AudPop’s annual Race to Justice Film Challenge exposes Race in America today. The Film Challenge concluded this week and after jury deliberation, the winners have been determined.
Race to Justice prompted filmmakers to create and submit films addressing racial justice topics through compelling storytelling such as:
- The History of Policing and its lasting impact today
- White Privilege/Advantage – From Miss Ann to #Karen
- White Privilege/Advantage – From Mister Charlie to @RealDonaldTrump
- Lynchings, Past and Present
- Rape as a Weapon of Intersectional Oppression
Together, the films submitted to Race to Justice exploit a powerful look into Race in America today. The top films will receive Premium Filmmaker Status and a non-exclusive distribution deal. The winning film will receive a year of Adobe Premiere Pro! Watch the full block of Race to Justice film’s here. Below are the top three winners:
In First Place, Tis’ Of Thee by Quentin Robinson
Tis’ Of Thee By Quentin Robinson – First Place Race to Justice Film
What is it like to be a black or brown man in America? Tis of Thee portrays our fears, anxieties, and the traumas African Americans endure from the perpetual social injustices and threat of police brutality.
In Second Place, OTHER by Xavier Burgin
Other by Xavier Burgin- Second Place Race to Justice Film
In the wake of tragedy and racial tension in Charlottesville, one black woman must find a way to navigate her life as the rest of the world seems unaffected. As a black woman, mother, and wife, she must face unconcerned neighbors, unaware colleagues, and clueless strangers who make containing her hurt, rage, and sorrow almost unbearable. A chance meeting with a barista offers her only respite.
In third place, Today’s Woman By Radha Mehta
Today’s Woman By Radha Mehta- Third Place Race To Justice Film
An artistic representation of centuries of sexual assault across many civilizations with excerpts from a 1973 educational video of men explaining how women can prevent rape.
The top finalist films were judged by a top-notch industry jury panel. Learn more about the jury and read their full bios here.
AudPop’s Race to Justice Jury Panel
Amy Schiffman has been a literary agent and manager in the film and television fields for over twenty five years. In New York, Schiffman worked first at the CBS News Broadcast Center, and then in magazines, including the award winning American Photographer Magazine, and later at GQ and Diversion magazines. Her Hollywood career began in the Literary Properties division of the William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills, where she was Vice President. There she sold the books “Friday Night Lights,” “Apollo 13,” “Sleepers,” “Permanent Midnight” and “Primal Fear,” all of which were produced as feature films during her tenure at the agency. Schiffman went on to run the literary properties division at The Gersh Agency, and later became a partner in the literary management firm Intellectual Property Group. She represents Dennis Lehane, Don DeLillo and Daniel Woodrell among many others. Among her recently released book to film projects are the international best seller “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” by Mary Anne Shaeffer and Annie Barrows. Schiffman recently joined Echo Lake Entertainment.
Nichelle S. Carr, the Chief Content Officer at AudPop, believes a story well told can change the world. Carr is a creative executive and producer with global film distribution and marketing expertise. Her varied expertise and passions are reflected in her work and where it’s taken her to: media, finance, and technology in Europe and the U.S.; human rights advocacy in Nigeria; and economic development and education in Senegal. Prior to AudPop, Carr was a Vice President at Universal Pictures in both London and Los Angeles, and has deep experience in complex cross-border transactions.
Melanie Addington has worked with the Oxford Film Festival since 2006 in various capacities and became Executive Director in August 2015. She also directs, writes, and produces films and serves on the Mississippi Film Alliance as President. She co-founded OxFilm, the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council’s program to lend equipment to Oxford filmmakers.
Brittany “B.Monét” Fennell is a writer/director who graduated from Spelman College with a B.A. in English. She holds an MFA from New York University in Film and Television with a concentration in writing and directing. Her award-winning short film Q.U.E.E.N. has screened at over a dozen of festivals including Cannes Short Film Corner and premiered on Magic Johnson’s channel ASPiRE. She was also named the 2017 Horizon Award Winner through Cassian Elwes, Christine Vachon and Lynette Howell – Taylor at the Sundance Film Festival. As well as a recipient of the Adrienne Shelly Foundation grant and a directing fellow for Film Independent’s residency program Project Involve. Additionally, she is one of the winners for the #NewView Film Competition with Glamour and Girlgaze which champions the voices of female filmmakers. She is also one of the filmmakers in the Tisch Other Showcase. Recently, she directed a branded short film on the #MeToo founder Tarana Burke for Levi’s and Girlgaze. B.Monét won the 2018 Best Graduate Feature Screenplay for her feature film Q.U.E.E.N. She is a recipient of the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation grant at Fusion Film Festival as well as a finalist in the Women in Film Mini Upfronts Program and a Sundance Women’s Financing Intensive Project Fellow for her first feature film Q.U.E.E.N.
Adrienne Becker is CEO and Co-Founder of Level Forward, an ecosystem of storytellers, business people and social change organizers focused on creative excellence in pursuit of economic transformation. In their first three years, the company was nominated for thirty-seven Tony Awards (What The Constitution Means To Me, Oklahoma! , Slave Play and Jagged Little Pill), produced award-winning feature films including The Assistant, On The Record, and Holler, deployed new technologies including the Labz Live platform, to produce diverse portfolios of feature film, television, and live and digital entertainment. Adrienne was previously an entrepreneur-in-residence at Creative Artists Agency and CEO of DailyCandy.
Kamala Avila-Salmon is Head of Inclusive Content, Motion Picture Group at Lionsgate. Entertainment industry and marketing enthusiast with 15+ years across music, TV, film, streaming, and tech. Harvard MBA and bachelor’s degree.
Bridgid Coulter is a serial Social Entrepreneur dedicated to the advancement of BIPOC, WOC & allies. Coulter describes herself as; Curious. Mother. Lover. Creative. Activist. Dreamer. Thinker. Actor. Producer. Designer. Entrepreneur.
Here at AudPop we’re filmmakers, designers, marketers, strategists, and writers. But above all else, we’re dreamers—dreamers who believe that stories can change the world. That’s why our mission at AudPop is to connect partners with filmmakers, filmmakers with partners, and audiences with authentic stories to facilitate collaboration and change. So, how do we do that exactly? It’s simple: if you’re a partner or agency looking to create original premium video content that tells a powerful story, we can connect you with over 75,000 diverse and talented filmmakers. If you’re a filmmaker looking to share your stories with the world, we can connect you with partners and audiences hungry for quality authentic content. If you simply want to watch quality video content with real genuine stories, we can connect you with over 12,000 videos from filmmakers in 190 different countries—all with unique stories to tell. Dreams start here—and together, we can make them come true. https://audpop.com/
