From Dream to Screen

In this episode Jill, Aja, and Laiya interview the founders of Black Girls Film Camp, Jimmeka Anderson and Sierra Davis. Call 866-HEY-JILL and leave us a message with your comments on this episode!

Visit the website: https://www.blackgirlsfilmcamp.com/ 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to J dot M, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome everybody.

Speaker 3 (00:11):
Oh it is so so, so so so good to
be here with you today. Welcome to J dot L
the podcast. And you already know. I am here with
my wonderful sister friends, Aga Grady dans La.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
That's her.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
I'm the marvelous liar safe claud I guess that's her.

Speaker 4 (00:33):
Yes, No, that's her.

Speaker 5 (00:34):
That's her radio. That's me, that's me.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
She's down paying herself today, ladies and gentlemen, because she
has lashes.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
When she's so fine. At this point, she's so fine.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
She feels she needs She's trying to take it down,
but it's unnecessary.

Speaker 5 (00:50):
I woke up like this.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
This is Matthew's flattening with me with your eyes.

Speaker 5 (00:57):
You know I go further with that than you do you.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
I mean, life is still liking, she said, I love it. Look,
I'm sitting here with my sister friends. I am putting
some moisture in my hair before I get my fue lox.
Y'all know how important it is for our hair to
be moisturized. Right for so long we watched so many films.

(01:26):
We need bad wigs with the with the lace showing
we've seen, We've seen. I've had some bad wigs myself.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
I will it's time for healing. It is, this is
a purge.

Speaker 5 (01:42):
Come on, come on, Sheila, come on, don't talk.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
About the Sheila we've had.

Speaker 3 (01:49):
We've we've definitely seen ourselves in a lot of lights,
and some of.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Them definitely have not been flattering.

Speaker 4 (01:58):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
I'll say for myself that I feel like Shila is
not my favorite look. But I definitely felt like this
is this was somebody who was someone who was genuine,
like there was a there's there's people like that right now.
It's we were living under the thumb under some husband
or some wife, some somebody you know that's trying to

(02:21):
control them or negate their existence. We've seen it a
lot and so many films, and now we're reaching a
place where.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
We've got movies like Woman Knamn I mean, super powerful Honey,
where the skin is the skin is shining, the colors
are jewel toned.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
What right do you understand me? Liter a low of.

Speaker 3 (02:47):
It all, the glove, the glow of it all, the
bronze yes, the red and the orange underneath the brown.
Like finally, you know where we're really starting to see
representation in a way that that that really glorifies who
parts of us are.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
You know, you can.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Definitely can never put us in any kind of boxes.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
That wouldn't be fair.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
And on speaking on that note, we have some amazing
guests right now talking about what we're looking at. On
on a normal basis, everybody grab their Netflix or their
Prime or their whatever BT, whatever it is that you're
looking at. And these two ladies definitely make an impact
on what we have seen and what we will see.

(03:35):
Ladies and gentlemen. Sierra Davis, Hello, Hello, Hello, And I
was just you know how I always say who it
is and then you say hello, it's the same right,
And doctor Jamika Anderson Hello, Hello, ladies, agent please please please,

(03:58):
let's talk about all the things.

Speaker 4 (03:59):
Come on.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yes, these yummy women, yummy who are getting to talk
to today, Well they have a lot of credentials, but
what brings them to us today is they have created
an amazing program for young black girl filmmakers called Black
Girls Film Camp and it is really just, I mean

(04:22):
an amazing program. You know a lot of us know
about youth programs this that, especially as with kids. I
put my kid in this thing and that thing, and YadA, YadA, YadA.
Some of it's great. Some of it was a waste
of your time and money. We all know how it goes.
But I will have to say, I have six kids.
I don't I have paid for many a camp. Okay,

(04:43):
this y'all already know. I have gone to many a program.
I have sat through program ooh, girl girl, many a
program Okay, all right, many a thing have said they
was going to do a thing, hallelujah, and they did
not do a thing. But in this particular situation, this

(05:06):
has been a very unique and beautiful experience as from
the parental side, just to see black women create a
thing and follow through with the thing and just nurture
specifically and intentionally into black girls. And y'all know how

(05:26):
y'all already, ma'am, you already know how I feel about
these things.

Speaker 6 (05:30):
This is great. This is tried and through through asis family.
This is how we know. This is this is the
good ship right now.

Speaker 4 (05:35):
Really, I don't come. I don't.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
I don't come with the trash, you understand me.

Speaker 5 (05:39):
I don't do it because I.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
Know it's russ out here in these parental streets.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
Okay, and particularly when you have black girls, when you
are raising black girls, this is a particular type of challenge. Okay,
So anyway, that was my that was my intro, my
emo intro. But yes, indeed, ladies and gentlemen, Sierra Davis
and Jamiica Anderson, y'all. One of y'all is a doctor, right,
come on, and doctor Anderson.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
We paid a lot for them credentials.

Speaker 5 (06:07):
We don't want. Let's name this organization. The Black Girl
Film Camp is what we're talking about, the black.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
Black girl.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Already. Doesn't that sound exciting to you?

Speaker 4 (06:16):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (06:17):
Yeah, the parents that have daughters, Like, isn't that exciting
that there's a way to actually fist fight, to actually
fist fight? All of the the bell shit. Okay, it
is so much of it that we are. We are
not on some little island and everyone is all the same.

(06:38):
That there's layers and there's there we're black girls, an
Onion Toney and its careers.

Speaker 5 (06:43):
It's a lot of careers too. I'm like, I don't.

Speaker 6 (06:46):
Really want to dive into this with the ladies y'all,
because I'm like, when one decides they want to do
a film, a film camp for black girls, how do
you even figure out what areas you want to dive
into to expose them to please?

Speaker 4 (06:57):
Yeah, absolutely, the burst the birth. Okay, So I had
been in this media space for quite some time.

Speaker 7 (07:05):
I had actually started doing some work immediately out of
college and media literacy. Didn't know what the name of
that was at the time. I just knew I wanted
to talk about media messaging what we consume, like really
become more critical with the type of music, the type of.

Speaker 4 (07:20):
Content that we're watching.

Speaker 7 (07:21):
And so I really kind of found my way, you know,
like that internal guide and being in the space when
I was working with youths because we're influenced and sometimes
we're not knowing is helping us unpack the content we're consuming.

