Rooftop Films announced Stefani Saintonge and Yvonne Michelle Shirley will receive a $15,000 grant to support the production of “Point 5,” a film inspired by the edicts of the Black Panthers that will explore radical liberation and the function of systemic oppression.
The duo’s past works include “Flowers,” “F*cked Like a Star,” “Black Girl Magic” and “Frame by Frame.” They, along with an anonymous Rooftop Films alum, are among the top recipients of the Water Tower Feature Film cash grants, which are supported by the Laurence W. Levine Foundation. In total, 18 cash and service grants are awarded to independent filmmakers to support their next short or feature film.
“This year’s grantees are bold storytellers who are pushing the boundaries of film and serial forms and changing the relationship between maker and audience as they create new art in response to the important issues of the day,” Laurence W. Levine...
The duo’s past works include “Flowers,” “F*cked Like a Star,” “Black Girl Magic” and “Frame by Frame.” They, along with an anonymous Rooftop Films alum, are among the top recipients of the Water Tower Feature Film cash grants, which are supported by the Laurence W. Levine Foundation. In total, 18 cash and service grants are awarded to independent filmmakers to support their next short or feature film.
“This year’s grantees are bold storytellers who are pushing the boundaries of film and serial forms and changing the relationship between maker and audience as they create new art in response to the important issues of the day,” Laurence W. Levine...
- 6/25/2021
- by Haley Bosselman
- Variety Film + TV
‘The Eyeslicer’: Cult Variety Streaming Series Shifts Offline With New Festival and More — Exclusive
Cult variety TV show “The Eyeslicer” is gearing up for its second season, one that will move the streaming series into the terrestrial world with a brand new mini film festival, taking place in Brooklyn from September 14 to 17. The brainchild of creators Dan Schoenbrun and Vanessa McDonnell, the episodic series invites some of independent film’s most exciting directors to embrace their weird and experimental side in making a variety of short content, which is then weaved into thematic episodes.
The 13-episode Season 2 of “The Eyeslicer” will feature work from over 70 filmmakers, offerings that the co-creators describe as “a deep-dive into the strange, dark heart of our contemporary American hellscape, while also being an optimistic celebration of independent art-making within said hellscape.”
Starting with this new season, the internet will no longer be the series’ principal platform, but it will instead use a unique, zine-inspired mini-festival in Brooklyn and the...
The 13-episode Season 2 of “The Eyeslicer” will feature work from over 70 filmmakers, offerings that the co-creators describe as “a deep-dive into the strange, dark heart of our contemporary American hellscape, while also being an optimistic celebration of independent art-making within said hellscape.”
Starting with this new season, the internet will no longer be the series’ principal platform, but it will instead use a unique, zine-inspired mini-festival in Brooklyn and the...
- 8/1/2019
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The Day I Became a WomanWomen and the home, their “rightful” place in it and alleged duty to it, is ever the topical subject, an all too common association thankfully rife with permutations that provoke inspired debate. The topic of women’s at-home labors is this year’s theme of BAMcinématek’s Women at Work series. Now in its third iteration, the series this year is subtitled The Domestic Is Not Free, and it reveals the many ways in which domesticity has been celebrated—or in this case, more often rebelled against—on screen, by drawing from obvious choices, but also including a few surprises and poignant pairings. Such a series could not be complete without Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), but also of equal note is Semiotics of the Kitchen (1975), Martha Rosler’s incisive performance piece that screens with it. Rosler stars in her short...
- 10/31/2018
- MUBI
The New Negress Film Society is small: A five-member collective, formed to feature work by and about black women.
But since its founding in 2013, its members have received filmmaking prizes that include a Gotham Awards grant, the Sundance Institute Director’s Lab, and the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Discovery Award, and their works have screened at festivals including Sundance, SXSW, and Rotterdam.
That’s an extraordinary return rate for the Brooklyn-based group, which began as a screening of short films organized by filmmakers Ja’Tovia Gary and Kumi James. Today, the group comprises Gary, Frances Bodomo, Dyani Douze, Chanelle Aponte Pearson, and Stefani Saintonge. (James left the group when she moved to Los Angeles.)
Read More: Watch: Ja’Tovia Gary’s Award-Winning ‘Cakes Da Killa: No Homo’ Now Streaming Online
“It was such an overwhelming success, and such a life-affirming moment,” said Gary, who said they were inspired by...
