As a maker-centered festival, BlackStar has been always been a space where connections are forged through sharing works, concepts, advice, and the occasional tea.
Join us for our third annual pitch session where a selection of filmmakers of color will propose their works-in-progress to an illustrious panel of funders, distributors and producers. Get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to develop a short documentary film and listen into how leading decision makers evaluate projects.
8 filmmakers will pitch their short doc projects to a panel of representatives from highly influential foundations, distribution platforms and production houses. One winner will receive an artist grant from WarnerMedia OneFifty, while an honorable mention pitch will receive $2,500 from POV and IF/Then, mentorship from IF/Then staff, and two hours of impact campaign planning support from Working Films. The winner and runner-up will both receive Vimeo PRO accounts for a year as well. Each filmmaker will be given 7 minutes to present followed by 8 minutes of constructive feedback.
Learn more about each of the finalist's projects here.
Please note that this is a private event made available to registered attendees only, comprised of passholders, members, and industry. If you are in one of these groups you will receive a code separately to register.
Panelists include:
- Alex Hannibal, CNN
- Caitlin Mae Burke, IF/Then
- Chi-hui Yang, Ford Foundation/JustFilms
- Chloe Walters-Wallace, Firelight Media
- Chris Hastings, WORLD Channel/WGBH
- Jeff Seelbach, Topic/First Look Media
- Mervyn Marcano, Field/House Productions
- Opal Hope Bennett, POV/American Documentary
As a maker-centered festival, BlackStar has been always been a space where connections are forged through sharing works, concepts, advice, and the occasional tea.
Join us for our third annual pitch session where a selection of filmmakers of color will propose their works-in-progress to an illustrious panel of funders, distributors and producers. Get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to develop a short documentary film and listen into how leading decision makers evaluate projects.
8 filmmakers will pitch their short doc projects to a panel of representatives from highly influential foundations, distribution platforms and production houses. One winner will receive an artist grant from WarnerMedia OneFifty, while an honorable mention pitch will receive $2,500 from POV and IF/Then, mentorship from IF/Then staff, and two hours of impact campaign planning support from Working Films. The winner and runner-up will both receive Vimeo PRO accounts for a year as well. Each filmmaker will be given 7 minutes to present followed by 8 minutes of constructive feedback.
Learn more about each of the finalist's projects here.
Please note that this is a private event made available to registered attendees only, comprised of passholders, members, and industry. If you are in one of these groups you will receive a code separately to register.
Panelists include:
- Alex Hannibal, CNN
- Caitlin Mae Burke, IF/Then
- Chi-hui Yang, Ford Foundation/JustFilms
- Chloe Walters-Wallace, Firelight Media
- Chris Hastings, WORLD Channel/WGBH
- Jeff Seelbach, Topic/First Look Media
- Mervyn Marcano, Field/House Productions
- Opal Hope Bennett, POV/American Documentary