Speaker 4 (07:33):
And really really think about how it's.

Speaker 7 (07:36):
Influencing our lives and how we engage and how we
think and our beliefs, our ideologies.

Speaker 4 (07:41):
But needles to say, been in this space for a
while with.

Speaker 7 (07:45):
Creating youth programming, but it wasn't until I went into
pursuing my PhD that I started doing research and I
wanted to hone in on black girls specifically, and of
course I started learning about a lot of the disparities
in schools because I got my PhD in curriculum and
instruction and with literacy, Black girls have the lowest literacy
proficiency rate in our country out of their gender peer group.

(08:07):
Black boys a number one. Yeah, so black boys is
number one, but out of the gender peer group black girls.
So black boys then black girls. If you're looking at
everyone but gender peer group, I situate out of all girls,
black girls have the lowest.

Speaker 4 (08:20):
Okay, black boys, I think eleven.

Speaker 7 (08:22):
Percent are passing their reading tests and nineteen percent of
black girls are passing their beatings.

Speaker 4 (08:28):
So then when you look at tech proficiency, same thing.

Speaker 7 (08:31):
Black boys number one, black girls number two, but out
of their gender peer group, they're the lowest. So you know,
I'm doing this work with media, and of course we
already knew there's issues with representation, you know, but then
you know, you dive deeper and you see only two
percent of Black women are the ones behind the camera, directors,
filmmakers in the industry.

Speaker 4 (08:50):
So it was to me it was a no brainer.
We gotta do something about this, and there's.

Speaker 7 (08:55):
A there's an opportunity here to really bridge the gap
between literacy in store because we have literacy rich lives
it might not be reflected in your eccentric curriculum that
we're seeing in schools, but we have stories and we
engage in literacyes in different ways than what they have
packaged and program for us to learn in school.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
I'm sorry, I gotta stop you. I gotta stop you.
Please please reiterate this.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
We engage in literacies definitely, man, Definitely. The reason why
I had to stop you there is because I need
people to hear this. There is a very specific way
in which we are told that our children must learn
and be literate.

Speaker 2 (09:34):
It is very eurocentric.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
It is not indicative of the multiple ways that we
are already proficient. That we're already proficient, right, So instead
of instead of letting us know that those things are
valid and validating those proficiencies, we put them into other
situations in which they are not proficient and then tell
them they are illiterate.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
So I'm very clear, I want to make sure.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
That this pH I ain't got no PhD.

Speaker 7 (10:01):
But had said, yes, there's a thing now called black
girl literacy, so I got to just even shot shot
that out the there's a field, a field called black
girl literacyes. The ways in which we know are the
ways in which we make meaning. Understanding the importance of
multimodal texts, like I have to have workshops with people
and say, you know, yeah, three year olds are reading.

(10:22):
When I see those McDonald archers, that's that's a symbol
that means something, that means McDonald's before. They're not a
spell it, it still is. There's different modes of text.
There's visual, there's oral, there's gestural. Our gestures is literacy.
So just understanding that there's different ways in which we
make meaning and we understand and we communicate.

Speaker 4 (10:43):
That's a part of Black girls literacies.

Speaker 7 (10:45):
Me using my hands right now when I do this,
that means something, right, So there's different different ways in
which we make meaning. And so I really became really
passionate about that, like, Okay, how do how can I
center Black girls literacies? Our stories that have been historically marginalized,
our stories that are not being captured by us. I

(11:05):
think it's really interesting. Even when we first pitch Black
Girls Film Camp for girls to come in and pitch
their stories, they want to tell a lot. I don't
want to tell stories about black boys. They main subject
in characters a black boy. I'm like, no, baby girl
we sent to black girls in this space. Your film
topic need to be about a black girl.

Speaker 1 (11:24):
One more thing, I want to make sure that people
didn't miss this, Okay, don't miss this part that when
black girls have an opportunity to tell a story. Oh listen,
I know what you're saying. We have an opportunity to
tell a story. Can you tell our stories about but
when our.

Speaker 2 (11:46):
When the brother Yeah, but why don't.

Speaker 5 (11:49):
We got that?

Speaker 6 (11:50):
We're gonna have to ask the black men in film
organization to see who they are about?

Speaker 1 (11:55):
Yeah, our honey, let's go back on all the films
that the brothers have made. All right, you're right, ma'am, well, ma'am, okay, anyway,
but I just I didn't want to interrupt.

Speaker 3 (12:07):
Let's go Typically, stories that are told by black men
about black women tend to be traumatizing.

Speaker 6 (12:16):
Yeah, I'm trying to find an exception, ladies cer traumatizing?

Speaker 5 (12:20):
Did Jamiica?

Speaker 6 (12:21):
No, no exceptions, there's no exceptions.

Speaker 4 (12:24):
It's tough. It's tough, have y'all.

Speaker 7 (12:26):
Are y'all familiar with with books like Real to Real?
What's My what's my lady name? She just passed away?
Black woman scholar wrote Real to Real. She dissected Spike
Lee's work.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
I remember, yes, yes, I've never read that. I've never
read Real Toil.

Speaker 4 (12:44):
She did a lot of work in that space.

Speaker 7 (12:45):
Even the films that are of the culture that have
been created by black men, that's.

Speaker 4 (12:51):
For the culture, for black culture, our classic mans.

Speaker 7 (12:53):
A lot of the ones that have been created, we're marginalized.

Speaker 4 (12:58):
It's usually centering trauma on our and stories.

Speaker 5 (13:04):
Some of us have just ignored it and like, well,
you know what if.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
We go with the classics we have, you know, so again,
I think probably what we're going to get to, the
good middle ground we'll get to, is where we can
understand that we can have something that we love and
critique it still and that that does not that does
not negate what it has been to us. And that's
the problems. Oftentimes we just cannot hold a multiple truth

(13:28):
like a thing can be, it can be problematic and
still be something that was was needed to be made
at the time. And I they don't age well you
know what I'm saying. So and it's fine, especially in
something like film like it's a it's it's it's it's
a new art form as as as you know, historically.

Speaker 4 (13:49):
You know, trauma films.

Speaker 5 (13:53):
I was just saying about the color purple.

Speaker 7 (13:58):
We reenact the films Outstill that's all the time I
speak color purple.

Speaker 6 (14:01):
And the women of brutes of place, I'm like, oh, that's.

