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Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/home-1 daily 1.0 2026-03-25 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/t/5ee027d35bf66d6468fedce1/1591748562784/ Home - Connecting stories to justice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1591833581829-FRDKADG412EUAOIX3FTF/Asset+4.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1599619922788-I8ORUR4FVLVVVPC6MMN9/Asset+8.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1591833581829-FRDKADG412EUAOIX3FTF/Asset+4.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1599620886556-YV9KVT2VNR34D6LV6AIC/Grrrl+Justice-Final+8x12.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1580922194306-VMSKMR7FYW4OA1Y8N9XU/Asset+1.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/cdafbcd2-02ee-42ff-833b-624c9b3bb8cd/RNE+POSTER.png Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/a3fafa10-b35e-4119-ae37-41bacc3b8748/3.png Home - 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Consider the Rainbow Celebrates Multiple Festival Selections and an Award Win - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2025/8/6/join-us-for-thenbspscreening-of-resisting-narratives-of-erasure-volume-iii-on-august-14 monthly 0.5 2025-08-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/9c89db29-579f-4e88-a666-1b55239162f1/RNE+2025+Poster.png News - Join us for the screening of Resisting Narratives of Erasure, Volume III on August 14! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2025/6/18/the-making-of-finding-yiyi monthly 0.5 2025-07-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/14bef22d-cd0e-4dee-bacc-a22e96ffd837/Still+2025-06-02+215500_1.1.18.jpg News - The Making of Finding Yiyi - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/01656479-47ad-4015-9d8f-a9c58ef3a9b5/Still+2025-06-02+215500_1.1.13.jpg News - 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The Making of Finding Yiyi - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2025/7/9/curating-an-interwoven-practice-as-a-land-based-storyteller monthly 0.5 2025-07-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/fe32153f-402c-44b7-865a-a93e660cd3f2/Screen+Shot+2025-07-01+at+8.48.13+PM.png News - Curating an Interwoven Practice as a Land Based Storyteller - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/d51f07ea-c8bd-423d-9de6-5919d3e427ca/IMG_6836.jpg News - Curating an Interwoven Practice as a Land Based Storyteller - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/a74738fc-5973-4fa8-94ba-3f877e5ef76f/IMG_1480.jpg News - Curating an Interwoven Practice as a Land Based Storyteller - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/3a8fc5e1-5d92-41d7-bedd-d68abaf829a1/RNE+Blog+Post+Image.png News - Curating an Interwoven Practice as a Land Based Storyteller - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/6c2a397c-9de6-4dc8-a2e7-b337cd6a934a/RNE+Blog+Post.png News - Curating an Interwoven Practice as a Land Based Storyteller - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2025/6/18/a-shot-that-changed-everything monthly 0.5 2025-07-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/5f47a0c9-0ec4-487a-b5d3-544ccbe4524a/Blog+Post+Image+19.jpg News - 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Dig Up Your Darlings - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/d0856e07-2028-4717-b639-b148a5b9b51d/Image+Jun+25+8+PM+from+Yasi+Rehana+Blog+%281%29.jpeg News - Dig Up Your Darlings - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/f8d64058-6163-44a5-b984-fa1d03af59d4/Image+from+Email+Attachment.jpeg News - Dig Up Your Darlings - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2025/6/16/q6bmn45473k350w4kicwk68eul3brp monthly 0.5 2025-06-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1c303066-c14b-47af-ae24-1b2b6677ac6d/Jasmine+Marie+Blog+Post+Still+001.jpg News - Feels Like the First Time All Over Again - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/9d29b259-327c-4034-b77e-cf137f5b2d36/Jasmine+Marie+Blog+Post+Still+002.jpg News - Feels Like the First Time All Over Again - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/9515edac-eab0-4aa3-93bc-6af7cb114117/Jasmine+Marie+Blog+Post+Still+003.jpg News - Feels Like the First Time All Over Again - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2025/5/30/behind-the-lens-the-making-of-mercurys-stars-by-maia-helvy monthly 0.5 2025-06-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/05291229-7865-40af-b569-5cc943e0dfcf/DSCF2537.jpeg News - Behind the Lens: The Making of Mercury’s Stars - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/66db43d5-7e21-4bae-832f-d7656152f03e/image000001+2.JPG News - Behind the Lens: The Making of Mercury’s Stars - Make it stand out My uncle and I when I was younger https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1332fd92-989e-47c1-8b6b-800934f17c62/DSCF2364.jpeg News - Behind the Lens: The Making of Mercury’s Stars - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/0375f017-7a3e-480a-9e80-8dffa44002ee/Mak.jpeg News - Behind the Lens: The Making of Mercury’s Stars - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/c4806d76-da44-45c3-bb1f-449ca940442f/DSCF2443.jpeg News - Behind the Lens: The Making of Mercury’s Stars - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/2f35e5bb-920d-4d4a-aaf3-98843e250f15/MS+flyer.jpg News - Behind the Lens: The Making of Mercury’s Stars - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2024/11/8/on-the-difference-between-dream-and-memory monthly 0.5 2024-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/a333e96d-fb00-44a6-b1a4-1785a6cc42a1/CrossedVeins_Still5+-+Helen+Pena.jpg News - On the Difference Between Dream and Memory - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/7f0485d3-767f-4460-8476-2765045de307/CrossedVeins_Still4+-+Helen+Pena.jpg News - On the Difference Between Dream and Memory - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/ee7514e7-0b67-4431-ac5c-1a450324f92e/CrossedVeins_Still1+-+Helen+Pena.jpg News - On the Difference Between Dream and Memory - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/038b1fa3-1274-4897-96d9-e06f653443dc/CrossedVeins_Still2+-+Helen+Pena.jpg News - On the Difference Between Dream and Memory - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2024/11/8/home-in-the-making-reflections-on-a-filmmaking-process monthly 0.5 2024-12-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/ace310b7-6650-4b3a-bcb4-9dcee8b23cab/BashirahMack_HomeMaking.00_01_08_14.Still006+-+Bashirah+Mack.jpg News - Home in the Making: Reflections on a Filmmaking Process - Make it stand out ‘Home in the Making,’ directed and produced by Bashirah Mack, is a micro profile about what makes a home and how to make it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/61ab9e58-3cf1-4788-8c69-30f3d384eeb9/BashirahMack_HomeMaking.00_00_37_10.Still002+-+Bashirah+Mack.jpg News - Home in the Making: Reflections on a Filmmaking Process - Make it stand out Shelf life: an assortment of writings from bell hooks and Zora Neale Hurston. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/e996a723-dcda-4ea1-af83-57ca1924739e/BashirahMack_HomeMaking.00_01_01_21.Still005+-+Bashirah+Mack.jpg News - Home in the Making: Reflections on a Filmmaking Process - Make it stand out A film still, featuring a digital print of Bilali Muhammad’s 19th century manuscript written on Sapelo Island, Georgia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/5693fd55-8b09-4fba-95c0-7b55e659c053/BashirahMack_HomeMaking.00_00_48_04.Still004+-+Bashirah+Mack.jpg News - Home in the Making: Reflections on a Filmmaking Process - Make it stand out West Africa meets West Elm: A personal aesthetic featuring a handcrafted wooden mask and a red velvet chair. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2024/11/8/meet-me monthly 0.5 2024-11-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1731088798229-DRLEKYVIO4RIMFSPYPQJ/Copy+of+WHU00055.JPG News - Meet Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/d1d905a2-f33e-4d74-9f6b-e1e678d7d3ec/Copy+of+Untitled_1.8.2.JPEG News - Meet Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/f23296c7-6ea1-4473-a236-ba8e5cc32cf3/Copy+of+WHU00020.JPG News - Meet Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/7027e8d7-9329-450b-b680-cf2520740542/Copy+of+WHU00088.JPG News - Meet Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/7f25ca01-190d-4544-ac90-5deb019c9658/Copy+of+WHU00078.JPG News - Meet Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2024/11/8/from-where-there-is-spirit-to-tobacco-road-my-journey-in-experimental-filmmaking monthly 0.5 2024-11-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/918d547c-0f54-4b0f-92f7-fa4eca017c8a/5+-+Kiara+Mangum.jpg News - From ‘Where There is Spirit’ to ‘Tobacco Road’: My Journey in Experimental Filmmaking - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/219de08d-d3ca-4d2a-a027-8e39dbfc7dc5/Where+There+Is+Spirit+Copy+01.00_06_36_14.Still008+-+Kiara+Mangum.jpg News - From ‘Where There is Spirit’ to ‘Tobacco Road’: My Journey in Experimental Filmmaking - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/942323d2-cb02-4c5d-9565-ebcd9179781d/Where+There+Is+Spirit+Copy+01.00_06_25_15.Still011+-+Kiara+Mangum.jpg News - From ‘Where There is Spirit’ to ‘Tobacco Road’: My Journey in Experimental Filmmaking - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/fa0c6531-c4d4-4a2f-824d-01b8fc70575a/4+-+Kiara+Mangum.jpg News - From ‘Where There is Spirit’ to ‘Tobacco Road’: My Journey in Experimental Filmmaking - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2023/5/24/women-of-color-narrative-initiative monthly 0.5 2024-01-24 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/12/21/creative-practice-in-community monthly 0.5 2020-12-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568105155-LGGRIT47DRGDYNENCL4S/0DC6D76A-2E44-434F-8497-20C0E8F9AA86-B0B0EDA2-FAE0-4ADD-B462-1209080E936E+3.JPG News - Creative Practice in Community https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568197485-D2E4D12UOC4NTBTJOOPO/IMG_2871+2.JPG News - Creative Practice in Community https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568119869-35YWGDR0WTHF23EOWEWF/IMG_2864.jpg News - Creative Practice in Community https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568233699-2WN79BM7GUBHF054SKZK/IMG_2874+2.JPG News - Creative Practice in Community https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568189484-DBM76D2FO7PH4E5H20SY/IMG_2866.JPG News - Creative Practice in Community https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568263228-6LXADG56929ZYB2V369X/IMG_2876+2.JPG News - Creative Practice in Community https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568261304-RLPI6AKI2NA1UK9KDFLR/IMG_2893+2.jpg News - Creative Practice in Community https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/12/18/reflecting-on-sweetness monthly 0.5 2020-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608318817450-GWZUE1DQWLHEFXPIL8N8/SweetnessPoster News - Reflecting on Sweetness - My film Sweetness follows Tara, a black trans woman, who survives the night by learning what it means to fight to be the woman she is even when those she cherishes most seem to turn on her. She’s been in a loving relationship with Marcus, a proud black man, for the last three years but begins to question their validity when she meets a young trans girl in need of a little help. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/12/15/casting-community monthly 0.5 2020-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608088124682-BF50KKNWEMK1X044BVEU/Safae1.jpg News - Casting Community An excerpt of the casting call. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/12/8/prideinliberation monthly 0.5 2020-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1607463926464-Y0QAOBW98FV89ZPH28HM/2.jpg News - Pride in Liberation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1607463902429-GSXAPU5655RFQ1DRBZDX/3.jpg News - Pride in Liberation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1607464897549-9MO2U46Z9Q8OBXRN0ZC4/5.jpg News - Pride in Liberation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1607464277695-S45Z7R1CZOVIKH3TK6KQ/4.jpg News - Pride in Liberation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1607466179178-2UIO3C60JB890VAMMOGO/1.jpg News - Pride in Liberation https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/11/30/white-man-on-our-shoulder monthly 0.5 2020-12-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606767748866-1RL4KH21JLWE18O05Z2C/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-11-30%2Bat%2B3.03.54%2BPM.jpg News - White Man on Our Shoulder: Musings From the Editing Room https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606767767404-X4AYJKG0TTQWTW3LYQ4X/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-11-30%2Bat%2B3.04.34%2BPM.jpg News - White Man on Our Shoulder: Musings From the Editing Room https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606777058922-Y4WY44MS0E3CRBXPBB7T/1.png News - White Man on Our Shoulder: Musings From the Editing Room https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606777059782-RZV3SWDWBN60EQMS7AR3/2.png News - White Man on Our Shoulder: Musings From the Editing Room https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/11/30/meet-our-fellows monthly 0.5 2020-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606779852264-WRF0PX6V06QHOUOGCM85/1.