THE BROWNSVILLE INITIATIVE

A community-based filmmaking program for visuaL storytellers in and around Brownsville, Brooklyn

This 5-week community-based program in Brownsville, Brooklyn partners with a multifaceted team of writers and filmmakers, with sessions structured around screenwriting, camera work, production and editing, culminating in the completion of 3 collaborative short films. By providing tools, materials, transportation, childcare, and food, we further dismantle barriers that make it difficult for folx to follow their artistic dreams. At the end of the sessions, we hold a celebratory screening for all filmmakers, partners, collaborators, and our community. 

Get Involved

TELL YOUR STORY THROUGH FILM

We believe everyone has a story to tell, especially you. If you’re a local resident in and around Brownsville, Brooklyn, we invite you to join this collaborative workshop and bring your vision to life. Subscribe to our newsletter, Holla!, to be notified about our next workshop. 

Our Beginnings in Brownsville

 Founder Chanelle Elaine, along with founding partners Veronica Nickel and Kristie Lutz, are the producers of First Match (NETFLIX), a movie filmed in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Before bringing production to Brownsville, they connected with various organizations, located their production offices in the Greg Jackson Center, and employed local residents for the production of the film. Since 2016, first with the film production and now with Kashif, the objective has been to honor the people of Brownsville for their creativity and tenacity and to uplift the community for its resilience in the face of redlining and inadequate distribution of resources.

Brownsville Initiative Films

Zawadi

Freshman student Zawadi, a recent immigrant from Kenya, struggles to fit in at her new school but sees an opportunity in her class' poetry assignment. Filmmakers Elijah Dixon, Mohamed Madboly, Njambi Morgan, Curtis Reed

Against the Clock

Ty and his sister Deborah have to sell an important piece of their family's legacy in order to make rent. Filmmakers Melanie Bentsen, Abdel Carmichael, Deborah Robinson, DeAndre Spencer

Linguini and Lies

Everything is set for a perfect dinner with her boyfriend until Shalissa discovers that her potential mother-in-law is crashing the meal and will expose a long-held secret. Filmmakers Tatiana Bernard, Soleil Blanc, Jorrell Peels, Ketriana Yvonne

Ava

Ava’s singer/songwriter career isn’t enough to cover the family bills, but a record label deal could change everything, if she’s willing to pay the price. Filmmakers Angel King, Jesse Roman, Madison Black

Layla and Dominick

To earn the nomination for city council, Layla needs to convince her ex Dominick to sign her petition. Filmmakers Michael Etienne, Ketriana Yvonne, Tyjee McKay, Paul Bentsen

Xyn’s Truth

Xyn returns home to reconnect with their siblings and reveal the real reason behind their mother’s death. Filmmakers Shaniyah Coull, Marc Malloy, Irene Joseph

@wearekashif

yourock@wearekashif.com

Kashif respectfully acknowledges our occupation on the unceded ancestral homelands of the Munsee Lenape & Canarsie peoples as well as the stolen land that makes up the greater occupied territories of Turtle Island.
Stolen land. Stolen people.
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We seek to inspire healing and foster understanding by channeling the abolitionist spirit of our ancestors.
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Acknowledgement alone cannot bring us into right relationship; we seek justice for all of our collective identities to be able to live within their dreams, thrive with dignity, and realize self-determination.