Speaker 2 (14:03):
Really lord, you we speak color purple. That's a language.

Speaker 4 (14:11):
It is absolutely okay.

Speaker 1 (14:13):
I think I say I gotta go to school about
three times a week.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
I say that it's in the cooler on the shelf.

Speaker 3 (14:21):
Everything you see my phone honds on the coolers in
the cooler on the shelf.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
I do who shep who y'all? This is bad though,
this is bad. When I want to say something about
my husband.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
For the kids, I be like this, am I.

Speaker 8 (14:46):
More real talk after the break.

Speaker 1 (14:58):
So, Sierra, the thing is, you know, with you all
being focused on this and understanding the need and necessity
for it, it's like you're starting from a scratch. I
think a lot of times we see a need and
the many of us, especially in our community and particularly
black women, we're looking at these needs in our community
and we want to be involved and we want to
create something. But creating something from scratch, it just feels

(15:22):
like a big problem. You have this big need, right
and you have this desire to do something, So like,
what does the beginning of this look like? Is it
the two of y'all in the home office make a
phone call? I mean, what does this look like in
the beginning of it?

Speaker 2 (15:37):
Right?

Speaker 9 (15:38):
So when I came on, Jamiica actually started this in
her PhD program.

Speaker 4 (15:42):
She had a grant, so.

Speaker 7 (15:43):
It started off as project and so I came the
first year actually as a creative coach, and then I.

Speaker 9 (15:49):
Started gett a little bit more involved. I end up
being over like logistics and recruitment and stuff like that.

Speaker 4 (15:54):
I was rilling her in. She was she was. I
didn't know the setup was real, but it was a
good setup. So so I came in on the other
side of it.

Speaker 9 (16:02):
It's like one of the contracts that individuals and so
it was such an amazing and beautiful, you know experience.

Speaker 4 (16:08):
I'm a creative heart at heart.

Speaker 9 (16:10):
I have a background in finance, but I also do like,
you know, planning and event planning and stuff like that on.

Speaker 4 (16:15):
This, you know as well. So I was like, okay, cool.

Speaker 9 (16:19):
You know, normally you're not trying to support her other
you know, nonprofit. I am not the media, and you know,
I don't like to do.

Speaker 4 (16:24):
Anything half as excuse me.

Speaker 7 (16:27):
Or anything, and so I couldn't be fully committed as
I wanted to be.

Speaker 4 (16:32):
So when she came along, it just happened. The time.
It was just like perfect.

Speaker 9 (16:35):
So the first year when it was a pilot project,
it just kind of took off.

Speaker 4 (16:40):
We weren't ready for where it was going to go,
and it was like beautiful. It was so amazing. And
she was like year is this.

Speaker 5 (16:46):
I'm sorry, sah, what year is this?

Speaker 4 (16:48):
Twenty twenty one.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
One?

Speaker 7 (16:51):
Yeah, so in pandemic and pandemic and so so we
went through, you know, went through everything the time, and
everything laid out great.

Speaker 4 (16:58):
It was amazing.

Speaker 9 (16:59):
And so she was like, see, you know people are approaching
me saying they want to be on a board. You know,
we got an organization, you know, you want to turn
this into an organization.

Speaker 4 (17:06):
I was like, let's do it.

Speaker 9 (17:08):
Like we had no idea where the worlds would lead us,
where we would go.

Speaker 4 (17:13):
We was like, okay, forget it, you know, let's do it.
Do it. I was all in.

Speaker 9 (17:16):
You know, when your friend has an amazing vision and
something that you're also very passionate about, you I mean,
come on, jumping.

Speaker 4 (17:23):
We say, let's let's go.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
Girlfriend calls you on the phone and saying I want
to do.

Speaker 4 (17:30):
A podcast that you're You'd be like, yeah, great, like.

Speaker 2 (17:34):
Shaer, I ain't doing nothing.

Speaker 4 (17:35):
So that's that's how it started.

Speaker 9 (17:37):
Yep, we were we were literally at home because like
I said, we were still like the pandemic was still
very much here.

Speaker 4 (17:43):
We were at home.

Speaker 9 (17:44):
It started out that we went into that first year
as a national organization and it took off, and Jamiica
Knemy and she was like, you know what, see how
about you know, because you wanted to have some kind
of like in person, you know, components. So things started
to ease up a little bit, you know. And in
twenty twenty two and so she was like, let's go
to l A.

Speaker 7 (18:02):
I think we should take the girls l I was like, okay,
my nerves but hold on, oh wait, wait wait, oh
you know cause me I'm shut down COVID.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
She is you need the balance I need?

Speaker 4 (18:14):
Yeah, yeah, yeah we do.

Speaker 9 (18:15):
And my mind goes all to all the details that
is going into that. I said, give me a minute
the process and let me pray on it and we'll
come back. I was like, okay, okay, I thought about it.
I was like, Okay, what does it take to make
this happen?

Speaker 4 (18:25):
I was like, let's do it.

Speaker 9 (18:26):
So next thing, you know, we in La. Your two
were in La. We don't forty plus women across the nation.
We've partner with.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
USC, one of the biggest film the biggest film.

Speaker 9 (18:34):
School in the nation, and it's just kind of been
like history CANDUs, it was it.

Speaker 1 (18:40):
I want to take this opportunity to ask you guys,
so you guys can tell the listeners just the just
the kind of basic framework of the camp, because like
I think we're talking about the l A retreat, which
is amazing, but I want to talk about, like, you know,
how you guys set up the camp, what did entails,
how do you get the girls?

Speaker 2 (19:00):
What is the process? So just kind of runnings through
that part.

Speaker 4 (19:03):
Yeah, it's a lot, So it is right.

Speaker 7 (19:07):
Right, the quick version, I guess it's a twelve week camp.
Were actually gonna extended to sixteen weeks next year the
tweaking things.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
So it's a twelve week program. It's hybrid.

Speaker 7 (19:20):
Okay, we do a call where we announced applications are open.
We only take ten girls nationally, Okay, so only ten
that's because the investment is over ten g's plus per girl,
so it's only ten girls.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
We take. It's very intimate, it's very all. We we
eat it with you. How many okay?

Speaker 7 (19:41):
So literally over two hundred plus girls applied after last year,
after year two, we had close to one thousand girls
on the waiting list on so we actually had to
be strategic about the application process where we take it
down to only being open twelve weeks in now video
pitch submission.