But since its founding in 2013, its members have received filmmaking prizes that include a Gotham Awards grant, the Sundance Institute Director’s Lab, and the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Discovery Award, and their works have screened at festivals including Sundance, SXSW, and Rotterdam.
That’s an extraordinary return rate for the Brooklyn-based group, which began as a screening of short films organized by filmmakers Ja’Tovia Gary and Kumi James. Today, the group comprises Gary, Frances Bodomo, Dyani Douze, Chanelle Aponte Pearson, and Stefani Saintonge. (James left the group when she moved to Los Angeles.)
Read More: Watch: Ja’Tovia Gary’s Award-Winning ‘Cakes Da Killa: No Homo’ Now Streaming Online
“It was such an overwhelming success, and such a life-affirming moment,” said Gary, who said they were inspired by...
- 3/24/2017
- by Andrew Lapin
- Indiewire
The Essence Black Women In Hollywood Short Film Contest is back for a 3rd year, this time in search of documentaries that show how the modern day Black family looks, exists and grows in today's society. The contest - touting a mission to create multidimensional and refreshing images of Black women, in contrast to commonplace narrow mainstream media depictions - launched 2 years go, via the magazine's website at Essence.com. The inaugural winning short, as well as last year's winner - Stefani Saintonge’s "Seventh Grade" and Iman Milner's "Love Escapes Us" - were both selected by a judging panel comprised of influential...
- 11/4/2015
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Over the past two years it’s been hard to miss the short film ‘Seventh Grade,’ a true coming-of-age drama by prolific filmmaker Stefani Saintonge, as it has graced multiple festivals. But if you have missed it, now you can see it for free on Saintonge’s Vimeo channel. In the film, “Everyone is growing up except Patrice. But when a raunchy rumor threatens her best friend's reputation, she's forced to join the party and embrace adolescence.“ With breakout acting by its young actors, and humor, sensitivity, and perfect timing by writer/director Saintonge, the film is easily one of the best recent short films released. Early last year, before the film...
- 9/3/2015
- by Curtis Caesar John
- ShadowAndAct
A friendly reminder, with the deadline to submit just 3 days away - December 8... details follow: A year ago, Essence launched a new film contest called The Essence Black Women In Hollywood Short Film Contest: Spotlight On Our Journeys, posing the question, "Are you ready to be the next top filmmaker?" The contest - touting a mission to create multidimensional and refreshing images of Black women, in contrast to commonplace narrow mainstream media depictions - launched on Friday, November 1, via the magazine's website at Essence.com. The winning short - Stefani Saintonge’s unique coming-of-age story "Seventh Grade," selected by a ...
- 12/5/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
A year ago, Essence launched a new film contest called The Essence Black Women In Hollywood Short Film Contest: Spotlight On Our Journeys, posing the question, "Are you ready to be the next top filmmaker?" The contest - touting a mission to create multidimensional and refreshing images of Black women, in contrast to commonplace narrow mainstream media depictions - launched on Friday, November 1, via the magazine's website at Essence.com. The winning short - Stefani Saintonge’s unique coming-of-age story "Seventh Grade," selected by a judging panel that included Shonda Rhimes, Regina King, Ava DuVernay, Mara Brock Akil, and...
- 10/30/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Academy Award-nominated actress Lupita Nyong’o, Ava DuVernay, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and more were honored at this year’s seventh annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon in a beautiful event that took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday. Oprah Winfrey, Kerry Washington, Spike Lee, and more were in attendance at this year’s celebration, which packed an emotional punch as honorees spoke of personally struggling with finding their place in the world. Read on to find out what the winners had to say in their acceptance speeches below:
When accepting the award for Best Breakthrough Performance, Nyong...
When accepting the award for Best Breakthrough Performance, Nyong...
- 2/28/2014
- by Pamela Gocobachi
- EW.com - PopWatch
We're pleased to announce that Essence, the #1 media brand for African American women, has named Stefani Saintonge as the winner of its inaugural Essence Black Women in Hollywood Short Film Contest: Spotlight On Our Journeys.The Black Women in Hollywood Short Film Contest tasked filmmakers to present unique, refreshing, multidimensional visions of Black women that challenge the stereotypical and often negative images that respondents in a recent Essence study said don't reflect the totality of who they are. The contest launched last November, as aspiring filmmakers were invited to showcase their own inspiring images reflecting the variety of Black women’s lives. Contest finalists...
- 2/21/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
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