Tag: Black executive producers

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Join us for our inaugural virtual Giving Tuesday Telethon! 

OnTuesday, Nov 28th at 9 AM PT, join us for a virtual Giving Tuesday Telethon “A Love Letter to BTFC: The Possibilities of Stories.” We will shine a spotlight on all of our amazing members, showcase the awesome work you are creating in partnership with the BTFC, and raise critical money to fund our work!

Through live broadcasts of member created films and personal conversations with the creators behind them, the Love Letters Telethon aims to galvanize support for black creatives, fostering a deeper connection between artists and audiences, while simultaneously raising crucial funds to further BTFC’s mission. This event stands as a testament to the power of community, celebrating achievements and fueling future artistic endeavors the center Black stories. It will also be a dynamic platform to spotlight the immense talent and stories of Black and African descent artists, underlining their contributions to the entertainment industry.

So after your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, we invite youto feed your soul and spirit of gratitude by tuning into the BTFC Telethon. Be part of a celebration of the rich and notable tapestry of Black Stories, and a declaration for why we mustensure that every hue of our diverse experience is seen and heard.

It’s completely free day of fun, joy and awesome entertainment soRSVPtoday!

Interested in showing your support for a world where bringing the full spectrum of Black stories to the forefront. Then support our Giving Tuesday Campaign andDONATEtoday!

Interested in becoming a member? Join BTFC HERE and become a MAKER today!

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Interested in becoming a member? Sign up for our BTFC Membership! ! Get access to exclusive programming like the Download and more!

Join us for this exclusive virtual conversation! 

On Tuesday, December 5th at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT, join us at the virtual table for The Download with Kemp Powers, BTFC Advisory Board Member xGolden Globe Award winning and Academy nominated Writer/Director ofSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse andSoul.

We’re discussing what it takes to become a dynamic, multi-hyphenated creative with “writer’s wisdom and a director’s heart”. Powers was named one of VARIETY’s 2020 “10 Screenwriters to Watch.” Powers wrote the critically acclaimed Amazon feature, One Night in Miami…, adapted from his 2013 award-winning stage play of the same name. He is also the co-director and a screenwriter of Disney/Pixar’s Academy Award-nominated animated feature Soul with which Powers made history as the first Black person to receive a director or screenwriter credit on any Pixar project. This year Powers was tapped by Sony Pictures Animation to direct the sequel to the Oscar-winning animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, along with Joaquim Dos Santos and Justin K. Thompson, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

If you have dreams of becoming a dynamic creative on stage, in television or film, you do not want to miss this event!

Join us and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork!

Meet Kemp Powers

Prior to his work on stage, television and film, Powers was a journalist for 17 years. His stage plays include the award-winning One Night in Miami…, Little Black Shadows, Christa McAuliffe’s Eyes Were Blue, The Two Reds and A Negro by Choice. The 2016 production of One Night in Miami... at London’s Donmar Warehouse earned Powers an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play. One Night’s Los Angeles world premiere won the production three LA Drama Critics Circle Awards and four NAACP Theatre Awards, as well as the 2013 Ted Schmitt Award for Outstanding New Play for Powers.  Kemp’s most recent stage play, The XIXth (The Nineteenth) premiered at The Old Globe in San Diego, March 2023. Previously, Powers wrote for the popular CBS All Access series, Star Trek: Discovery.

Powers wrote the critically acclaimed Amazon feature,One Night in Miami…, adapted from his 2013 award-winning stage play of the same name. This drama tells a fictional account of one evening in which Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcolm X celebrate Ali’s win over Sonny Liston in 1964. Directed by Regina King (in her directorial debut) and starring Eli Goree, Leslie Odom, Jr., Aldis Hodge and Kingsley Ben-Adir, One Night in Miami… debuted to critical acclaim at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals, before it opened in select theaters on December 25 and launched on Amazon Prime Video on January 15. This “skillful adaptation” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER) sits at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Powers was nominated for an Academy Award for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ on behalf of his work on the film. In addition to being selected as one of AFI Awards’ “Movies of the Year,” the film has also garnered a WGA Award nomination for Powers, four NAACP Image Award nominations including “Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture” for Powers and “Outstanding Motion Picture” for the film, six Critics Choice Award nominations including “Best Adapted Screenplay” for Powers and “Best Picture” for the film, three Golden Globe nominations and a PGA Award nomination. 