Speaker 4 (19:58):
So we thought that that weed some things out.

Speaker 7 (20:01):
Whoever, whatever, girls are hungry, they gonna get it done right.
And so we still got over two hundred applications, so
we had.

Speaker 4 (20:10):
To go through those two hundred.

Speaker 7 (20:11):
We didn't break it down to about forty girls we
interview and then after out of those forty girls, we
selected ten.

Speaker 4 (20:18):
Across the nation that get brought on further for the cohort.

Speaker 7 (20:21):
But each girl gets a contracted creative coach, so we
bring in black women creatives that are doing work in
creative spaces and film production projects that serve as the
each girl's creative coach. We then also interview black women
editors across the country too, and we.

Speaker 4 (20:38):
Select ten black women editors.

Speaker 7 (20:40):
A lot of these women that are coming in this
is an experience for them too. A lot of them
have never been in LA A lot of them come
here and say this is a this is a healing
space for them. They're healing through working with these girls
on their project. So it's Turntons is so much that
we didn't realize so quickly. So far, so far, we
have a multi generational environment.

Speaker 4 (21:06):
Help me, MOSTI generations generation, you understand I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
So you're having people who are currently working in that industry,
but then but but not necessarily at the top of it,
but people who are who are also burging you know
what I'm saying, who are older but in itt and
they're getting contracted to work with these young girls. So
they are creating a team. So they are working together.

(21:31):
So this is this is meeting soul.

Speaker 7 (21:36):
They're working together to support this black girl's vision. So
they're being contracted to invest in what she has in
her brain to help make it come to light and manifested.

Speaker 6 (21:47):
Yeah, and within these ten girls, are they all have
different interests in the film world or are they all
writers or they want to be directors?

Speaker 5 (21:53):
Like, what's the difference So the.

Speaker 7 (21:55):
Main premise of this program is you come in in
your interests in writing and directing, but you may also
be interested. But that's the core of what we're doing,
the storytelling aspect and bringing a black girl's story to screen.

Speaker 4 (22:09):
But in the camp, this is enough. It keeps getting better.
I ain't gonna lie. Keep getting better. I wish I
was in the camp, right.

Speaker 7 (22:14):
So we have amazing black women that also service their advisor.
So we have granted those women that come in they
have an advisor over there. So we have a post advisor,
post production advisor, and a production advisor, post our post
production advisor.

Speaker 4 (22:27):
She has an OSCAR.

Speaker 2 (22:28):
I love it.

Speaker 7 (22:29):
And you know, she was on everything everywhere, all at once,
and you know, like all of these amazing you know,
she's first black woman editor in the NBA, and so
she's our post production and then we have a production advisor.

Speaker 4 (22:41):
These are women that are in in the industry that
come in.

Speaker 6 (22:44):
Literally, as you were talking, I was like, I was
sitting here thinking, I'm about to volunteer my girlfriend who's
an AFI graduate that's been working on the administrative side,
because I think a lot of times people don't understand
the way budgets and things like that come together too.

Speaker 5 (22:55):
So she does all that stuff for like a lot
of major shows.

Speaker 4 (22:58):
I was just like, bring it out.

Speaker 5 (23:00):
Okay, I got it, I got it.

Speaker 7 (23:02):
So they're getting mentored, those black women creators are getting
mentored by industry because they're that's their supervisor for the
work that they're doing with the girls.

Speaker 4 (23:10):
So that's how that works.

Speaker 1 (23:11):
And so what we're doing is a very real trajectory.
A lot of times in creative spaces, there is not
a space where people can have like like I said,
there's not it's not trajectory driven where it's like, Okay,
I'm gonna give you this one experience. And even in
sports like I have my kids were in sports, Okay, yeah,

(23:33):
you go and you do au or you do da
da da da da. But it's just like sometimes you
need that consistent mentorship so people can so that young
people can actually see what their life could be like.

Speaker 6 (23:45):
And a holistic idea of this industry and what they're doing.
Because that's why I wanted to make sure that while
writers and directors, but they still know how things get made,
you know what I mean, like how what what where
writers are in the big scheme of things and yeah, yeah,
we're saying writers a lot and is making me nervous saying.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
Y'all, I know, but please, y'all, I want you to
speak on what happens during the camp sessions.

Speaker 2 (24:09):
Yes, because these are serious.

Speaker 4 (24:12):
Yeah. So we have a slate of women speakers that
come in.

Speaker 7 (24:16):
I mean, these girls have heard from Gina Prince byfe Wood,
she came in, y'all were talking about earlier.

Speaker 4 (24:20):
They have women that are in the.

Speaker 7 (24:22):
Industry like Connie Orlando, who's over you know, with BT
and they're coming in and they're doing workshops with them.
I mean, I think we had over fifty black women
in the industry, Like, these are showrunners. These are the
writers on these TV shows that were watching. We we
had we just had what's my girl Name?

Speaker 4 (24:42):
Yesterday r.

Speaker 7 (24:46):
Karen Parson's old Hillary. She all she writes now the
old school Hillary. And we had the showrunner.

Speaker 1 (24:52):
For bel Air, yes, for the original Hilary Hillary.

Speaker 4 (25:00):
And we had the showrunner now for bel Air the show.

Speaker 5 (25:04):
Yeah, the showrunner Belair is a black woman.

Speaker 4 (25:07):
Yes, absolutely, so yeah, real.

Speaker 6 (25:09):
Quick, real quick, because people hear that. Civilians hear the
words showrunner, they know it's a big deal. They think
about Shonda Rhimes, that's.

Speaker 5 (25:15):
A black woman. Literally, do y'all.

Speaker 6 (25:17):
I'm sure y'all have some small numbers about how many
black women are showrunners in this business.

Speaker 4 (25:22):
Yeah, once again, the numbers are extremely low.

Speaker 7 (25:25):
I mean behind the scenes you're literally talking about under
five percent. But I will tell you a lot of
black women there's more opportunities with them to get in
into the TV industry than in the film with getting
onto shows, whether that's writers, showrunner, you know, directing. That's
why a lot of the black women directors you're now
seeing these opportunities open up with like thea Tasha Smith

(25:48):
and the.

Speaker 4 (25:49):
Teary a lot of the TV with the streaming and.

Speaker 7 (25:56):
The TV shows, but films like they'll come in and
they'll tell you it's I also want.