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - ND Johnson ND Johnson (they/them) is a filmmaker based in Atlanta, Georgia. Their experimental horror film tackles domestic violence against trans women of color. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606779852465-351IDMTHS7ECM0TZBYVB/2.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Safa Lahgazi Alaoui Safa Lahgazi Alaoui (she/her, they/them) is an Atlanta, Georgia based filmmaker whose coming of age film engages religion and sexuality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606779853441-OMFLBOZ9HLSUJAC6FIVB/3.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Jon Copes Raleigh, North Carolina based filmmaker Jon Copes’ (he/him) short film highlights food justice, community care and abolition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606779853525-5WK2GCAWCWINDYG9Z6EW/4.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Jade Wilson Filmmaker Jade Wilson (they/them) is based in Durham, North Carolina. Their intimate short film interrogates home and housing justice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606779854951-2M9ZMFQH8HCDM2KW4X1G/5.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Hannah Patterson Hannah Patterson (she/her) is an Atlanta, Georgia based filmmaker. Her guerilla-style short features skating culture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606779855120-T5GMR5TS80R5B006ZULW/6.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Kemari Bryant Greensboro, North Carolina based filmmaker Kemari Bryant’s (he/him) project examines the experiences of Black bodies in predominantly white space. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606779855891-JL6BY7NMKE9GGRNRHC7F/7.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Joie Lou Shakur Filmmaker Joie Lou Shakur (they/them) is based in Durham, North Carolina. Their work spotlights the use of technology in recording and conserving trans life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606780011848-GEU2LMCS4XIYANW9BE54/8.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Ella Figueiredo Ella Figueiredo (she/her) is an Orlando, Florida based filmmaker whose short film is a meditation on queer joy and liberation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1606780029208-FXF17GBU19JA60OU0RKM/9.png News - Meet Our Fellows! - Jasmine Leeward Jasmine Leeward (she/her, they/the) is a Richmond, Virginia based filmmaker. Her work interrogates and celebrates Black activism, resistance and protest. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/10/5/grrrl-justice-film-screens-108-on-ovee monthly 0.5 2020-10-05 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/9/8/announcing-the-resisting-narratives-of-erasure-series monthly 0.5 2020-09-09 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2020/6/18/visionary-justice-storylab-is-hiring-a-social-media-coordinator monthly 0.5 2021-07-02 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/updates/2019/12/26/a-gathering-of-black-and-brown-grrrl-genius monthly 0.5 2020-09-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1577385559862-DRUP9MZP0NVENQF52X3J/Group%2BPhotoII.jpeg News - A Gathering of Black and Brown Grrrl Genius… Front row, left to right: Randy Ford, Storme Webber, Shontina Vernon, Taece Delfilo, Lara Davis. Back row, left to right: Anastacia Renee, Jackie Vaughn, Christa Bell, Jehan Osanyín, Jazmine Speed, LaShawnDa Pittman, Anis Gisele. Photo Credit: Chloe Collyer https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/ren2020-bio daily 0.75 2025-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013680511-HM7AFTHAGTGPDGNC01TH/JasmineLeeward.png RNE2020 Bio - Jasmine Leeward Jasmine Leeward is an emerging filmmaker committed to the delicate work of culture shifting towards Black and Brown liberation, particularly in the US south. She has worked as a Communications Specialist for Women’s March Inc., ReFrame, and New Virginia Majority, a group organizing for racial, environmental, and economic justice through strategic electoral work and grassroots campaigns. Jasmine's primary goals as a filmmaker is to radicalize imaginations and translate complex policy into accessible stories that inspire people to action. Her work is anchored in pan-africanism. She sees her art as a reflection of Audre Lorde’s definition of survival: learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. Jasmine enjoys eating mangos on her auntie’s porch in Ghana, singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at any karaoke bar, and watching whale documentaries. Her first short film “dusk” was selected for the 2020 Africana Film Festival. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013680511-HM7AFTHAGTGPDGNC01TH/JasmineLeeward.png RNE2020 Bio - Jasmine Leeward Jasmine Leeward is an emerging filmmaker committed to the delicate work of culture shifting towards Black and Brown liberation, particularly in the US south. She has worked as a Communications Specialist for Women’s March Inc., ReFrame, and New Virginia Majority, a group organizing for racial, environmental, and economic justice through strategic electoral work and grassroots campaigns. Jasmine's primary goals as a filmmaker is to radicalize imaginations and translate complex policy into accessible stories that inspire people to action. Her work is anchored in pan-africanism. She sees her art as a reflection of Audre Lorde’s definition of survival: learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. Jasmine enjoys eating mangos on her auntie’s porch in Ghana, singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at any karaoke bar, and watching whale documentaries. Her first short film “dusk” was selected for the 2020 Africana Film Festival. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013675866-W63E1CEGPW7WMQJ4G3TW/EllaFigueiredo.png RNE2020 Bio - Ella Figueiredo Ella Figueiredo is a Brazilian born filmmaker. Her work focuses on telling a visually impactful story through an emotive approach. Ella has always found fascination in the unconventional. Being a queer Latina female herself, she has made it a priority to listen and tell marginalized stories that would otherwise go unheard. Every form of art intrigues Ella and this enveloped interest in it all has reassured her ultimate love for filmmaking - the ultimate combination of every form of art into one. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013679313-5ON5OLWV4Q4GBLQDPV34/JadeWilson.png RNE2020 Bio - Jade Wilson Jade Wilson is a Black trans documentary photographer, photojournalist and video artist based in the Raleigh-Durham area. Jade examines the self in relation to others and reveals the identity of an individual and a community. Their focus on finding the beauty behind the pain of love and isolation is informed by their past. For Jade, their technique is to illuminate the relationship between identity and representation. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013676390-QHJE68MRC9346UJRAOSQ/HannahPatterson.png RNE2020 Bio - Hannah Patterson Hannah Patterson is a Director, Director of Photography, Actor and Writer. Newly graduated with a Master's from Georgia State University in May 2020, Hannah enjoys making films that reach different people and invite them to feel something. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013687822-S32CHDHLTHXC97V9E9G7/JonCopes.png RNE2020 Bio - Jon Copes Jon Copes is an emerging intermedia artist from Raleigh, North Carolina. Jon is interested in sharing his point of view as a weird, black, Gen-Z creator in the South. His work muses about love, loneliness, identity, and human connection in the internet age. As an artist, Jon's goals are to find beauty in simplicity and the everyday, to share the empowerment that comes from finding spaces to belong, and to dismantle the structures that constrain artistry and reimagine"making" in a digital era. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013683428-LRASSSMMX3DCCVXVVVK0/JoieLouShakur.png RNE2020 Bio - Joie Lou Shakur Joie Lou Shakur (they/them) is a Black Trans immigrant from Jamaica. They are currently a Southern organizer, medicine maker, and filmmaker based in Durham, NC. Joie Lou (@joieloushakur) is the founding director of House of Pentacles, a Film Fellowship Program and Production House focused on cultural organizing and narrative power led by and for Black Trans and Gender Non-Conforming people. In addition to their work with House of P, Joie Lou facilitates healing circles for Black folks at the intersection of sexual trauma and racial violence. When they’re not building Black futures, Black Trans possibilities, or behind a camera, you can find Joie Lou dancing, practicing for karaoke, or cooking traditional Jamaican Sunday dinners on a Tuesday afternoon Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013972015-9QD7O1231T2OGOCFXLOM/EllaFigueiredo.png RNE2020 Bio - Ella Figueiredo Ella Figueiredo is a Brazilian born filmmaker. Her work focuses on telling a visually impactful story through an emotive approach. Ella has always found fascination in the unconventional. Being a queer Latina female herself, she has made it a priority to listen and tell marginalized stories that would otherwise go unheard. Every form of art intrigues Ella and this enveloped interest in it all has reassured her ultimate love for filmmaking - the ultimate combination of every form of art into one. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013687765-LM7BMS9HDRDH9W8XS786/KemariBryant.png RNE2020 Bio - Kemari Bryant Kemari Bryant is a BFA Actor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as co-founder and Co-Head of Development of Adynaton Productions. He has always had a passion for filmmaking and has previously directed and co-written “Sad Clown”, "Libations", and has served as co-director on his most recent project, "Brina", which he also co-wrote. He is in the middle of directing his latest short film currently, “Mothman: An Anti-Hate Superhero Comedy”. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604082416233-1KKWNLGIC1CERXMGJ62B/NDJohnson.png RNE2020 Bio - ND Johnson ND (Indie) Johnson is a 24-year-old Black, gender nonconforming trans fem who uses they/ them pronouns. They graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Media Arts and Media Management. They’ve held the Regional Communications Fellow position for Southerners On New Ground rooting their practices in organizing and world-building while helping to move campaign work and change narratives surrounding queer/trans person of color (QTPOC) and incarcerated people. They have an extensive background in film and visual arts including a fellowship with the Georgia Cinema Project directing and producing digital content for fortune 500 companies in Atlanta. They have created a television series, a web series, wrote, directed, and produced 5 short films and 8 digital commercials. Indie’s goal is to encourage other artists to express what it's like to be QTPOC in America through collaborative works. Art is always a source of resilience, power, and prosperity for their community. Indie aims to be one of the guiding forces helping to change the narrative around QTPOC people in the south. They accomplish this by crafting narratives that uplift, inspire, and illuminate the QTPOC experience. They believe that this leads to a better world for all humans to coexist. They are a true visionary. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1688140811825-S6C16DGD0A2PNSVIW9O0/SafaeLahgaziAlaoui.png RNE2020 Bio - Susu La Susu La is an Afro-Arab of American culture and Moroccan upbringing. An artist learning how to uncensor herself. A Muslim femme who knows the only lasting truth is Change. A believer in a just and joyful future. She is pursuing the art of storytelling through filmmaking and has written and directed a short film, Aisha & Khadija. She isn’t afraid to tackle the shadows with some humor and nuance. Watch the Trailer https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/2020-rne daily 0.75 2025-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1586453574640-TE1YXCKWFUMZ5U9GGPN4/Asset+8.png 2020 RNE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013680511-HM7AFTHAGTGPDGNC01TH/JasmineLeeward.png 2020 RNE - Jasmine Leeward Jasmine Leeward is an emerging filmmaker committed to the delicate work of culture shifting towards Black and Brown liberation, particularly in the US south. She has worked as a Communications Specialist for Women’s March Inc., ReFrame, and New Virginia Majority, a group organizing for racial, environmental, and economic justice through strategic electoral work and grassroots campaigns. Jasmine's primary goals as a filmmaker is to radicalize imaginations and translate complex policy into accessible stories that inspire people to action. Her work is anchored in pan-africanism. She sees her art as a reflection of Audre Lorde’s definition of survival: learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. Jasmine enjoys eating mangos on her auntie’s porch in Ghana, singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at any karaoke bar, and watching whale documentaries. Her first short film “dusk” was selected for the 2020 Africana Film Festival. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013679313-5ON5OLWV4Q4GBLQDPV34/JadeWilson.png 2020 RNE - Jade Wilson Jade Wilson is a Black trans documentary photographer, photojournalist and video artist based in the Raleigh-Durham area. Jade examines the self in relation to others and reveals the identity of an individual and a community. Their focus on finding the beauty behind the pain of love and isolation is informed by their past. For Jade, their technique is to illuminate the relationship between identity and representation. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013676390-QHJE68MRC9346UJRAOSQ/HannahPatterson.png 2020 RNE - Hannah Patterson Hannah Patterson is a Director, Director of Photography, Actor and Writer. Newly graduated with a Master's from Georgia State University in May 2020, Hannah enjoys making films that reach different people and invite them to feel something. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013687822-S32CHDHLTHXC97V9E9G7/JonCopes.png 2020 RNE - Jon Copes Jon Copes is an emerging intermedia artist from Raleigh, North Carolina. Jon is interested in sharing his point of view as a weird, black, Gen-Z creator in the South. His work muses about love, loneliness, identity, and human connection in the internet age. As an artist, Jon's goals are to find beauty in simplicity and the everyday, to share the empowerment that comes from finding spaces to belong, and to dismantle the structures that constrain artistry and reimagine"making" in a digital era. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013683428-LRASSSMMX3DCCVXVVVK0/JoieLouShakur.png 2020 RNE - Joie Lou Shakur Joie Lou Shakur (they/them) is a Black Trans immigrant from Jamaica. They are currently a Southern organizer, medicine maker, and filmmaker based in Durham, NC. Joie Lou (@joieloushakur) is the founding director of House of Pentacles, a Film Fellowship Program and Production House focused on cultural organizing and narrative power led by and for Black Trans and Gender Non-Conforming people. In addition to their work with House of P, Joie Lou facilitates healing circles for Black folks at the intersection of sexual trauma and racial violence. When they’re not building Black futures, Black Trans possibilities, or behind a camera, you can find Joie Lou dancing, practicing for karaoke, or cooking traditional Jamaican Sunday dinners on a Tuesday afternoon Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013972015-9QD7O1231T2OGOCFXLOM/EllaFigueiredo.png 2020 RNE - Ella Figueiredo Ella Figueiredo is a Brazilian born filmmaker. Her work focuses on telling a visually impactful story through an emotive approach. Ella has always found fascination in the unconventional. Being a queer Latina female herself, she has made it a priority to listen and tell marginalized stories that would otherwise go unheard. Every form of art intrigues Ella and this enveloped interest in it all has reassured her ultimate love for filmmaking - the ultimate combination of every form of art into one. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604013687765-LM7BMS9HDRDH9W8XS786/KemariBryant.png 2020 RNE - Kemari Bryant Kemari Bryant is a BFA Actor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as co-founder and Co-Head of Development of Adynaton Productions. He has always had a passion for filmmaking and has previously directed and co-written “Sad Clown”, "Libations", and has served as co-director on his most recent project, "Brina", which he also co-wrote. He is in the middle of directing his latest short film currently, “Mothman: An Anti-Hate Superhero Comedy”. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1604082416233-1KKWNLGIC1CERXMGJ62B/NDJohnson.png 2020 RNE - ND Johnson ND (Indie) Johnson is a 24-year-old Black, gender nonconforming trans fem who uses they/ them pronouns. They graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Media Arts and Media Management. They’ve held the Regional Communications Fellow position for Southerners On New Ground rooting their practices in organizing and world-building while helping to move campaign work and change narratives surrounding queer/trans person of color (QTPOC) and incarcerated people. They have an extensive background in film and visual arts including a fellowship with the Georgia Cinema Project directing and producing digital content for fortune 500 companies in Atlanta. They have created a television series, a web series, wrote, directed, and produced 5 short films and 8 digital commercials. Indie’s goal is to encourage other artists to express what it's like to be QTPOC in America through collaborative works. Art is always a source of resilience, power, and prosperity for their community. Indie aims to be one of the guiding forces helping to change the narrative around QTPOC people in the south. They accomplish this by crafting narratives that uplift, inspire, and illuminate the QTPOC experience. They believe that this leads to a better world for all humans to coexist. They are a true visionary. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1688140811825-S6C16DGD0A2PNSVIW9O0/SafaeLahgaziAlaoui.png 2020 RNE - Susu La Susu La is an Afro-Arab of American culture and Moroccan upbringing. An artist learning how to uncensor herself. A Muslim femme who knows the only lasting truth is Change. A believer in a just and joyful future. She is pursuing the art of storytelling through filmmaking and has written and directed a short film, Aisha & Khadija. She isn’t afraid to tackle the shadows with some humor and nuance. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/dfd5405e-7955-4ebf-9bee-4862334cda5b/RNE+2021+Guidebook.png 2020 RNE - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/team-bios daily 0.75 2024-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/8dfb5df8-f040-44a6-b159-ac7a0c1d2c53/Erinn.jpg Team Bios - Erinn Anova Associate Producer Erinn Anova is a seasoned actor, singer, writer and producer. She aspires to create and engage in projects that elevate the creative and musical talents of mulit-generational Black artists. As Associate Producer with Visionary Justice StoryLab, Erinn supports intersectional content development and the production of television and film projects. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/8dfb5df8-f040-44a6-b159-ac7a0c1d2c53/Erinn.jpg Team Bios - Erinn Anova Associate Producer Erinn Anova is a seasoned actor, singer, writer and producer. She aspires to create and engage in projects that elevate the creative and musical talents of mulit-generational Black artists. As Associate Producer with Visionary Justice StoryLab, Erinn supports intersectional content development and the production of television and film projects. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1599622007835-VO4JWQBP3JTO3YROJ7DT/IMG_4026.JPG Team Bios - Lara Davis Producer / Operations and Impact Production Lara is a demonstrated leader in the arts and cultural sector with experience implementing large-scale collective impact and social justice initiatives, developing innovative programs, facilitation and public speaking. She is a recipient of the National Guild for Community Arts Education Service Award, the Americans for the Arts Emerging Leader Award, and a German Marshall Memorial Fellowship. As an artistic collaborator, Lara has contributed to numerous audio and media production projects. In addition to her role as producer, Lara’s work at VJS focuses on advocacy partnerships that support community engagement and intersectional storytelling. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/65aecf3a4e8b7f6e2009ce99/65aed0803f0d7d5eb438ac1e/1724864728223/ Team Bios https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1565192375195-S7IVJBSSAVUZGTZW94DA/IMG_3634.jpeg Team Bios - Shontina Vernon Producer / Head of Content Development Shontina is a dynamic multi disciplinary artist, filmmaker, and producer. Her work experiments to disrupt narratives of erasure and to investigate representation and power at the intersections of race, gender, and class. She has served as an advisor for the Arthouse Convergence and Alliance for Action, working to advance racial justice in film. Currently, she is a Creative Capital Fellow, and a 2020 Art for Justice grantee. Her work has also been the recipient of the Conductive Garboil Award for challenging the limits of creative discourse beyond accepted limits to engage audiences outside of the aesthetic industrial complex. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724864682686-T56DJ2PZ6SPNYTMFCIQK/Headshot-close+up.jpg Team Bios - Amina Blyden-Guillory Designer Amina Blyden-Guillory is a multi-disciplinary creative director and brand strategist with roots in both Sierra Leone and the United States. Drawing upon the imagery, color, and patterns that define West African art, she infuses her designs with a rich cultural heritage. Through her artistic practice, she skillfully blends ancestral teachings with modern design mediums, visually encapsulating the essence of her heritage. Passionate about designing for well-being, Amina's approach to design is deeply rooted in incorporating social psychology, cultural awareness, and industry trends. She believes in the power of design to create unique and meaningful experiences. With a strong drive for innovation and a commitment to achieving results, Amina strives to elevate brands in the ever-evolving creative landscape. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/rne daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1599619922788-I8ORUR4FVLVVVPC6MMN9/Asset+8.png RNE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/ed8c311e-1788-45b4-b5f7-2dfbc8923803/Oreoluwa+Akinyode+RNE+Film+Stills+2025.png RNE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/2a44ecb1-5c85-4996-a02f-8feca406708e/Film+Stills+from+Mya-Breyana+Morton+Mar+31+2025+%281%29.png RNE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/a3fafa10-b35e-4119-ae37-41bacc3b8748/3.png RNE - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/3a8fc5e1-5d92-41d7-bedd-d68abaf829a1/RNE+Blog+Post+Image.png RNE - Make it stand out Croom Corridor, Jamaica Kalika, 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/f6925e7a-f0f9-4630-9ff6-ed9aea5a5b59/Wedding+Ring+-+SSD+Stills+-+Adesola+Thomas.png RNE - Make it stand out Sister Salad Days, Adesola Thomas, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243586115-7GGS35GLEB0JIE3PVC0L/1.png RNE - Sha-Shonna Rogers Sha-Shonna Rogers is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on cinematography and still photography from West Baltimore, Maryland and a recent Spring 2025 graduate of Morgan State University. She has been into the arts since she was child and has continued to grow in her passions over the years. She has made great achievements, in 2022 she was awarded a silver Telly award for her work on an Under Armour's Campaign (BE SEEN. BE HEARD. BE CELEBRATED) honoring HBCU athletes. In 2023 she was also one of two inaugural fellows for the fellowship HBCU Next founded by playwright and director, David E. Talbert in collaboration with the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Drawing inspiration from her everyday surroundings and the pulse of her community, her creative style is shaped by her environment, resulting in narratives that pulse with life and truth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243586298-KL2M6V8KAHM9ILE87823/2.png RNE - Ciara Franklin Ciara Franklin is an emerging film director based in Atlanta, Georgia. An African American interdisciplinary artist working in film, photography, and digital art, Franklin began their career at the Fox Theatre’s Rising Stars Academy. As Vice President to re-instate their school’s National Thespian Honor Society Troupe 4125 after 16 years in remission, Franklin fell in love with producing art at 16 before attending Spelman College’s first class of Documentary Filmmakers. Franklin developed an experimental filmmaking and independent documentary art practice under the tutelage of Anjanette Levert, Ayoka Chenzira, and Julie Dash. Franklin is an Adobe Certified Video Editor and currently serves as Communications Coordinator at RE:IMAGINE ATL where they are a teaching artist assistant for courses like EMERGE Social Media and RE:IMAGINE Journalism. This summer Franklin served as a Congressional Liaison with the Reconnecting Youth Campaigns, developing relationships with lawmakers and nonprofit coalitions to advocate for opportunity youth facing housing insecurity and limited access to employment. Currently honored in the 2025 Atlanta Mayor’s Pride Exhibit, Franklin is an Intersex documentarian reclaiming marred narratives through technology and performance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243587667-QYAOLCFYNOLR1GBBEALW/3.png RNE - Rock Jacquet Rock Jacquet (they/them) is a Louisiana Creole and Chicane filmmaker, artist, and cultural worker based between New Orleans and Brooklyn. Drawing from a lineage of land stewards, sharecroppers, and cattle ranchers, their work explores the entanglements of memory, land loss, identity, and environmental in/justice across the Gulf South. Working primarily in nonfiction, Rock creates experimental films rooted in family histories and inherited landscapes, drawing on oral storytelling traditions and archival research. Rock holds an undergraduate degree in Politics, Rights, and Development from New York University and is currently pursuing an MA in Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement at NYU. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243588351-TN8F8DXO4S0UENFU73F0/4.png RNE - Kennedy Dunning Kennedy Dunning is an Atlanta-based, award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer whose work centers the inner lives of Black women and girls. Rooted in the South, her films are shaped by the women who raised her, the friends who ground her, and a devotion to telling stories often left at the margins. Kennedy is a graduate of Spelman College, where she majored in documentary filmmaking and minored in comparative women’s studies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243589269-JH1MEJU2LABR2BHEEG07/5.png RNE - Robin Dylan Garcia Robin Dylan Garcia is a Trans-femme, Mexican-American filmmaker and photographer born, raised, and based in Dallas, Texas. Having graduated from NYU’s Undergraduate Film program, Robin has worked on multiple short films as both director and writer, experimental and narrative, with her latest project, “The Apple Picker”, a 16mm short film shot in Portugal, currently in Post-Production. Drawing inspiration from her hometown and personal experience, Robin’s moving and still image works focuses on the passage of time, alienation, and memory in regard to the Hispanic/Queer experience, by telling stories that center on differing perspectives. She is currently a part of the Pegasus Media Group's Multimedia Apprenticeship Program. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243591405-3CWS5PJSJN99UROSEV88/6.png RNE - Nicole Viloria Nicole Viloria is a Venezuelan writer-director whose work explores her queer journey, love tragedies, and Venezuelan roots. As a tragic poet with a vampire spirit, she stretches her limits during the day and dwells in her memories at night. Her directorial debut, "Paper Dreams," screened at Yale’s Student Film Festival and won Best Cinematography at the Ezra Stiles Film Festival. "Pichi," her Yale thesis short film, is in post-production. She is the Co-Executive Director of Diverso, a student-run 501(c)3 nonprofit that uplifts underrepresented student filmmakers, whose partners include SONY, Sundance, and Disney. She has also served as a development intern at Narval Films and Baobab Studios, where she assisted with staffing writers for a show slated for Disney+. After immigrating to Miami at 15, she earned an A.A. in English Literature from Miami Dade Honors College and later completed a B.A. in Comparative Literature with a concentration in Film from Yale University. When Nicole’s experiences become too cinematic for realism, she turns them into fiction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243593132-80FJKFRCG3E79KNXUMY6/7.png RNE - Tevin Scott Tevin Scott is a non-binary multidisciplinary artist from Charleston, SC. A graduate of Howard University, Tevin created his award winning HBCU series presentation, THE MECCA, which was licensed to Revolt TV. Tevin currently resides in Charlotte, NC, where he plans to build his own film studio under his production banner, RTS Vision. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243594128-U2XZ93KGPN4EZN2QYO8B/8.png RNE - Latoria Latoria Hicks is an Alabama-based filmmaker from Mississippi. Her work draws on memories growing up in the American South to paint multifaceted portraits of characters who find themselves on the outskirts of the world. In 2025, Latoria made her directorial debut, with Voices of the Academy. The award-winning documentary has screened across the country, connecting viewers through its exploration of language and culture. Through her films, she aims to build a sense of interconnectedness and to expand the amount of empathy we have for one another. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/fe32153f-402c-44b7-865a-a93e660cd3f2/Screen+Shot+2025-07-01+at+8.48.13+PM.png RNE - Class of 2025 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/ee7514e7-0b67-4431-ac5c-1a450324f92e/CrossedVeins_Still1+-+Helen+Pena.jpg RNE - Class of 2024 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1608568233699-2WN79BM7GUBHF054SKZK/IMG_2874+2.JPG RNE - Class of 2020 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/wocni daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1735938927499-AOBJMWHMZ4JBJ4UF49UW/4.png Women of Color Narrative Initiative https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/27a217f3-1b1f-4321-b5e9-2b0f7e8c7477/2025+wocni+banner.png Women of Color Narrative Initiative - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/wocni-grantees daily 0.75 2025-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1709237668021-T2TQC0O5GYP33RU7EQGX/Smiling.jpeg WOCNI Grantees - Kiah Clingman Project: Her Pretty Vagina (HPV) - Plagued by the emotional and physical tolls off endometriosis, Kaleigh’s world only gets tougher as HPV makes an unwelcome entry into her life. Kiah Alexandria Clingman (she/her) is a filmmaker and TV enthusiast bi-coastal to Atlanta, Ga and Los Angeles, Ca. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kiah graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts where she studied Advertising and double minored in Theater and History. She is passionate about creating stories that amplify the voices of underrepresented communities, rather than just speaking to them. She loves collaborative environments and a chance to engage her unique life experiences in the work she does. Her consulting experience stems from 5 years at Deloitte, where she gleaned core consulting skills including managing ambiguity, interpersonal & inclusive communication, change/project management, and quantitative/qualitative analysis. Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1709237668021-T2TQC0O5GYP33RU7EQGX/Smiling.jpeg WOCNI Grantees - Kiah Clingman Project: Her Pretty Vagina (HPV) - Plagued by the emotional and physical tolls off endometriosis, Kaleigh’s world only gets tougher as HPV makes an unwelcome entry into her life. Kiah Alexandria Clingman (she/her) is a filmmaker and TV enthusiast bi-coastal to Atlanta, Ga and Los Angeles, Ca. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kiah graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts where she studied Advertising and double minored in Theater and History. She is passionate about creating stories that amplify the voices of underrepresented communities, rather than just speaking to them. She loves collaborative environments and a chance to engage her unique life experiences in the work she does. Her consulting experience stems from 5 years at Deloitte, where she gleaned core consulting skills including managing ambiguity, interpersonal & inclusive communication, change/project management, and quantitative/qualitative analysis. Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1709236846065-0YNOZYJHBNCBJRAHC1LS/image-asset.png WOCNI Grantees - Kanani Koster Project: BEHIND THE CURTAIN is a dramedy that at its core is an homage to the work, both medically and emotionally, that medical assistants provide to patients specifically within abortion clinics. I was raised in a house of women: tough, harsh, loving. Growing up in a trailer moving across the west coast certainly isn’t easy. My sisters and I learned to live without excess, to utilize every opportunity we found, and the importance of making do. We weren’t raised to dream but to succeed. It should be no surprise that my stories tend to center pragmatic women. My favorite characters defy genre: from HBOs Watchmen’s Sister Night, Elora from Reservation Dogs, Marg of Fargo, Nora of Past Lives, or Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. These are all grounded women made up of a dash of sardonic humor, quick to take action especially in a crisis and rarely maudlin. I’ve found these characters often lie on the fringes of cinema. Supporting roles. But as they finally take center stage, they shine. They may not know what it is to win but they know loss. They have a real need, everything to lose and something to say. Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1709237104032-LV7W3YK2YGEUX196UV4H/staceyann-chin-pic_1.jpg WOCNI Grantees - Staceyann Chin Project: The Untitled Gentrification Project Lorna, a struggling, single-mother, activist and poet, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement falls victim to the boot of gentrification and is priced out of the neighborhood she has lived in for twenty years. Poet, actor, and performing artist Staceyann Chin is the author of the new poetry collection Crossfire: A Litany For Survival, the critically acclaimed memoir The Other Side of Paradise, cowriter and original performer in the Tony Award–winning Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, and author of the one-woman shows Hands Afire, Unspeakable Things, Border/Clash, and MotherStruck. She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and 60 Minutes, and her poetry been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post. She proudly identifies as Caribbean, Black, Asian, lesbian, a woman, and a resident of New York City, as well as a Jamaican national. Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1709750789785-NPQH2CURCR21ARUCZ68Z/3.png WOCNI Grantees Project: Her Pretty Vagina (HPV) Kiah Alexandria Clingman (she/her) is a filmmaker and TV enthusiast bi-coastal to Atlanta, Ga and Los Angeles, Ca. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kiah graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts where she studied Advertising and double minored in Theater and History. She is passionate about creating stories that amplify the voices of underrepresented communities, rather than just speaking to them. She loves collaborative environments and a chance to engage her unique life experiences in the work she does. Her consulting experience stems from 5 years at Deloitte, where she gleaned core consulting skills including managing ambiguity, interpersonal & inclusive communication, change/project management, and quantitative/qualitative analysis. During her time in undergrad, she had the opportunity to study theatre in London, England and was selected to play Laura in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Her love for acting took her to New York where she studied at the Maggie Flannigan Conservatory Studio. She has also studied with Sara Mornell, Matt Stanton from Dad’s Garage, and Catherine Dyer from Drama Inc. She recently produced a short film, “Black Santa”, through Hillman Grad Productions that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival June 2022. “Black Butterflies”, another film she produced, premiered on BETHer, July 2022. She is widely known for producing and starring in the webseries, “Outlandish”, that has over half a million views on YouTube and was considered by Issa Rae Productions for Season 2 distribution/production. Kiah’s love for her father, James Clingman, who has ALS, empowered her to direct and co-write her first SAG award-winning short film in August 2019, “Eavesdropping on the Elders”, which received 17 Official Selections and won "Best Film" in the Seattle Black Film Festival and Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival. “Eavesdropping” was also handpicked for distribution on KweliTV, May 2022. Her latest series she produced and starred in, "Hard Drive" is now available to watch on Youtube. She is a 2020 Southern Producers Lab fellow sponsored by Sundance Institute and the New Orleans Film Society. She was recently selected as a Top 10 Finalist for the Fall 2022 Film Impact Grant. She was also selected as a REVOLT Short and Fresh Winner, Fall 2022. Kiah is well-known for her guest star role as “Hannah” in FOX’s “The Resident”, her recurring role in NBC’s “Ordinary Joe” and supporting roles in CW’s “Black Lightning”, CBS’s “S.W.A.T.”, and her comedic relief in Netflix’s “Undercover Brother 2”. She played the lead role, Chanel, in Black & Sexy TV’s series, “Doing It Wrong”, which premiered on Black & Sexy TV’s paid subscription service as a part of their HBCU initiative. Website https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1709750789619-FZJ6W3YV04WI85888PPB/2.png WOCNI Grantees https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1709750790727-8XFMBZILYG7T73ZMNFBF/4.png WOCNI Grantees Project: The Untitled Gentrification Project Poet, actor, and performing artist Staceyann Chin is the author of the new poetry collection Crossfire: A Litany For Survival, the critically acclaimed memoir The Other Side of Paradise, cowriter and original performer in the Tony Award–winning Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, and author of the one-woman shows Hands Afire, Unspeakable Things, Border/Clash, and MotherStruck. She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and 60 Minutes, and her poetry been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post. She proudly identifies as Caribbean, Black, Asian, lesbian, a woman, and a resident of New York City, as well as a Jamaican national. Website https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/2024-felows daily 0.75 2025-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871977449-QCRKYXKT1ZSFNCG5ZUDW/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-7.png 2024 RNE Fellows - Bio Kiara Danae (they/she) is an independent filmmaker, freelance photographer and multidisciplinary artist based in D.C by way of North Carolina. Their work reflects the intimacies of the black southern experience, the construction and deconstruction of identity, spirituality and the complexities of the family dynamic through untold ancestral stories that long to be unearthed. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871977449-QCRKYXKT1ZSFNCG5ZUDW/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-7.png 2024 RNE Fellows - Bio Kiara Danae (they/she) is an independent filmmaker, freelance photographer and multidisciplinary artist based in D.C by way of North Carolina. Their work reflects the intimacies of the black southern experience, the construction and deconstruction of identity, spirituality and the complexities of the family dynamic through untold ancestral stories that long to be unearthed. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871895386-MZJYF4ULOJYJNN6VF95E/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-6.png 2024 RNE Fellows - Bio Bashirah Mack is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who is interested in people, histories, and geographies in the US South. As a filmmaker, Bashirah’s practice is rooted in the space, place, and memory of her ancestors on this side of the Atlantic. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871834604-2LKD716AB866IIDO7NZS/3.png 2024 RNE Fellows - Bio Sea is a storyteller and birth worker of Caribbean heritage. They blend grounded horror and mythmaking with spirituality and ancestral wisdom to tell stories of grief, motherhood and self-possession in the lives of Black girls and women. Sea’s work is guided by Black feminist principles both in story and in process. They are currently in development for their Howard University MFA Thesis film Cocoa Tea. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724869942487-IN7RFYP6RXAIWURW5PD0/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-4.png 2024 RNE Fellows https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724870147823-P90MIBW664IXMZNP8CCR/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-5.png 2024 RNE Fellows Jay Najeeah (she/they) is a freelance filmmaker, writer, dramaturg, and artist-activist hailing from Columbia, SC. Based in DC, their work is grounded in both Theatre of the Oppressed pedagogy and the principles of Black Feminism. A recent graduate of Howard University’s MFA Film Program, Jay is committed to storytelling and uplifting the perspective of queer, southern, Black folk. Jay’s grasp on cinematic language has allowed them the ability to play in the realm of dramatic, experimental, & magical realism. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724869955647-6HMLFNB3TY9GNIAW6A81/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-4.png 2024 RNE Fellows https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871855870-ABLY1TD2YV5APS6LO9A5/1.png 2024 RNE Fellows - Bio Adesola Thomas is an Atlanta-raised, Nigerian-American writer-director. She makes films about Black domestic life, climate reality, and queer Southern subcultures to examine care and interdependence as essential practices for a livable life. Her work is spurred by her reverence of the two metro Atlanta environs that reared her, the interfaith Nigerian immigrant community and the queer punk environmental scene. In 2022, Adesola received her Masters in Screenwriting & Playwriting from the University of St Andrews in Scotland where she was a Robert T Jones Fellow. For her writing and direction of flounder. a two-act climate catastrophe comedy, she was nominated for Best Play and Best Script at the 2022 Golden Seashell Theater Awards and shortlisted for the St Andrews Enterprising Mind of the Year Award. She book-ended her Masters program with television and film development internships at A24. Adesola is the East Coast Producer for Letterboxd (LB), where she writes for Journal and attends film festivals (Sundance, NYFF, Tribeca). She is also the head writer for Sapphic Cyborgs, a forthcoming audio drama about a family of Black anthropomorphic trees who migrate to outer space from Earth. Summer of 2023, Adesola wrote and directed Ola Ola, a comedy short about a surprise reunion between two queer cousins that’s been acquired by indie-streamer, No Budge. Ola Ola has screened at Millenium Film in Bushwick, Southern Fried Queer Pride’s Cinequeer in Atlanta, and Deeper Into Movies in London. She is a 2024 Bleecker Street BIPOC Mentorship Fellow, a 2024 Sundance Press Inclusion Initiative Fellow, and a proud member of the New York Script Supervisors network. She enjoys 1st AD’ing music videos, dancing at parties, and swimming with friend Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871873876-5FNU4CP22849ABVCEL72/7.png 2024 RNE Fellows - Bio Lanese Love is a non-binary black director and writer who finds joy in blending genres of film. With a focus in horror, comedy and experimental film they continue to develop a unique style by reference the nuanced intersection of their underrepresented identities. "It brings me joy to be able to further explore and experiment with plot, performance, cinematography and more to develop a unique identity in my work. So by dissecting the sci-fi, comedy and experimental genres, I hope to create a dynamic experience that draws from multiple emotions." Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724872014506-558I973QBIBPKL3ESFV2/B002F0E7-2E43-440E-9027-596048AEB143.png 2024 RNE Fellows - Bio Helen Peña is a Dominican-American child of the Atlantic, filmmaker, and culture worker from Miami, FL. Their work has screened in festivals across the country including Prismatic Ground, New Orleans Film Festival and Third Horizon Film Festival. In 2020, Helen participated in the UCLA Sanctuary Spaces Residency, where they worked on their first short film, When Angels Speak of Love, which screened on PBS South Florida. In 2017, Helen co-founded (F)empower, a collective of queer feminist artist-activists. Their art and organizing has been showcased at the Museum of Modern Art, the Norton Museum of Art, ICA Miami and more. Watch the Trailer https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/ctr daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1591834242603-WOMAJU5MJVUB4H8NFZ5L/Asset+8.png CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1717106787530-S9JH75CYE5HW39XEQ8HC/Untitled+design-3.png CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1717106853132-1OCHY8SKM1TFUGH03WGN/Untitled+design-2.png CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/fdfaeba1-6634-4974-98c3-6f6d868859f4/Consider+the+Rainbow+Poster+12x18.png CTR - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/8ee2a472-6d05-42f8-be47-c8543df461bb/Untitled+design.png CTR - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1717106853132-1OCHY8SKM1TFUGH03WGN/Untitled+design-2.png CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242418533-7RHW4TBFOYQDA75AKPGF/5.jpg CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242418758-ZAQG83GL5BK7B8FSBAG9/6.jpg CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242422285-UPIQ898ORBUCBP7KIOYB/2.jpg CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242423024-WMR8QMAFDOII0A61RF6W/3.jpg CTR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242423175-S3P8UBELF1NRNIMC5KSD/4.jpg CTR https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/ctr-stills daily 0.75 2024-08-10 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/t/66b6d86d1538141a71b798b7/1723241948161/ CTR Stills https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/66b69098b256a2175df10ed5/66b695806bd0af228a9926b1/1723241948161/ CTR Stills https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1717106853132-1OCHY8SKM1TFUGH03WGN/Untitled+design-2.png CTR Stills https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242418533-7RHW4TBFOYQDA75AKPGF/5.jpg CTR Stills https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242418758-ZAQG83GL5BK7B8FSBAG9/6.jpg CTR Stills https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242422285-UPIQ898ORBUCBP7KIOYB/2.jpg CTR Stills https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242423024-WMR8QMAFDOII0A61RF6W/3.jpg CTR Stills https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1723242423175-S3P8UBELF1NRNIMC5KSD/4.jpg CTR Stills https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/2025-fellows-rne daily 0.75 2025-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284447871-3KPVMH3PH7B2UZ5RXW35/4.png 2025 Fellows RNE Mya-Breyana Morton, is an award-winning writer, director, and cinematographer from Lithonia, GA, employs film to amplify marginalized voices and defy conventions. Recognized as a Seriesfest Collegiate Spotlight fellow, with a multicultural upbringing in Kuwait, Morton's storytelling passion was sparked by diverse perspectives. Armed with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, her portfolio includes the Webby Award-winning and Emmy-nominated short film, "Because, I Love You" and award-winning student films like "What Remains of Emily," "Proud," and "The Traveler." Her thesis film, "The Traveler," earned widespread acclaim and secured a place on WABE/PBS's Atlanta on Film. Acknowledged with the Independent Film Trailblazer Award, Morton's influence extends to collaborations with Canva, Target, Always, iHeartMedia, and Paramount. Recently recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024 in the Media category and Forbes 30 Under 30: Atlanta, she is steadfast in her commitment to drive innovation through compelling storytelling. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284447871-3KPVMH3PH7B2UZ5RXW35/4.png 2025 Fellows RNE Mya-Breyana Morton, is an award-winning writer, director, and cinematographer from Lithonia, GA, employs film to amplify marginalized voices and defy conventions. Recognized as a Seriesfest Collegiate Spotlight fellow, with a multicultural upbringing in Kuwait, Morton's storytelling passion was sparked by diverse perspectives. Armed with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, her portfolio includes the Webby Award-winning and Emmy-nominated short film, "Because, I Love You" and award-winning student films like "What Remains of Emily," "Proud," and "The Traveler." Her thesis film, "The Traveler," earned widespread acclaim and secured a place on WABE/PBS's Atlanta on Film. Acknowledged with the Independent Film Trailblazer Award, Morton's influence extends to collaborations with Canva, Target, Always, iHeartMedia, and Paramount. Recently recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024 in the Media category and Forbes 30 Under 30: Atlanta, she is steadfast in her commitment to drive innovation through compelling storytelling. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/67784474d3551e0600e05b5e/6778448763934f035bd4532f/1736193007952/ 2025 Fellows RNE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284347573-7QF96KL1K627KMFVA5N3/1.png 2025 Fellows RNE Olivia Toussaint is a cinematographer of Caribbean heritage, who utilizes the lens to bring to life the emotional connections of heritage, womanhood, spirituality and intergenerational complexities. Her work includes traces of Black art as a photographer and multifaceted creator. As a recent graduate of Howard University, and as an artist, Olivia plans on continuing to be a voice for the Caribbean diaspora in a medium that lasts for generations to come. Creating stories that reject the system is how she creates new ones, ones that represent those without voices for their identities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284503040-IALCCEBLL3KPUOR462JQ/8.png 2025 Fellows RNE Oreoluwa "Ifamodupe Sangosemilore" Akinyode weaves storytelling and sharing into the archive. Their work exists as a living prayer, a portal that acts as a catalyst for change. As a priest of traditional African spirituality, specifically of the Ifa and Orisa Isese practice, Oreoluwa is in constant conversation and reflection with their ancestors and spirit guides. With their practice, they work to un-demonize indigenous African spiritual traditions and remind the world that our practices are sacred and are a guide to remembering one's self and destiny. Oreoluwa is a 2024 Semi-Finalist: New Voices x Netflix Filmmaker, 2023 Gotham EDU Film and Media Career Development filmmaker fellow, and a 2023 Queer|Art Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant Finalist. Head Image Credits: Andrew Copeland https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284367311-KJ31YA9CBQQOLFI68GT7/3.png 2025 Fellows RNE Nadia Wolff is a Haitian-american queer interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Miami. They work with film, installation, textiles, performance, mixed media, and poetry to process connections to place, memory, and embodied knowledge. Wolff’s artistic process spans across disciplines, thus demonstrating the syncretic nature of the themes they explore. Wolff’s practice investigates how mourning, ancestral connection, cultural loss, and self-making intersect and inform our understanding of home, landscape, and identity. Their process is informed by Black feminist and diasporic theory, with a focus on Black Caribbean aesthetics and spirituality approached through a lens of intimacy. Their work is grounded in ancestor Audre Lorde’s understanding that poetry is not a luxury but rather an art form through which marginalized people forge survival, hope, and resilience. Wolff is a 2024 Locust Projects Wavemaker Fellow; a 2024 Third Horizon Forward Film Fellow; and a 2023 ChaNorth Young Artist Fellow. They are also a recipient of the Miami-Dade Individual Artist Grant; the Ellie’s Creators Grant; the Innovate Art Grant; the Little Haiti Local Love Letters film grant; the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts grant; and the Preston Gurney Prize for Cultural Criticism. Wolff studied Textile Design and Literary Arts/Africana Studies in the Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design Dual Degree Program. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284677474-BG6K3K4OQNVM8OROIUL1/Resisting+Narratives+of+Erasure+25-3.png 2025 Fellows RNE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284488837-CK1FO56EKAL5TJP3WUM3/6.png 2025 Fellows RNE Jasmine Marie (she/they) is a Haitian-Memphian who is using cameras, language, and archives across artistic mediums to both preserve Black cultural traditions and create space to imagine new ways of being. Jasmine's work centers stories of Black southern heritage, spirituality, and queerness through the mediums of photography, film, and poetry/prose in order to explore intimacy, agency, and what it takes to live freely. Drawing from legacies of queer black artists, documentarians, and dreamers before them, Jasmine is interested in how art can be used as a vessel for community building and resistance. Jasmine is a 2024 ArtsMemphis grantee and has received project support and recognition from organizations such as Art Noir, Urban Arts Commission, and Indie Memphis. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284383971-YF6MK5QPCOWBF04G20UN/5.png 2025 Fellows RNE Maia Helvy is an Atlanta-based filmmaker, mixed media artist, and creative director whose work centers on the vibrant narratives of Black Queer women and Non-Binary individuals. With a foundation in film photography and videography, Maia’s storytelling combines a textured, nostalgic aesthetic with a commitment to authenticity. Through film, Maia captures the intimate realities of their subjects, drawing from personal connections within Atlanta’s underground music and art scenes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284400645-YBZ156F8D97ZATWQWCHJ/7.png 2025 Fellows RNE Jamaica Kalika is an independent filmmaker and farmer of Ndebele and Jewish heritage, from the Bay Area and based in Washington, DC. Her work is exalted at the intersection of filmmaking, farming, and food preparation. It showcases the belief and narrative that food and film are fundamental elements of culture, essential for creating and disseminating shared experiences across generations. Through her artistry, she aspires to build a future where nourishment and storytelling go hand in hand, cultivating spaces of connection, empowerment, and cultural preservation. Jamaica is a Land Steward with the Farm to Food Sovereignty Academy and Soul Fire Farm Immersion participant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284419023-55AP5Y0O7YYN65Z48T2T/Resisting+Narratives+of+Erasure+25.png 2025 Fellows RNE Yasi R. Durant is an emerging filmmaker, screenwriter, and composer based on the East Coast. At just 25 years old, Yasi has developed a unique voice, blending thought-provoking themes with a bold, experimental aesthetic. Currently, they are working on their debut short film, which explores the intersection of the trans-masc lesbian identity and the tensions created by cultural and societal stagnation, as well as the weight of familial expectations. This deeply personal project showcases Yasi's commitment to telling stories that challenge traditional narratives and shed light on marginalized perspectives. Yasi's artistic approach is multidisciplinary, seamlessly integrating music, narrative, and visual storytelling to create immersive worlds that resonate on both an emotional and intellectual level. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/wocni-grantees-25 daily 0.75 2025-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736276488449-KZ1K0YP33SIF7I43QY8Z/2.png WOCNI Grantees 25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736276488449-KZ1K0YP33SIF7I43QY8Z/2.png WOCNI Grantees 25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736282678164-0JYEKTZJENRDKFGUFLEX/2025+women+of+color+narrative+initiative.png WOCNI Grantees 25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736276488767-0AV7ZD16WD3RH0YD0L4A/3.png WOCNI Grantees 25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736276808083-LVWRV86UC1OANMV314HX/IMG_4539+-+Ciera+Thompson.jpg WOCNI Grantees 25 - Ciera Thompson Ciera Thompson, born and raised in North Carolina, is a director and writer whose work centers on LGBTQ narratives and the power of underrepresented voices. Now based in Atlanta, Ciera's filmmaking spans indie films, branded content, and music videos. Through her writing, she aims to reflect the complexities of identity and love, emphasizing creating characters who feel real, grounded, and multifaceted. Ciera draws inspiration from writers like Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Dan Fogelman, and Shonda Rhimes—whose sharp wit, emotional storytelling, and commitment to complex characters push her to challenge norms and break boundaries in her own work. She believes in narrative's power to entertain and inspire change by crafting stories that speak to the heart of the human experience. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736282690429-VW9NIWMONIC7TC0YANIV/5S1A2312_Caicedo_Kimberly-RM+-+Kim+Caicedo.jpeg WOCNI Grantees 25 - Kim Caicedo Colombian-American director Kim Caicedo brings over a decade of experience in New York advertising and production to her films. She holds a master's degree in film directing from the American Film Institute. Kim's work has been recognized by the ARC Awards, Creativity International, The Webby Awards, and Fast Company's Innovation By Design Awards. Her films have been showcased at festivals worldwide, including the New York Latino Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, Bogota International, and the GuadaLAjara Film Festival. Her latest film “Francis” won the DGA Student Film Jury Prize in the ­­­Latino category. Kim is dedicated to preserving the art of film and often works with 16mm and 35mm processes, which lend a distinctive specificity and texture to her work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736276808952-GPCKKNRC9FEFTO05BFDL/Screen+Shot+2024-12-28+at+9.35.18+AM+-+Ebony+Blanding.png WOCNI Grantees 25 - Ebony Blanding Ebony Blanding is a writer and director with deep Southern roots and a passion for telling the stories of Black people navigating the world and internal discoveries. She explores the complexities and possibilities of Blackness and female relationships on screen through narrative, experimental and documentary film. Winner of The Level Forward Impact Award at the 2022 SeriesFest, her short film "Jordan '', received a development deal for its demonstration and commitment to creative excellence and using storytelling as a means of leveling the playing field for underrepresented people and alternatively abled voices. Blanding has written and directed branded content for Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, documentaries for major artists, and multiple award-winning short films, including Levitate Levitate Levitate, streamed at Atlanta International Airport. Her commissioned period piece, Georgia Voting Rights, is playing in the state's capitol. Co-founder of art film house, House of June, Blanding has presented films at educational institutions including Spelman College, Emory University and John H. Hopkins University. Her work has screened at Atlanta Film Society, Cape Town International Film Festival, SXSW, among others. Recipient of the 2024 Emerging Creative Residency Program Fellowship with Trilith Institute, Blanding assumes the role of the institute's first Emerging Creative in Residence. Her upcoming project, "A Mess of Memories," marks her directorial debut feature film and serves as Trilith Institute Productions' inaugural major undertaking. Additionally, her commitment to her craft has garnered her positions in esteemed fellowships, including the 2021 Blackmagic Collective Future Directors of Studio Features Fellowship, and involvement in the Atlanta Film Society’s Filmmaker-In-Residence Program from 2017 to 2019. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/our-work daily 0.75 2026-01-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1591834242603-WOMAJU5MJVUB4H8NFZ5L/Asset+8.png Our Work https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/partners-2 daily 0.75 2026-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/35f0962b-6929-47f8-9428-3af4414b889a/Partnership+for+VJS+IMG+7393.jpg Partners - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/2026-rne-fellow daily 0.75 2026-02-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243586115-7GGS35GLEB0JIE3PVC0L/1.png 2026 RNE fellow - Sha-Shonna Rogers Sha-Shonna Rogers is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on cinematography and still photography from West Baltimore, Maryland and a recent Spring 2025 graduate of Morgan State University. She has been into the arts since she was child and has continued to grow in her passions over the years. She has made great achievements, in 2022 she was awarded a silver Telly award for her work on an Under Armour's Campaign (BE SEEN. BE HEARD. BE CELEBRATED) honoring HBCU athletes. In 2023 she was also one of two inaugural fellows for the fellowship HBCU Next founded by playwright and director, David E. Talbert in collaboration with the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Drawing inspiration from her everyday surroundings and the pulse of her community, her creative style is shaped by her environment, resulting in narratives that pulse with life and truth. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/6983c5e20fe86057f6152593/6983c5eef23ad76e07a09223/1770243587662/ 2026 RNE fellow https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243586115-7GGS35GLEB0JIE3PVC0L/1.png 2026 RNE fellow - Sha-Shonna Rogers Sha-Shonna Rogers is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on cinematography and still photography from West Baltimore, Maryland and a recent Spring 2025 graduate of Morgan State University. She has been into the arts since she was child and has continued to grow in her passions over the years. She has made great achievements, in 2022 she was awarded a silver Telly award for her work on an Under Armour's Campaign (BE SEEN. BE HEARD. BE CELEBRATED) honoring HBCU athletes. In 2023 she was also one of two inaugural fellows for the fellowship HBCU Next founded by playwright and director, David E. Talbert in collaboration with the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Drawing inspiration from her everyday surroundings and the pulse of her community, her creative style is shaped by her environment, resulting in narratives that pulse with life and truth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243586298-KL2M6V8KAHM9ILE87823/2.png 2026 RNE fellow - Ciara Franklin Ciara Franklin is an emerging film director based in Atlanta, Georgia. An African American interdisciplinary artist working in film, photography, and digital art, Franklin began their career at the Fox Theatre’s Rising Stars Academy. As Vice President to re-instate their school’s National Thespian Honor Society Troupe 4125 after 16 years in remission, Franklin fell in love with producing art at 16 before attending Spelman College’s first class of Documentary Filmmakers. Franklin developed an experimental filmmaking and independent documentary art practice under the tutelage of Anjanette Levert, Ayoka Chenzira, and Julie Dash. Franklin is an Adobe Certified Video Editor and currently serves as Communications Coordinator at RE:IMAGINE ATL where they are a teaching artist assistant for courses like EMERGE Social Media and RE:IMAGINE Journalism. This summer Franklin served as a Congressional Liaison with the Reconnecting Youth Campaigns, developing relationships with lawmakers and nonprofit coalitions to advocate for opportunity youth facing housing insecurity and limited access to employment. Currently honored in the 2025 Atlanta Mayor’s Pride Exhibit, Franklin is an Intersex documentarian reclaiming marred narratives through technology and performance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243587667-QYAOLCFYNOLR1GBBEALW/3.png 2026 RNE fellow - Rock Jacquet Rock Jacquet (they/them) is a Louisiana Creole and Chicane filmmaker, artist, and cultural worker based between New Orleans and Brooklyn. Drawing from a lineage of land stewards, sharecroppers, and cattle ranchers, their work explores the entanglements of memory, land loss, identity, and environmental in/justice across the Gulf South. Working primarily in nonfiction, Rock creates experimental films rooted in family histories and inherited landscapes, drawing on oral storytelling traditions and archival research. Rock holds an undergraduate degree in Politics, Rights, and Development from New York University and is currently pursuing an MA in Experimental Humanities and Social Engagement at NYU. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243588351-TN8F8DXO4S0UENFU73F0/4.png 2026 RNE fellow - Kennedy Dunning Kennedy Dunning is an Atlanta-based, award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer whose work centers the inner lives of Black women and girls. Rooted in the South, her films are shaped by the women who raised her, the friends who ground her, and a devotion to telling stories often left at the margins. Kennedy is a graduate of Spelman College, where she majored in documentary filmmaking and minored in comparative women’s studies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243589269-JH1MEJU2LABR2BHEEG07/5.png 2026 RNE fellow - Robin Dylan Garcia Robin Dylan Garcia is a Trans-femme, Mexican-American filmmaker and photographer born, raised, and based in Dallas, Texas. Having graduated from NYU’s Undergraduate Film program, Robin has worked on multiple short films as both director and writer, experimental and narrative, with her latest project, “The Apple Picker”, a 16mm short film shot in Portugal, currently in Post-Production. Drawing inspiration from her hometown and personal experience, Robin’s moving and still image works focuses on the passage of time, alienation, and memory in regard to the Hispanic/Queer experience, by telling stories that center on differing perspectives. She is currently a part of the Pegasus Media Group's Multimedia Apprenticeship Program. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243591405-3CWS5PJSJN99UROSEV88/6.png 2026 RNE fellow - Nicole Viloria Nicole Viloria is a Venezuelan writer-director whose work explores her queer journey, love tragedies, and Venezuelan roots. As a tragic poet with a vampire spirit, she stretches her limits during the day and dwells in her memories at night. Her directorial debut, "Paper Dreams," screened at Yale’s Student Film Festival and won Best Cinematography at the Ezra Stiles Film Festival. "Pichi," her Yale thesis short film, is in post-production. She is the Co-Executive Director of Diverso, a student-run 501(c)3 nonprofit that uplifts underrepresented student filmmakers, whose partners include SONY, Sundance, and Disney. She has also served as a development intern at Narval Films and Baobab Studios, where she assisted with staffing writers for a show slated for Disney+. After immigrating to Miami at 15, she earned an A.A. in English Literature from Miami Dade Honors College and later completed a B.A. in Comparative Literature with a concentration in Film from Yale University. When Nicole’s experiences become too cinematic for realism, she turns them into fiction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243593132-80FJKFRCG3E79KNXUMY6/7.png 2026 RNE fellow - Tevin Scott Tevin Scott is a non-binary multidisciplinary artist from Charleston, SC. A graduate of Howard University, Tevin created his award winning HBCU series presentation, THE MECCA, which was licensed to Revolt TV. Tevin currently resides in Charlotte, NC, where he plans to build his own film studio under his production banner, RTS Vision. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1770243594128-U2XZ93KGPN4EZN2QYO8B/8.png 2026 RNE fellow - Latoria Latoria Hicks is an Alabama-based filmmaker from Mississippi. Her work draws on memories growing up in the American South to paint multifaceted portraits of characters who find themselves on the outskirts of the world. In 2025, Latoria made her directorial debut, with Voices of the Academy. The award-winning documentary has screened across the country, connecting viewers through its exploration of language and culture. Through her films, she aims to build a sense of interconnectedness and to expand the amount of empathy we have for one another. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/wocni-2026 daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1774398174879-ZK0XFRAFZUQ2EEBBPF5C/Clarke+Phillips+Headshot+-+Clarke+Phillips.jpg WOCNI 2026 - Clarke Clarke earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in 2022, specializing in Film Directing. After graduating, she received the 28th Student DGA Jury Award for her senior thesis film, "Suga Brown." In 2023, Clarke co-directed "The Son That Didn't Shine," a short documentary for the NAACP Cinematic Shorts Competition. After competing in the competition, she founded her production company, Cinema Sense LLC, in Atlanta, GA. In 2024, Clarke completed another short film, "Sweet Pea," in collaboration with Chromatic Black after receiving the Ida B. Wells film fund. Now based in North Carolina, Clarke's work reflects her personal experiences along with past and present events that affect marginalized communities. In 2025, Clarke's latest short film, "Fiddler's Creek," was a finalist in the Musicbed Short Film Competition. Clarke is currently working on a documentary for Providence Baptist Church, highlighting how Greensboro, NC's oldest African American Baptist Church has survived 160 years. This year, Clarke continues to collaborate with local artists across North Carolina while raising funding for her first feature film. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1774398174879-ZK0XFRAFZUQ2EEBBPF5C/Clarke+Phillips+Headshot+-+Clarke+Phillips.jpg WOCNI 2026 - Clarke Clarke earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) in 2022, specializing in Film Directing. After graduating, she received the 28th Student DGA Jury Award for her senior thesis film, "Suga Brown." In 2023, Clarke co-directed "The Son That Didn't Shine," a short documentary for the NAACP Cinematic Shorts Competition. After competing in the competition, she founded her production company, Cinema Sense LLC, in Atlanta, GA. In 2024, Clarke completed another short film, "Sweet Pea," in collaboration with Chromatic Black after receiving the Ida B. Wells film fund. Now based in North Carolina, Clarke's work reflects her personal experiences along with past and present events that affect marginalized communities. In 2025, Clarke's latest short film, "Fiddler's Creek," was a finalist in the Musicbed Short Film Competition. Clarke is currently working on a documentary for Providence Baptist Church, highlighting how Greensboro, NC's oldest African American Baptist Church has survived 160 years. This year, Clarke continues to collaborate with local artists across North Carolina while raising funding for her first feature film. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1774398177242-QNM11V9IXBMITK5NUMXF/Erin+Lau_Badge+Headshot+-+Erin.png WOCNI 2026 - Erin Lau Native Hawaiian filmmaker Erin Lau explores empathy, redemption, and legacy through her work. She has been supported by numerous programs including Sundance Institute, Film Independent, Tribeca Studios, and Ryan Murphy’s HALF Initiative. Her work spans documentary, narrative, and episodic storytelling and have been featured on the Criterion Channel, Netflix, and PBS. Notable directing works include THE MOON AND THE NIGHT, ALL I EVER WANTED, and INHERITANCE. Erin also directed for FOX’s RESCUE: HI-SURF and contributed to multiple award-winning documentaries as a producer including STANDING ABOVE THE CLOUDS and DEAR ALOHA. Erin is a graduate of Chapman University’s MFA directing program and is represented by the United Talent Agency (UTA). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1774398178256-YZK7FZFK7AQESB68DMLQ/Kristina+Arjona+headshot+-+Kristina+Arjona.jpeg WOCNI 2026 - Kristina Arjona Kristina Arjona (she/they) has over 12 years of experience in the film industry as a writer, director, AD, intimacy coordinator, mental health coordinator, and actor. Kristina has worked with studios like Netflix, Paramount, Showtime, Starz, Amazon, and ABC. Recent credits include Regretting You, Reasonable Doubt, and Weapons. She holds a BFA in Acting and a BA in Theatrical Design and Production from Elon University, and studied theatre at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Proudly queer and Latina, Kristina owns Jump Cut Collective, a production company empowering women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC artists in front and behind the lens. Her film Mi Casa, won the HBO Latinx Short Film Competition and is available on MAX. Kristina has spoken about set safety strategies involving mental health and intimacy work at universities and festivals including the United Nations General Assembly with the Impact Lounge, Cannes Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Women in Film, Out on Film Festival, Actor Empowerment Summit, and the Women in Production Summit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1774474191720-V8R1KD2PDUM5SXLZZ17H/1.png WOCNI 2026 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1774474192876-X8Q9XVIG7JUIK5R4R6GM/2.png WOCNI 2026 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1774474194644-VZYJ8LIWJR2KRREKO0QG/3.png WOCNI 2026 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/contact daily 0.75 2024-02-11 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/submission daily 0.75 2020-09-09 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/donate daily 0.75 2020-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1605121341620-CUFP8S26WK7GR7QU4AR7/logo+copy.png DONATE https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/video-copy daily 0.75 2024-01-18 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/rne-class-of-2024 daily 0.75 2025-01-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/ace310b7-6650-4b3a-bcb4-9dcee8b23cab/BashirahMack_HomeMaking.00_01_08_14.Still006+-+Bashirah+Mack.jpg RNE Class of 2024 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871977449-QCRKYXKT1ZSFNCG5ZUDW/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-7.png RNE Class of 2024 - Bio Kiara Danae (they/she) is an independent filmmaker, freelance photographer and multidisciplinary artist based in D.C by way of North Carolina. Their work reflects the intimacies of the black southern experience, the construction and deconstruction of identity, spirituality and the complexities of the family dynamic through untold ancestral stories that long to be unearthed. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871895386-MZJYF4ULOJYJNN6VF95E/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-6.png RNE Class of 2024 - Bio Bashirah Mack is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who is interested in people, histories, and geographies in the US South. As a filmmaker, Bashirah’s practice is rooted in the space, place, and memory of her ancestors on this side of the Atlantic. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871834604-2LKD716AB866IIDO7NZS/3.png RNE Class of 2024 - Bio Sea is a storyteller and birth worker of Caribbean heritage. They blend grounded horror and mythmaking with spirituality and ancestral wisdom to tell stories of grief, motherhood and self-possession in the lives of Black girls and women. Sea’s work is guided by Black feminist principles both in story and in process. They are currently in development for their Howard University MFA Thesis film Cocoa Tea. