Programming & Fellowships
The Black TV & Film Collective offers a variety of programming to support our mission and desired vision for change in the entertainment industry. There is something for everyone so please come and experience transformational opportunities, education and community by joining our collective!
Programming & Fellowships
Writers Rooms
Held in-person and Virtual, this monthly BTFC member favorite, provides the perfect opportunity for writers to get notes and feedback from fellow members to take your screenplay to the next level! Each month, join the table and hear your and other writers’ work read aloud and evaluated for its strengths and weaknesses. 10 pages max.
Project Pitch Sessions
If you’re a producer or writer that is noodling on your next great idea but haven’t put all the pieces together then our Project Pitch Sessions are for you. These are intentionally informal and full of love, so you don’t have the pressure of the traditional pitch, and can work out the kinks in a safe space. We start with introductions, 3 minutes max where you pitch the group about the idea (genre, logline), what stage the project is, the help needed and why you’re passionate about this? In the next 5 minutes – members ask questions about your pitch to help you refine and perfect. These are the perfect way to make sure you kill your next pitch meeting and secure the talent, studio and/or funding for your next project. It’s also a great way to generate support from collective members to help you get to the next stage (e.g. you’re a writer who wants help to do a table read, or a producer looking for writer/director, etc.). There is a mix & mingle before/after.
Producers Circle
Producing can be a lonely and isolating journey so our on-going circle is how we ensure that each producer within our ranks feels supported. You join the collective because our goal is to make sure our members “MAKE THEIR WORK,” so this is not only a space of learning and collective problem-solving to overcome resource challenges and production-related issues in an intimate and value-add way. Led by seasoned producers, our Producers Circle is a vital community and energy giving environment that you need if you want to take your project over the finish line.
Office Hours
Remember back in the day when professors had office hours and you could just go in to ask a question or get some help? Well the BTFC doesn’t believe that learning ends with college or film school. Currently offered virtually once/month, Office Hours provide BTFC members an opportunity to exchange and collaborate with fellow Members who are experienced producers and filmmakers. During Office Hours these highly-qualified experts offer insight and feedback on projects in any stage of development and career advice and insight about how to successfully navigate difficult production and professional situations. Recent Office Hours hosts have included Hurriyah Muhammad, Okema T. Moore and London WIlliams. They are offered monthly.
The Download
Offered six times per year, The Download is a special virtual guest conversation series hosted by the BTFC featuring impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives make their work. Through these conversations with industry veterans, The Download creates a forum for these industry veterans to pass on their wisdom and inspire the next generation of Black creators. These virtual sessions are open to all members of the BTFC community to view and submit questions. Recent guests on The Download have included Aaron Rahsaan Thomas and the editing team of A Black Lady Sketch Show.
The Speakers Series
Offered six times per year, The Speakers Series is a virtual moderated panel series hosted by the BTFC on topics of interest to our community including, but not limited to: Building Your Network (focused on directors), Writing the Pilot (for writers), Getting in the Room (for actors), etc. The series also features prominent Black industry professionals sharing their own journeys to success. Recent speakers have included Brett King, Cameron Squires, and Effie T. Brown.
The Online Work Date
Powered by award-winning producer and director Letitia Gilllory, the Online Work Date offers time to get important work done and opportunities to connect with other Black and brown creatives. This virtual event is offered once/month throughout the year.
Black Producers' Fellowship
To amplify Black creative voices, provide an invaluable development opportunity for emerging professionals, and develop a pipeline of skilled Black producers primed for career advancement, The BTFC provides six emerging producers per cycle (Winter/Spring and Summer/Fall) with $25K production grants, in-kind support and critical mentorship as they develop and produce narrative short films inspired by the Black experience in America. This project is exclusively focused on producers because they create “make or break” opportunities for entertainment professionals in front of and behind the camera. Producers are lifetime job creators that impact diversity and inclusion with the projects they bring to the screen, and often have careers that end in the corporate boardrooms of the multinational corporations that create, distribute, and market content to the public in all forms.
Data & Analysis
Hollywood Diversity Report
While the diversity on screen seemed to improve for nonwhite people and women, black people are completely underrepresented, especially when it comes to writers, directors and execs.
Color of Change Hollywood
Check out their reports on Race in the Writers Room and Crime TV. They will teach you about what it’s like in a writers room and why it’s important for black people to be included when telling stories involving our collective narrative.
Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity
Women in Film’s Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity is a coalition for all writers. Check out their Behind-the-Scenes report on inclusion and equity.
Representation for Black Writers
We conducted a survey of black WGA writers to see where black people have been represented at agencies and management companies.
Resources
Charity’s List
Charity Miller is a TV Writer who for many years maintained an ad hoc list of qualified BIPOC support staff. She believes no one should ever say, “I just can’t find a Black support staff person,” ever again! Together we’ve streamlined Charity’s List into a database of Black support staff for your TV writers’ room needs.
View Charity's ListFill Out the Form To Be Added to Charity's List