Speaker 1 (26:00):
To point out the fact that we do have an
executive producer on this call. We want we have we
have a a an executive producer of a television show
on this podcast.

Speaker 4 (26:10):
All right, Yes, oh shit.

Speaker 2 (26:15):
Wants to mention.

Speaker 5 (26:16):
That that's an executive producer.

Speaker 6 (26:18):
And however, the show runner thing is that's a whole
it can't which narrows it down.

Speaker 3 (26:25):
Yes, there are a lot of jobs in television and film. Okay,
first off, and for for anybody who's listening that isn't
aware but interested, there's a lot of jobs that are
really really important because it does take a village to
create a show. If the makeup artists don't show up,

(26:46):
you're screwed. If the camera people don't show.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
Up, you're screwed. If lighting doesn't show up, you're screwed.

Speaker 3 (26:53):
So there's there's a lot of textures that that are
really important. I personally think besides the direct that the
showrunner is honestly one of the is the most important
job because if you're someone or if your kid maybe
has a little OCD, you know that's beneficial quite frankly

(27:13):
in that position. Someone who is like serious about organization
and understanding where pieces.

Speaker 2 (27:19):
Go at all times.

Speaker 3 (27:21):
You have a career in film, my darling. You know
so many other things, but particularly in that because when
the showrunner is bad, or isn't organized, or doesn't seem
to communicate well with others, you got a whole seventeen
hour problem a day on your hands, and those days

(27:44):
can be exceptionally brutal. They don't have to be if
you know what you're doing.

Speaker 6 (27:49):
What's the sister that's a showrunner for all the power
series because I know she. I can only imagine Courtney Camp,
good God, Courtney Camp the things and just for all
those powers properties, like I said, and they're not I know,
they're not a lot of Courtney Camps. So I'm like
when I when we know them, I know, we got
to say their names when it comes to like.

Speaker 1 (28:08):
I want to mention this thing, g that the amount
of growth for this program in just two three years
now two.

Speaker 4 (28:15):
Years is an organization as an organization years the camp.

Speaker 2 (28:19):
Actually right, you know too.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
I mean it's just phenomenal, you know, And I'm very.

Speaker 2 (28:30):
Glad you say that it's scary.

Speaker 1 (28:32):
What are some of the things that you all are
very serious about making sure stays the same with all
the change and all of the opportunity and all of
this growth.

Speaker 2 (28:46):
What are what is this? What is like.

Speaker 1 (28:47):
The Black Girl film Camp, like mantra, the thing that
you will always keep as as a central goal.

Speaker 7 (28:54):
Absolutely, I feel like I've been talking a lot, so
you want to take this one.

Speaker 4 (28:57):
We definitely want to keep it very intimate.

Speaker 7 (29:00):
And the thing that is very important to us is
I know you spoke earlier about having to pay for
all the different camps and stuff like that this camp
is completely free.

Speaker 4 (29:08):
I don't think we said that this camp is completely
free to all of the girls that are that are
a kid, and so that is something we do not
want to lose.

Speaker 9 (29:18):
We don't want to take that away because I think
that's something else that makes us very unique.

Speaker 4 (29:22):
Because when you think about and you talk about all
the great.

Speaker 9 (29:24):
Things and experiences and all the opportunities and just every
everything about this organization, you know, people would think like
how much it comes.

Speaker 4 (29:32):
You know, it costs the girls nothing.

Speaker 9 (29:35):
When we say that we're creating this space for them,
that this was created for them.

Speaker 4 (29:41):
It was for them.

Speaker 9 (29:42):
We don't want them to They don't have to come
out of the pocket for anything.

Speaker 4 (29:46):
Everything.

Speaker 9 (29:47):
All of these opportunities are just building the relationships. I
think that is key is that we maintain a free
program for the girls.

Speaker 4 (29:54):
And that's why we like to keep it intimate and
then keeping on because it could be a headache.

Speaker 9 (29:59):
You know a lot of a lot of women together,
a lot of black women together and stuff. But I
think keeping on, like thinking about the big picture of
the community and the relationships that we're going to be
growing that are going to go on and on and on,
and one day you're gonna look up and you're gonna
see all these pockets of black women that's popping up
and taking over.

Speaker 4 (30:17):
You be like, what happened? Like where did they come from?

Speaker 9 (30:21):
Black girls know that's where they came from. Because we
just we just we want to keep that. We want
to continue to have all of this amazingness, all this
black magic come together every year and build the system,
this network and let these girls know that it is possible,
like because you know, Jill, you spoke to it earlier.
There are so many different jobs. There's so many different

(30:41):
career possibilities and.

Speaker 4 (30:42):
Found that we just do not know about.

Speaker 9 (30:45):
And that's the other beautiful thing I love about the
Organization's although we focus on the storytelling and the directing,
we bring in women from every single part of the industry.
So those girls who do want to be an editor,
they have exposure to that. Those who want to be
into in set design and costomy, they know that that's
in avenue. Like I mean, even I'm learning stuff about myself,
like oh, I absolutely could go into There's a lot

(31:06):
of women that have been like Connie Orlando. I feel
like I am Connie. We have the exact same story
in life. I was just like, man, is that that's me?

Speaker 2 (31:14):
That's that's all that.

Speaker 7 (31:15):
Was messaging there when Connie was speaking talking about she
got her degree in finance, and she's said, this is.

Speaker 4 (31:20):
You, So who would have known? Like you know, who
would have done.

Speaker 9 (31:24):
But it's so many different avenue, so many places where
you can you can find your niche.

Speaker 4 (31:28):
And I just think it's beautiful.

Speaker 7 (31:30):
So I think those are a couple of key things
that we that will not change. It's the intimacy of
it and being free to.

Speaker 9 (31:36):
The girls and just creating this community and having our
contract to editors and creative coaches and just continuing to
build that with the.

Speaker 4 (31:43):
With the organization. So I mean, drik, I know you've
got some other things, but that's my I mean, no,
you summed it up.

Speaker 7 (31:49):
I mean, I know Isaja was mentioning earlier about AAU
and I was like, we always say that is the analogy.
We like, this is about to be the a you
for black girls in Field were grooming you in early.

Speaker 10 (32:04):
We're gonna take a quick break and then we'll be right.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
Back, y'all.