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724869942487-IN7RFYP6RXAIWURW5PD0/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-4.png RNE Class of 2024 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724870147823-P90MIBW664IXMZNP8CCR/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-5.png RNE Class of 2024 Jay Najeeah (she/they) is a freelance filmmaker, writer, dramaturg, and artist-activist hailing from Columbia, SC. Based in DC, their work is grounded in both Theatre of the Oppressed pedagogy and the principles of Black Feminism. A recent graduate of Howard University’s MFA Film Program, Jay is committed to storytelling and uplifting the perspective of queer, southern, Black folk. Jay’s grasp on cinematic language has allowed them the ability to play in the realm of dramatic, experimental, & magical realism. Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724869955647-6HMLFNB3TY9GNIAW6A81/2024+Fellows+Square+Announcement-4.png RNE Class of 2024 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871855870-ABLY1TD2YV5APS6LO9A5/1.png RNE Class of 2024 - Bio Adesola Thomas is an Atlanta-raised, Nigerian-American writer-director. She makes films about Black domestic life, climate reality, and queer Southern subcultures to examine care and interdependence as essential practices for a livable life. Her work is spurred by her reverence of the two metro Atlanta environs that reared her, the interfaith Nigerian immigrant community and the queer punk environmental scene. In 2022, Adesola received her Masters in Screenwriting & Playwriting from the University of St Andrews in Scotland where she was a Robert T Jones Fellow. For her writing and direction of flounder. a two-act climate catastrophe comedy, she was nominated for Best Play and Best Script at the 2022 Golden Seashell Theater Awards and shortlisted for the St Andrews Enterprising Mind of the Year Award. She book-ended her Masters program with television and film development internships at A24. Adesola is the East Coast Producer for Letterboxd (LB), where she writes for Journal and attends film festivals (Sundance, NYFF, Tribeca). She is also the head writer for Sapphic Cyborgs, a forthcoming audio drama about a family of Black anthropomorphic trees who migrate to outer space from Earth. Summer of 2023, Adesola wrote and directed Ola Ola, a comedy short about a surprise reunion between two queer cousins that’s been acquired by indie-streamer, No Budge. Ola Ola has screened at Millenium Film in Bushwick, Southern Fried Queer Pride’s Cinequeer in Atlanta, and Deeper Into Movies in London. She is a 2024 Bleecker Street BIPOC Mentorship Fellow, a 2024 Sundance Press Inclusion Initiative Fellow, and a proud member of the New York Script Supervisors network. She enjoys 1st AD’ing music videos, dancing at parties, and swimming with friend Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724871873876-5FNU4CP22849ABVCEL72/7.png RNE Class of 2024 - Bio Lanese Love is a non-binary black director and writer who finds joy in blending genres of film. With a focus in horror, comedy and experimental film they continue to develop a unique style by reference the nuanced intersection of their underrepresented identities. "It brings me joy to be able to further explore and experiment with plot, performance, cinematography and more to develop a unique identity in my work. So by dissecting the sci-fi, comedy and experimental genres, I hope to create a dynamic experience that draws from multiple emotions." Watch the Trailer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1724872014506-558I973QBIBPKL3ESFV2/B002F0E7-2E43-440E-9027-596048AEB143.png RNE Class of 2024 - Bio Helen Peña is a Dominican-American child of the Atlantic, filmmaker, and culture worker from Miami, FL. Their work has screened in festivals across the country including Prismatic Ground, New Orleans Film Festival and Third Horizon Film Festival. In 2020, Helen participated in the UCLA Sanctuary Spaces Residency, where they worked on their first short film, When Angels Speak of Love, which screened on PBS South Florida. In 2017, Helen co-founded (F)empower, a collective of queer feminist artist-activists. Their art and organizing has been showcased at the Museum of Modern Art, the Norton Museum of Art, ICA Miami and more. Watch the Trailer https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/our-films-copy daily 0.75 2024-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1591833581829-FRDKADG412EUAOIX3FTF/Asset+4.png Our Films (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1599620886556-YV9KVT2VNR34D6LV6AIC/Grrrl+Justice-Final+8x12.jpg Our Films (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1580922194306-VMSKMR7FYW4OA1Y8N9XU/Asset+1.png Our Films (Copy) https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/prospectus daily 0.75 2025-03-20 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/apply daily 0.75 2025-12-29 https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/rne-class-of-2025 daily 0.75 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1332fd92-989e-47c1-8b6b-800934f17c62/DSCF2364.jpeg RNE Class of 2025 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284447871-3KPVMH3PH7B2UZ5RXW35/4.png RNE Class of 2025 Mya-Breyana Morton, is an award-winning writer, director, and cinematographer from Lithonia, GA, employs film to amplify marginalized voices and defy conventions. Recognized as a Seriesfest Collegiate Spotlight fellow, with a multicultural upbringing in Kuwait, Morton's storytelling passion was sparked by diverse perspectives. Armed with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, her portfolio includes the Webby Award-winning and Emmy-nominated short film, "Because, I Love You" and award-winning student films like "What Remains of Emily," "Proud," and "The Traveler." Her thesis film, "The Traveler," earned widespread acclaim and secured a place on WABE/PBS's Atlanta on Film. Acknowledged with the Independent Film Trailblazer Award, Morton's influence extends to collaborations with Canva, Target, Always, iHeartMedia, and Paramount. Recently recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2024 in the Media category and Forbes 30 Under 30: Atlanta, she is steadfast in her commitment to drive innovation through compelling storytelling. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284347573-7QF96KL1K627KMFVA5N3/1.png RNE Class of 2025 Olivia Toussaint is a cinematographer of Caribbean heritage, who utilizes the lens to bring to life the emotional connections of heritage, womanhood, spirituality and intergenerational complexities. Her work includes traces of Black art as a photographer and multifaceted creator. As a recent graduate of Howard University, and as an artist, Olivia plans on continuing to be a voice for the Caribbean diaspora in a medium that lasts for generations to come. Creating stories that reject the system is how she creates new ones, ones that represent those without voices for their identities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284503040-IALCCEBLL3KPUOR462JQ/8.png RNE Class of 2025 Oreoluwa "Ifamodupe Sangosemilore" Akinyode weaves storytelling and sharing into the archive. Their work exists as a living prayer, a portal that acts as a catalyst for change. As a priest of traditional African spirituality, specifically of the Ifa and Orisa Isese practice, Oreoluwa is in constant conversation and reflection with their ancestors and spirit guides. With their practice, they work to un-demonize indigenous African spiritual traditions and remind the world that our practices are sacred and are a guide to remembering one's self and destiny. Oreoluwa is a 2024 Semi-Finalist: New Voices x Netflix Filmmaker, 2023 Gotham EDU Film and Media Career Development filmmaker fellow, and a 2023 Queer|Art Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant Finalist. Head Image Credits: Andrew Copeland https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284367311-KJ31YA9CBQQOLFI68GT7/3.png RNE Class of 2025 Nadia Wolff is a Haitian-american queer interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Miami. They work with film, installation, textiles, performance, mixed media, and poetry to process connections to place, memory, and embodied knowledge. Wolff’s artistic process spans across disciplines, thus demonstrating the syncretic nature of the themes they explore. Wolff’s practice investigates how mourning, ancestral connection, cultural loss, and self-making intersect and inform our understanding of home, landscape, and identity. Their process is informed by Black feminist and diasporic theory, with a focus on Black Caribbean aesthetics and spirituality approached through a lens of intimacy. Their work is grounded in ancestor Audre Lorde’s understanding that poetry is not a luxury but rather an art form through which marginalized people forge survival, hope, and resilience. Wolff is a 2024 Locust Projects Wavemaker Fellow; a 2024 Third Horizon Forward Film Fellow; and a 2023 ChaNorth Young Artist Fellow. They are also a recipient of the Miami-Dade Individual Artist Grant; the Ellie’s Creators Grant; the Innovate Art Grant; the Little Haiti Local Love Letters film grant; the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts grant; and the Preston Gurney Prize for Cultural Criticism. Wolff studied Textile Design and Literary Arts/Africana Studies in the Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design Dual Degree Program. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284677474-BG6K3K4OQNVM8OROIUL1/Resisting+Narratives+of+Erasure+25-3.png RNE Class of 2025 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284488837-CK1FO56EKAL5TJP3WUM3/6.png RNE Class of 2025 Jasmine Marie (she/they) is a Haitian-Memphian who is using cameras, language, and archives across artistic mediums to both preserve Black cultural traditions and create space to imagine new ways of being. Jasmine's work centers stories of Black southern heritage, spirituality, and queerness through the mediums of photography, film, and poetry/prose in order to explore intimacy, agency, and what it takes to live freely. Drawing from legacies of queer black artists, documentarians, and dreamers before them, Jasmine is interested in how art can be used as a vessel for community building and resistance. Jasmine is a 2024 ArtsMemphis grantee and has received project support and recognition from organizations such as Art Noir, Urban Arts Commission, and Indie Memphis. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284383971-YF6MK5QPCOWBF04G20UN/5.png RNE Class of 2025 Maia Helvy is an Atlanta-based filmmaker, mixed media artist, and creative director whose work centers on the vibrant narratives of Black Queer women and Non-Binary individuals. With a foundation in film photography and videography, Maia’s storytelling combines a textured, nostalgic aesthetic with a commitment to authenticity. Through film, Maia captures the intimate realities of their subjects, drawing from personal connections within Atlanta’s underground music and art scenes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284400645-YBZ156F8D97ZATWQWCHJ/7.png RNE Class of 2025 Jamaica Kalika is an independent filmmaker and farmer of Ndebele and Jewish heritage, from the Bay Area and based in Washington, DC. Her work is exalted at the intersection of filmmaking, farming, and food preparation. It showcases the belief and narrative that food and film are fundamental elements of culture, essential for creating and disseminating shared experiences across generations. Through her artistry, she aspires to build a future where nourishment and storytelling go hand in hand, cultivating spaces of connection, empowerment, and cultural preservation. Jamaica is a Land Steward with the Farm to Food Sovereignty Academy and Soul Fire Farm Immersion participant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59cc88ba9f745669f143edcf/1736284419023-55AP5Y0O7YYN65Z48T2T/Resisting+Narratives+of+Erasure+25.png RNE Class of 2025 Yasi R. Durant is an emerging filmmaker, screenwriter, and composer based on the East Coast. At just 25 years old, Yasi has developed a unique voice, blending thought-provoking themes with a bold, experimental aesthetic. Currently, they are working on their debut short film, which explores the intersection of the trans-masc lesbian identity and the tensions created by cultural and societal stagnation, as well as the weight of familial expectations. This deeply personal project showcases Yasi's commitment to telling stories that challenge traditional narratives and shed light on marginalized perspectives. Yasi's artistic approach is multidisciplinary, seamlessly integrating music, narrative, and visual storytelling to create immersive worlds that resonate on both an emotional and intellectual level. https://www.visionaryjusticestorylab.org/store daily 0.75 2024-12-04