remarkable was the amount of participants from BIPOC, Queer, Femme communities. While the TV and Film industry only consists of 28.8% of BIPOC professionals, 26% women - more than 80% of the alumni participants were from these communities.
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It was cold. And bristling. Wind burning my fingertips as I snapped shots in the dark illuminated by neon lights on a calm November night.
On the way to the Big Give, I felt an urge to capture the things I saw in Chelsea. Corridors: cavernous and liminal, but bustling with light. Some cool. Some warm. Others red. And blue.
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We’re back at it again with the Principal Cast of “Willow: House of Griots,” working through a table reading for the Pilot Episode. We discussed upcoming events, updated production schedule, watched our short film “Willow: State of Emergency,” and sunk our teeth into this special 90-minute pilot episode of “House of Griots.” Much love to Elliot Guilbe for the Photography, Glenn Quentin for the Production Support, and Sultan Ali for the Marketing Support.
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Ten years ago, when I was writing the original stage play, in which the series is based; I could only dream of the possibility of this moment. But here we are. Realizing the first stages of our TV show, “Willow: House of Griots.” And I’m so very thankful for the people who’ve joined me on this journey.
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After 10+ years of rewrites, fundraising, and development - “Willow” finally received its first award: Best Shot Film of the 2023 Black Film Summit
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Three years ago, I got to film an interview with Nick Canon. I ended up chatting with him afterward about the meaning of the artwork behind him. They were part of a stunning collection made by Sophia Dawson, and I couldn't help but ramble on and on about my favorite piece - it depicted the children of the Black Panthers in a classroom, some of them had already been orphaned by the FBI's COINTELPRO activities. He bought the painting outright for 8k. It was a great moment, that I never truly got recognition for...
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Read this Op Ed from Ashley Samona Baker, who originated the role of Diane in our upcoming film, “Willow.”
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We finally went for it! I found a team, built a dream - and we went for it! And we’re still going for it. And I’m still proud - we’re making a movie. And good work takes time.
To our supporters & friends alike: Thank you all for showing so much love and kindness to me and the “Willow” crew. It makes everything so much more worth the work.
But, what I’m really here to talk about are FISCAL SPONSORSHIPS.
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