Speaker 1 (32:17):
Are already doing so much more even you know what
I'm saying, Then then then it's done. And I mean
because like I said, I've done a AU and football
and trackt you know what I'm saying. But also too,
I want to say this too, and specifically for those
who are listening who do philanthropic work or do programs

(32:40):
for young people something as a parent that's super important
to me from EDGIC from an educational standpoint, which I
saw you all impossible. That's because you have a background
of education that I saw you all address its outcomes.
I think I love outcomes, data, feedback.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
So much of what we do in community lacks this.

Speaker 5 (33:08):
What do you mean when you say outcomes ages?

Speaker 1 (33:11):
So just paying attention to what happens to the girls
after they leave the program and also investing in their
lives after they.

Speaker 2 (33:20):
Leave the program.

Speaker 1 (33:21):
There's commitments that prior cohorts have to have to come
back and volunteer. They come back and they serve in
mentorship spaces for the other girls who are coming up
behind them. So there's a lot. So there's that part.
There's also feedback and data from parents and from participants
about how to improve the program, about what their experiences

(33:44):
have been. And so I think to start out in
this place is so important, you know what I mean
in a world where we privatize education and there's no
oversight and there's so much about all these different ways
that we can educate young people, but people just get
tons of grant money, that get tons of private funding,
and no one pays attention if these ideas are even working.

Speaker 5 (34:07):
Some kids of.

Speaker 1 (34:07):
Things sounds good and it's like, yeah, that sounds so great,
that's fabulous, but then it's like it doesn't actually meet
anybody's needs, and it's like and you don't know.

Speaker 2 (34:18):
Unless you engage.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
And one of the things I'm saying, like I said,
and I give kudos to you all for doing this,
but I want people to listen because I know there
are people listening to this podcast are like, Yeah, I
have this program that I want to pitch, or I
have this thing that I want to do, or I'm
currently doing a program. I want you to really hone
in on outcomes and feedback and grows. Yes, y'all talk

(34:43):
about outcomes and feedback.

Speaker 6 (34:44):
I'm kind of curious for this last class because I'm
in Los Angeles right now and it feels like the
world is on a tilt from what's going on with
the writer's strike. And I think a lot of people
don't understand that while the writer strike is happening, all
the jobs in the middle are being impacted. I mean,
I'm hearing from friends they getting fired this week, next week,
that week. So how do y'all continue the motivation in

(35:06):
this special time? And I'm asking too for myself, I'm like,
what do you foresee?

Speaker 5 (35:11):
Is this this impact on the industry?

Speaker 7 (35:16):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 6 (35:16):
Like where we're going from here? Because it doesn't seem
like it's getting I get it.

Speaker 7 (35:23):
So many things are going through my head right now.
One the smoke and mirrors. We deal with that. So
we have worked with so many trying to partner with
so many organizations, and like this whole like just outward
facing illusion of what something is and it really isn't

(35:43):
It has been like we went into that so much,
and so anything that we got going on, we're not
putting it out unless it is really happening, Like this
is what we're doing, this is what has happened, This
has been committed.

Speaker 4 (35:56):
We're not promising nothing unless it's you know, committed.

Speaker 7 (36:00):
So we we really pide ourselves on being authentic and
what we deliver, what we promise, and what we create.

Speaker 4 (36:07):
What we're creating in this space.

Speaker 7 (36:09):
I think for me honestly is when when we talk
about the industry and what's happening, what I've learned is
that this project, in this program is more than just
about the industry, if that you know what I mean.
So one of our speakers we had come in, I
think Christine Swanson, she's a director, and Christine was talking

(36:33):
about just creatives, like when you're a creative, there's just
this natural being inside of you that you need to create.
It's not even about the money, like we will invest
our all in a project because it needs to be birthed,
like it's just it's it's just in our in our existence.
When you're creative to produce something and it means everything.

(36:53):
It's fuel just to have people believing and putting in
and supporting that, it's just it's almost like a part
of just breathing air, like you just have to create it.
And I think that beyond the industry stuff, there just
needs to be a space for black girls to create
authentically and to feel valid, validated, to feel value to

(37:15):
feel like their stories and they just need to be
heard exactly space to cry. I mean, there need so
much crime going on and it can't just need a
space like that. It's the girls and a dot women.

Speaker 4 (37:31):
It's just but they.

Speaker 6 (37:32):
Also want to make a career out of it too
as well, right they do.

Speaker 7 (37:35):
But I think when you're when you're working with creators,
it's not the same kind of situation as somebody that's
just trying to get a job in corporate America.

Speaker 5 (37:46):
But I'm on this.

Speaker 6 (37:47):
I'm saying it because I'm in the hustle, because I
am a creator my life, and I see that things
are changing in a sense in that way of like
opportunities and you're going to have to be even more
creative about the opportunity, not just the idea.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
Yes, And you know what interesting too that you know
obviously there's so many not so many, but you know
the emergence of you know, content creation as a kind
of media to be a creative in. And then of
course you know you have people who are editing, lighting, shooting,
you know, tiktoks.

Speaker 5 (38:18):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (38:19):
Yeah, so I think there's a very huh nothing.

Speaker 5 (38:22):
I just said, but not right now. This ship is
shut the fuck down.

Speaker 4 (38:27):
This is a big deal. This is his story.

Speaker 5 (38:29):
So I'm just I'm literally like, how do you encourage people?
I get it, we would need to get our creativity out.
We just need to be able to say it.

Speaker 6 (38:36):
But after we do that and we realize we also
want to make money because we want to be able
to do this for a living so we don't have
to have a regular job, how do we encourage the
youth that it's gonna be all right, you're gonna.

Speaker 7 (38:47):
Be up collab, collaboration, building our own, building our own
I'm sorry, y'all said, were good building our own ship
and say, yeah, they're to create, create our own opportunities.

Speaker 4 (38:57):
And that's why platforms that have been.

Speaker 7 (38:59):
Designed us to be independent creators are also revenue makers,
you know what I mean? And so and sometimes that's
that's where the cross worlds are in life, when you
are were I go there, go through the publishing right
where somebody and I'm only getting a percentage? Or do
I go independently and make my money? And so and
if you go independently, you can do more if we

(39:20):
come together.

Speaker 4 (39:21):
As a course.

Speaker 7 (39:21):
So I think that this is kind of leveraging us
in an opportunity way to think outside of the box
of just kind of situating ourselves to work for someone
or for our created creativity to be like received, like
keys accept my work.