The Download

Offered multiple times a year, The Download is a special virtual guest conversation series hosted by the Black TV & Film Collective. It features impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives do their work. Recent guests on The Download have included Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Charlene Polite Corley, the editing team of A Black Lady Sketch Show, Janine Sherman Barrois and Pete Chatmon. 

#MakeYourWork

You must be a current paid member of the BTFC to attend. Registration does not confirm attendance. Only paid members will be sent the zoom link prior to the event.

Interested in becoming a member? Join BTFC HERE and become a MAKER today and attend this exclusive programming like the Download!

This event will be recorded, but access is for paid members only.

Members, use your code to access your registration!

RSVP today!

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Interested in becoming a member? Sign up for our BTFC Membership! ! Get access to exclusive programming like the Download and more!

Join us for this exclusive virtual conversation! 

On Tuesday, October 24th at 7PM ET, join us at the virtual table for The Download with Jeff Melvoin, Former BTFC Advisory Board Member x Emmy-winning writer-producer, show runner, educator, and author!

We’re discussing how Jeff sustained a 30 year TV writing career in Hollywood, and created hit after hit. This veteran writer/producer has created hits like Designated Survivor and Killing Eve, was an EP on Early Edition and Picket Fences and a Supervising Producer on Hillstreet Blues and Remington Steele. He is the co-founder of the WGA Showrunners Training Program, and currently touring the country celebrating his new book: Running the Show: Television From the Inside, where he shares his fascinating insider’s perspective on how to call the shots and make the final decisions in the world of TV showrunning. 

This is a do not miss event if you have dreams of being a great showrunner.

Join us and get the information and inspiration you need to #MakeYourWork!

Meet Jeff Melvoin

Jeff Melvoin has spent the last 30 years as a writer-producer in episodic television, most recently as Executive Producer of the Lifetime series Army Wives, which ended its seven-year run in 2013. Prior to that, Melvoin was Executive Producer of the ABC series In Justice, Alias, and Line of Fire, Executive Producer of the Showtime series Going to California, and Executive Producer of the CBS series Early Edition and Picket Fences. He also served as Supervising Producer of the CBS series Northern Exposure, for which he wrote 18 episodes.

A five-time Emmy nominee for his work on Northern Exposure, Melvoin earned a 1992 Primetime Emmy Award, shared for Outstanding Drama Series, two Golden Globes, and a Television Critics Association Award, as well as receiving Emmy nominations (Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Drama Series) for penning the episodes “Democracy in America” (1992) and “Kaddish for Uncle Manny” (1993). Melvoin’s other writing-producing credits include the NBC series Hill Street Blues and Remington Steele.

A Writers Guild member since 1983, Melvoin has been a strong presence at the WGAW over the past two decades, whether serving on the WGAW’s Board of Directors (2001-04) or as founder and Chair of the Guild’s Writers Education Committee from 2002 to present. Under Melvoin’s direction, the Writers Education Committee has put on 50 programs for Guild members to date. In addition, he has served on a wide range of other vital Guild committees, including: Board Nominating (2006, 2008), Officers Nominating (2001), Television Writers Council (1999-08). In 2004, Melvoin co-authored the WGA booklet, Writing for Episodic TV: From Freelance to Showrunner, which offers practical knowledge for aspiring TV writers.

A graduate of Harvard University, Melvoin worked as a Time magazine correspondent early in his writing career before entering the television industry. In the academic field, he has taught screenwriting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and UCLA Extension and has been a Visiting Lecturer in Dramatic Arts at Harvard. He is also a past board member of the Mystery Writers of America (Southern California Chapter). He and his wife, Martha Hartnett Melvoin, live in Los Angeles and have two sons, Nick and Charlie.

The Download

Offered multiple times a year, The Download is a special virtual guest conversation series hosted by the Black TV & Film Collective. It features impactful filmmakers who provide insider knowledge to help Black creatives do their work. Recent guests on The Download have included Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, Charlene Polite Corley, the editing team of A Black Lady Sketch Show, Janine Sherman Barrois and Pete Chatmon. 

#MakeYourWork

You must be a current paid member of the BTFC to attend. Registration does not confirm attendance. Only paid members will be sent the zoom link prior to the event.

Interested in becoming a member? Join BTFC HERE and become a MAKER today and attend this exclusive programming like the Download!

This event will be recorded, but access is for paid members only.

Members, use your code to access your registration!

RSVP today!

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Interested in becoming a member? Sign up for our BTFC Membership! ! Get access to exclusive programming like the Download and more!