Kashif’s mission to build pathways into film making via a liberatory practice in equity access, removing historic barriers from artists, continues to disrupt and thrive despite our current political landscape. We are more determined than ever to be a beacon of support and to champion stories from our beloved BIPOC, TRANS, LGBTQIA+, Gender Nonconforming, Veteran, and Disabled artists. We are so grateful to be in community with each and every one of you. We see you, we hear you, we love you – your voices will not be silenced.
In defiance of these troubling times, we maintain HOPE, and we want to highlight some of the things we’ve been up to, because we will also not be silenced –
2024 was a Great Year for Kashif and Our Community.
In February of 2024 we co-sponsored the first ever Crenshaw Dairy Mart film festival in Watts, with a theme centered around LOVE, and it was a day for the books. It all started with our Pitch for the People workshop led by our very own Story Doula, Laurie Thomas. The day culminated with a panel discussion about how abolition can be practiced within the frame, featuring our Founder and Visionary, Chanelle Elaine. In between were 19 miraculous short films, each one the result of radical belief. We can’t wait for the next Crenshaw Dairy Mart event and to see the evolution of the filmmakers they support.
Our Reading Dope Shorts event made two appearances in 2024 in celebration of two Writing Dope Shorts cohorts. We brought 21 writers into community and provided the space and freedom for them to do the deep work of crafting heartfelt and inspiring short screenplays. We are grateful for collaborative partnerships with the iconic Billie Holiday Theater and BRiC Arts Center respectively where our growing community of professional actors brought these screenplays to life before supportive audiences.
We partnered with ImagineNative film festival to support emerging Diné (Navajo) filmmaker, Natalie Benally, in developing her original short film, “Sacred Cypher,” bringing hip-hop dance battles within Native communities into the spotlight.
We supported Asian-American filmmaker Oanh-nhi Nguyen in the creation of her docu-series “Taking Root,” which highlights the intergenerational impact of structural violence and demonstrates the power of Southeast Asians in resisting and rebuilding in America after fleeing war in their native countries.
We renewed our sponsorship at BlackStar film festival where we enjoyed hearing all the panel discussions and seeing all the films, however 3 films in particular stood out and we’d love to sing their praises – “Songs From the Hole”, “Seeking Mavis Beacon”, and “Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.” We encourage everyone to check out these inspiring and innovative films. While at BlackStar we co-hosted a networking brunch with the brilliant Elijah McKinnon and the amazing team at OTV. We are looking forward to being at BlackStar again this year and will keep you all in the loop about what we’re cooking up.
We have been shifting focus for our monthly Community Conversations to center themes chosen by our community – so far we’ve delved into film producing and managing money respectively, and this year we will explore the art of the pitch as well as the ever elusive topics of producing, funding, and legal.
We continue to hold our monthly Writing Sanctuary virtual gatherings and are grateful to our growing community of writers and hosts.
We are determined to make 2025 another year of growth, love, and support with our new program, The Directing Breakdown, where we take folks who have been through our previous programs and prepare them to direct their first films. This will be our longest and most in-depth program to date and we are excited to get into the details and provide this next step.
We are thrilled to support two-spirit, Native filmmaker Raven Two Feathers this year as they embark on their short film, “Little Drummer Boy,” a beautiful, intimate coming of age story.
Our friends at Justice for my Sister are doing amazing things as usual and we are happy to support this year’s lab for BIPOC Sci-Fi writers within their community.
As we continue to hold space for the challenges we’re facing this year – the ones we could see coming but never-the-less feel shocked by, the ones that have different names and faces but remain the same that we’ve fought before – we assert that we will not be deterred.. We are planning new ways to ground and support our artist family, helping folks connect back into their passions and use fear as a motivator to keep up the fight.
We want to always remember the fearless words of Nikki Giovanni: “A lot of people refuse to do things because they don’t want to go naked, don’t want to go without guarantee. But that’s what’s got to happen. You go naked until you die.”
(art by Jennifer White-Johnson)
We are bare our own souls alongside our artist family in humbly asking our community for with the launch of a new website and our official 501(c)3 status, we are excited to be able to accept individual donations. Please follow this LINK to our donation page should you be in a position to contribute. And if you are looking for a way to contribute via a DAF (or donor advised fund), we are happy to announce that you can now do so via our donation page using the DAFPay option HERE.
Your support in attending our events, following us on social media, reading this far along in our newsletter, or donating to our coffers, enables us to do just this – to ideate and facilitate hands-on filmmaking workshops, virtual screenwriting seminars, one-on-one mentorships, direct production and post-production support, and mission-aligned festival engagement—ensuring artists have the resources to realize their boldest creative ambitions and share stories that shift perspectives and inspire cultural change. So thank you, from the depths of our hearts and souls, thank you for being a part of we.