Speaker 4 (39:35):
You know, Yes, I bring my team.

Speaker 7 (39:38):
I built a team and we're gonna build and we're
gonna put this ship out here because we know it's great.

Speaker 4 (39:43):
You know what I'm saying, and it's gonna be received.

Speaker 2 (39:45):
It's a good time, you know what.

Speaker 1 (39:47):
A girlfriend of mine sent me a sent me a
video of KICKI Palmer, who who I just I don't know.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
She's she's a fave.

Speaker 1 (39:56):
Okay, So I was watching talking about advice to young
black women creators and she has said something very similar
in the sense of that she said, you know, never
be afraid to create at every single level where you are,
no matter even if it's a small thing.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
She was just like, and it reminds me also too.

Speaker 1 (40:17):
I've been on lots of panels and people say, well, oh,
advice you give young artists. And it's interesting because I
told my own child this. I said, Look, community is everything.
People think it's about who's above you, who's going to
give you the opportunity, and it's almost never the person
above you. It's always the person too you're left and
your right. Who's your biggest resource. It's your homegirl, your

(40:38):
friend who does this, or this person you met at
this thing or that thing, and kind of pulling together community.
And it's like, yes, people who are further ahead than
you may have wisdom for you, and they may actually
open up a door for you, But who helps you
to execute is the strength of the community that you have.
And that's kind of what Kiki Palmer was saying, was that, look,

(40:58):
your biggest resources, who can help you to make it
happen at the level where you are and that and
I feel like for us and particularly with black women,
this is a thing we have always understood. This is
something that we always have known. This is also a
practice that we've always done. And even though they threatened

(41:19):
to take away certain things in spaces and those spaces
get threatened, we're always at the bottom of those spaces anyway, and.

Speaker 2 (41:28):
So we're already Yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:30):
That's that's that's you know. It started off like a
you know, something free for the internet, you know, yeah,
but the consistency of it, ooh, consistency you know, creating
something and being intentional about it, like on a regular basis.

(41:52):
I know, the AGA and myself, you know, we definitely
did those those thirty two dollars gigs, you know, because
we wanted to Yes, you know, because we wanted to perform.
You know, sometimes you won't make any money, you know,
sometimes it'll just be enough to put in your gas
tank or to buy your transpass to get where you're going.

(42:14):
But you know, if it's something that you really want
to do, you find your ways, you continue to do it.

Speaker 2 (42:20):
You don't give up.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
And you know that ad position on television shows and films,
that person that goes and gets your coffee or brings
you your breakfast. You're in the space. It's not a
glamorous job. You're going to be there before everybody is,
you're going to leave after everybody leaves. But at the
entire time you have the opportunity to see how things work,

(42:44):
how you like it, how you don't, what you'll do
that's similar to what they're doing, and what you will not.
It's actually really beneficial to get on that lot or
to stand outside that video and watch how things are done.

Speaker 1 (43:01):
If this is what you want to do, and for
your directors or writers or actors.

Speaker 2 (43:06):
Sometimes you have to reinvent yourself in the middle too.

Speaker 1 (43:08):
Sometimes you get where you're going and you're you have
an established career, very much like a lot of these
writers that are on strike right now, you get to
a space where you where you want to be and
you're forced.

Speaker 2 (43:20):
To reinvent yourself. You're forced to.

Speaker 1 (43:22):
Re enter into a space and recreate something new. And
you can't be afraid then either. Because that was one
thing that Keikeith Palmer was talking about, was like she
can keep Palmer ch how she's been working since you
five years old.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
But she was like, you know, I ain't had nothing
to do. I ain't had no jobs.

Speaker 1 (43:41):
So I started creating content on my Instagram page and
these little skits turn into a Facebook watch series, and
that series turned into a daytime Emmy, and that daytime
Emmy turned into an opportunity to be on daytime television
as a host. And these were none of these gigs
did she have prior to that time that she had

(44:01):
where she was just sitting there doing skits on her
Instagram page.

Speaker 2 (44:05):
So I think those things applied.

Speaker 6 (44:07):
That formula changes now though it's a small part of
that formula that changes. That means that now you consistently
make that content for yourself. At that part where she
got on the Today's Show, when she's a part of
the three, I think that where we're going to that
part is ending what doctor Jamika said, it's really about
building on independence, because that's what I'm trying to get
people to understand. I'm saying, there's a part of this
Hollywood story that is changing now. Hollywood is no longer

(44:31):
the place to go work in a big time studio,
work on big films, and those days are over, Like
this is a huge change with streaming services HBO not
doing like Game of Thrones type big projects anymore. So
I'm with you, doctor Jimmy, because I'm trying to be
positive about it, and you're right, it's definite opportunity for
us to create. It's just now these young people have
to think double time, Like not only do you have

(44:53):
to think about your creativity and your project that you
want to create, but how to get that out to
the people and then how to pay your people? Like
this is an interesting different business. Well right, all right,
but the music business was the slums. The music business
used to be the slums for the entertainment business now
and the TV's like but what I'm saying is the

(45:13):
TV and the film business used to be like the
big man in the sky, like why and that ship
is changing.

Speaker 5 (45:19):
And that's an interesting part.

Speaker 4 (45:21):
I will say.

Speaker 9 (45:21):
Listening to the women who are in the industry as
they come to just being in a conversation with them,
it's tough, like there's nowhere around, like it's not trying
pretty pretty it up.

Speaker 4 (45:31):
It is what this shit is wrong.

Speaker 9 (45:33):
Okay, it's hard right now, but there is is very
necessary and that's the thing, and it's not stopping any
of them from creating. We had a panel of writers
in there yesterday and they were talking about their schedules, like, oh, yeah,
we go out there, we march in the morning, and
then I start writing at at nine, you know, nine
ten o'clock, because it's I'm not stopping my craft.

Speaker 7 (45:53):
But this is necessary. It's worth the battle. It's worth
the fight. It's gonna get worse before it gets better.

Speaker 6 (45:59):
I mean, they just say they should acknowledge that this man,
this may last for months and this is not gonna
be as w as it was started.

Speaker 5 (46:06):
Because like, right now, we're writing and creating, and our
house has been in a month or two.

Speaker 6 (46:09):
We're going to have to figure out how we're eating
exactly exactly.

Speaker 4 (46:13):
And so they're they're acknowledging it.

