Lena Waithe and Indeed Announce Finalists for Rising Voices Initiative Progam

 The Indeed company, In partnership with Emmy Award-winning writer, creator, and actor Lena Waithe, announced the 10 filmmaker teams selected from over 850 applications for the Indeed: Rising Voices program. 

Indeed: Rising Voices was created to uncover, invest in and share stories created by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) filmmakers across the US around the meaning of work and the idea that jobs have the power to change us all. Each of the 10 films will premiere during a special event at the Tribeca Film Festival, in New York City. 

The 10 selected filmmaker teams are:

• Johnson Cheng
• David Fortune
• Stacy Pascal Gaspard
• Deondray & Quincy LeNear Gossfield
• Kantú Lentz
• Boma Iluma
• Gabriela Ortega
• Dre Ryan
• Elisee Junior St. Preux
• Shelly Yo

The finalists will receive a production budget of $100K per film, accompanied by a production crew through Hillman Grad and 271 Films to produce a short film (15 min). The initiative not only gives emerging voices a platform who have something to say but creates a calling card for their career and that budget will fund a crew to create jobs, which leads to more opportunity to create tangible change. 

“Whenever I talk to up-and-coming filmmakers they always tell me finding money is the biggest hurdle they face. That’s why I’m so grateful to Indeed: Rising Voices, for helping us give ten filmmakers both money to make their films and mentorship while they do it,” said Lena Waithe, CEO of Hillman Grad Productions. “This is a great opportunity for these filmmakers, but it’s also a great opportunity for us. We get a first look at tomorrow’s storytellers and we can’t wait to introduce them to the world.”