Creator + Announces Inauguration of Emerging BIPOC Filmmakers Class for Diversity Short Film Fund ‘Flip The Script’

Special: creative +A next-generation content studio and distribution platform for first-time storytellers and digital creators, Flip the Script introduced the first class of filmmakers for the short film foundation.

Creator+ is a studio and distribution platform that aims to empower the next generation of diverse creators to make impactful films and expand their careers. To this end, Creator+ brings together projects that explore the full dimension of the BIPOC experience, while creating opportunities for these historically excluded storytellers.

Ben O’Keefe, Forbes 30 Under 30 Award-winning activist and Director of Development and Production for Diversity and Impact, the program funds, fully finances, markets and distributes six short films each year from emerging BIPOC creators, writers, directors and producers. .

Each of these filmmakers will work with an advisory council of world-class creators, producers, audiences and industry change agents striving for diversity and inclusion in Hollywood. Mentors include: Kennedy/Marshall Corporation producer legend Frank Marshall and production manager Ashley Jay Sandberg; 6x NBA All-Star, investor, businessman, and Mortal Media co-founder Blake Griffin; Emmy-nominated actor MJ Rodriguez; Kyle Bowser, Senior Vice President, NAACP Hollywood Office; producer and director Lulu Wang; actor and activist Kendrick Sampson; writer, producer and entertainer El Johnson; And TikTok CEO Kikumbu.

“The Hollywood pipeline problem is a myth, and you only have to look at the talented creators at BIPOC who have made Flip the Script worldwide,” said Ben O’Keefe, BIPOC director of development and production. and Impact. , Creative +. “Last year, only 3 out of 10 great films were directed by people of color. This is the result of a history of systemic exclusion, and Hollywood leaders will need to continue investing in solving these issues to build a fairer and more inclusive industry. BIPOC filmmakers in our short film program will also have the opportunity to make feature films every year with Creator+.”

In addition to providing a budget, the company actively supports development, production and distribution. Consultants give a filmmaker the opportunity to change lives, make a movie with Creator+. Moreover, Save me Sign up as a partner to help rewrite hiring rules as part of Coded for Inclusion initiatives.

The projects are currently in various stages of production, two of which have already been completed and some will begin production in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Pakistan in May 2022. Creator+ will release short films at film festivals around the world before they are released on their next platform or explore additional distribution opportunities if possible.

Distinguished filmmakers’ opening class includes:

• Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz (he), (writer/director) (Los Angeles, California)Entrance: Jerome She struggles with feelings of inadequacy when the annual “Fathers and Sons” event (in her mid-teens) forces her to face the absence of her own father; And he just acts the way he knows: basketball.
• Lynn White (she), writer/director (Los Angeles, California)Entrance: hatchback – An African-American family of four lives in a hatchback until their next paycheck due to job loss caused by a pandemic in early 2020. The family dreams of only one night at the motel. But homeless and every day spent on the streets brings with it new frustrations that make this dream increasingly unattainable.
• Imran Siddique (Them/Them), film director and writer (Philadelphia, PA)Entrance: the difference between us An unscrupulous Bangladeshi immigrant begins to fall in love with a roommate he hasn’t met and forges a bond that explores the limits of his romantic imagination.
• Ari Grubman (she), Writer/Director/Producer (Los Angeles, CA)Entrance: Essentially Amy – Amy is a young Chinese-American woman who works at her local grocery store at the height of the pandemic. While at home, Amy must confront the growing racism towards Asian Americans, tempering her mother’s expectations and personal prejudice against Black Americans. After a brutal attack, Amy and her family are forced to reevaluate their perceptions, and Amy must come to terms with who she really is and what she wants.
• Mahnoor Euceph (Author) and Director (Los Angeles, CA) – Project will be shot in PakistanEntrance: Eid Mubarak – A privileged six-year-old Pakistani girl embarks on a mission to save her beloved pet from eating lamb during the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Adha, and only learns the importance of sacrifice.
• Vivian Johnson (Producer) (Los Angeles, CA)Entrance: WELCOME TO Los Angeles – A movie inspired by true events tells the story of a single mother from Iman, Tanzania, who lives in Los Angeles. When a perfect stranger offers to help reunite a child, Iman learns that this simple kindness threatens to jeopardize her own path to citizenship.