Thursday, May 22, 2014

Support the Black Feminist Film School Fellowship Fund


bffs Chalkboard
Description


The Poetics of Black Feminist Film School - Summer Session

Black Feminist Film School Summer Session is the answer to a prayer whispered by storytellers, film school students, healers, artists, closet queer preachers and others who believe another world is possible as long as we can imagine it.
It is the vision we can not imagine of what a revolutionary practice can look like when we take the time to birth it together. 
It is the liberation that is possible when our community and allies understand that Black women sharing their autonomous and self-actualizing work means freedom for us all.
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bffs in BITCHThe answer, the vision, the liberation. Black Feminist Film School is an initiation journey that will transform all involved toward love and light. I invite you to join in and support in the ways that make sense for you.
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This is serious life saving and life changing work. It will be challenging and rewarding. It is not merely a workshop to gain filmmaking skills. It is not just a networking opportunity to gain crew for your projects. For ourselves and each other we seek to create a profoundly safe space; to develop a league of excellence, a language of love and transformation that allows us to create the world anew by every generative means we know.
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Black Feminist Film School Summer Session (bffs Summer Session) will take place June - August 2014. We will be focusing on building skill and practice as Black Feminist storytellers using the filmmaking medium and accompanying art forms. Within the three month session we will cover all phases of filmmaking including research and writing, pre-production, production and post-production.

Our goal
Our goal is to share and(re)develop a standard of Black Feminist filmmaking so that when participants complete the program they are able to: 1) join a film crew - independent, Black Feminist or within the Hollywood system - and excel; 2) develop their own skill and voice by creating short film projects that result in a high quality reel; 3) have the tools and relationships necessary to create a practice that will be self-sustaining. 
UMD ResidencyThis inaugural (bffs Summer Session) is for 6 self-identified Black feminists (21 and up) who live in the southeast or are from the southeast (ideally within 6 hours driving distance of Durham, NC). Applicants will need to commit a minimum of 5 - 10 hours a week to the session, attend bi-weekly virtual meetings and be available for two in-person gatherings. The two intensive gatherings will take place in or very near Durham, NC June 6-8 and August 1-3 and are both mandatory.

Up to 15 of those that apply will have the opportunity to audit the session once the 6 participant spots are filled. The fifteen auditors will have access to electronic copies of course materials, videos, tutorials, etc. But they will not be a part of the intensive gatherings or the virtual meetings. 


If you have any questions please email us at: blackfeministfilmschool@gmail.com

 Topics:


Julia Green ScreenEach week we will cover a number of theoretical and hands on exercises designed to grow your skill, voice and understanding of the art of filmmaking. We will also be considering what a Black Feminist filmmaking practice looks like in practice. Each week there will be required reading, dialogue and assignments (including screenings, writing, media projects, etc.) that will grow our filmmaking muscles.

  1. Storytelling
  2. Script reading and writing
  3. Camera
  4. Light
  5. Sound
  6. Production Roles/Jobs and Collaboration
  7. Elemental Forces/Nature
  8. Invisible Elements/Spirit
  9. Music
  10. Wardrobe
  11. Locations
  12.  Set Design & Props
  13. Directing Actors
  14. Production Notebook and Organization
  15. Scheduling
  16. Budgeting
  17. Equipment (Care, Rental, Review)
  18. Software
  19. Black Feminist Theory & Practice
  20. Media Files, Formats and Workflow
  21. The Hollywood System



Legacy

black feminist film school acknowledges the legacies that we walk in especially QWOCMAP Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project which creates, exhibits and distributes new films that authentically reflect the lives of queer women of color and address the vital social justice issues that concern multiple communities; Yvonne Welbon an independent film director, producer, screenwriter and film/media scholar; Jessie Maple, the first African American woman to direct an independent feature-length film in the U.S.; Amy Ongiri scholar of film, literature and cultural studies; Zeinabu Irene Davis, Camille Billops, Cheryl Dunye, Ayoka Chenzira, Barbara McCullough, Pratibha Parmar, Ada Griffin, Michelle Parkerson, Julie Dash and many more.
If you have any questions please email us at: blackfeministfilmschool@gmail.com


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