Speaker 9 (46:15):
So it's owning it, being real with it, and just saying, Okay,
let's not kind of you sugarcoat anything.

Speaker 4 (46:21):
But we got to keep pushing for like what you're
gonna do?

Speaker 3 (46:25):
No, man, there used to be this this I mean
but it still is. This song that we sang when
we were kids and it was like, what can you do?

Speaker 2 (46:34):
Punchingella? Punch Andlla? What can you do? Punch and now?
And shoot, I could do it too, punching.

Speaker 3 (46:42):
So basically somebody would get in the middle and do
something and the next person will be like, I could
do it too, Punchanella, punchingell, And then it's it's I
really feel, and I believe this wholeheartedly that the more
you can do, the better off you will be to
have multiple places that you feel that that that suit you.

Speaker 2 (47:09):
You know, so.

Speaker 3 (47:11):
In like theater, apprenticeships and fellowships, you you you iron
the clothes, the cast closes the costumes.

Speaker 2 (47:19):
You you hang lights, you build sets.

Speaker 3 (47:21):
You they don't pay you a lot, but you know
you can survive off of it.

Speaker 2 (47:27):
And I really feel like the.

Speaker 3 (47:28):
More you know about the total thing, the better off
you really are. So maybe right now you know you
were doing really well as a writer. Now you've got
to find something else to do or something else to write.
Maybe you don't eat as much as you would or
as great as you did before. But budget is exceptionally important,

(47:52):
and consider getting a job too outside of that.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
And it's it's because it is what it is is.

Speaker 3 (48:00):
You know, some people are like, oh, I have I
only have an a plan.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
A I'm not one of those people. I have a plan.
I've gotten up to them at this point.

Speaker 5 (48:11):
If you in the music business, it ain't no choice.

Speaker 3 (48:14):
If you're in the film industry, yeah, you know, if
you want to go back to the back, back, get back,
you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (48:22):
I was just looking at a clip of Sammie Davis Junior.
This this this dude that went played the drums and
then played the xylophones and then did a dance, dance,
did a sang three songs, did a.

Speaker 6 (48:35):
Backflip hotel for somebody.

Speaker 4 (48:41):
So seriously, that's what we're like.

Speaker 7 (48:43):
People don't even realize when it comes to Black Girls
Film Camp, how many had me and Sierra even where
right now? Like people always ask like who's doing your
graphics and your me and touch any romo videos? That's
meant right there.

Speaker 4 (49:04):
Program.

Speaker 1 (49:05):
First of all, let me say something that the graphics
is popping and I love the colorway, the pink and
the blue and disgorgeous.

Speaker 2 (49:12):
We love it.

Speaker 4 (49:13):
You love to see it. We're doing it all, thank you.
See wearing a bunch of hats on the back end.
She's doing all the numbers, the budgets.

Speaker 6 (49:20):
One hundred thousand dollars a year ain't no short raising
one hundred thousand dollars a year is not a show.

Speaker 4 (49:26):
That's well, you know what.

Speaker 1 (49:32):
I know that's not a short answer. But Sierra, please
just give gift. Give the folks listen, just like a couple,
like just a couple of little gems about that kind
of thing. Because in order you can have all ideas
in the world, but you got.

Speaker 2 (49:46):
To fund it.

Speaker 4 (49:47):
Yes, yes, the numbers. We can get the money in
here and I manages it. Okay. We got to make
sure everything is covered. We have to.

Speaker 9 (49:55):
We're last and on the list for everything. We make
sure these girls are taking care of. We make sure
that there is a camp. Everything else comes the place
after that. But that takes a lot.

Speaker 4 (50:05):
Of a lot of time.

Speaker 9 (50:06):
And part of that is like not outsourcing for an
accountant because you know, Sierra's a religistics and operations and
finances and.

Speaker 4 (50:14):
I'm the HR department, Like you gotta know, I'm gonna
plug it out. I'm gona think it out because we
need that Tenji's over here, you know.

Speaker 7 (50:20):
And so it's just making those calls, making those decisions,
making sure that everything just makes sense, making sure we're
spending the money in the right places.

Speaker 4 (50:27):
But again, it's starting with the core.

Speaker 9 (50:29):
What are the absolute needs, make sure the camp is
taking care of them, make sure we have a camp,
and then you know, we go from there and we
can we can you know.

Speaker 4 (50:36):
Push and move and tramm if that means that.

Speaker 9 (50:38):
You know, we have a team of like at least
five black women that come in and they help us
on their coordinators and they help us on.

Speaker 4 (50:44):
With some of you know, take some of the load off.

Speaker 9 (50:46):
But you know a lot of times it's like, well
we can't put that over here this year in the budget.

Speaker 7 (50:51):
So like I'm just gonna I'm gonna just pour it.
You know, I'm gonna just take that on. I'll just
add that to me.

Speaker 9 (50:56):
And it's but it's okay because like you know, then
you know, when you see everything come together and once
it all in folds, it's just so it's worth it
for me in the end, you know, I don't need
that much sleepy y you.

Speaker 5 (51:07):
Know, woman, you sound like a black woman over there,
but that's me.

Speaker 4 (51:12):
That's me.

Speaker 7 (51:13):
But that's the thing though, when you're operating in your purpose,
like even with the writer's strikes, one thing that was
consistent about it is like even if they're not getting paid,
if the industry isn't hiring them, they're like, I'm gonna
write anyway like that, that's just that's my purpose.

Speaker 4 (51:28):
That that's what I'm here for.

Speaker 7 (51:29):
I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna write, I'm gonna create.

Speaker 4 (51:33):
Like it's gonna happen whether it's getting funded or not.

Speaker 7 (51:35):
So when the money and the opportunity you do come
and the position as an alignment I got, I know.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
Here you go.

Speaker 4 (51:43):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 7 (51:44):
So it's gonna happen regardless. This is this is what
you are here to do you designed for a purpose.

Speaker 4 (51:51):
And so we won't be here always.

Speaker 9 (51:52):
I know we're gonna have you know, people knocking our
door down, you know, and we will have you know,
some more help and stuff on the back end. But
right now we're good, like I'm having I'm doing what
I enjoy, I'm doing what I love. And we had
a call yesterday, we had to have a lasting to
call with a production one of the production teams, and
it was like, okay, hr department. I was like, yes,
I have and don't let us have to have this

(52:13):
conversation again.

Speaker 4 (52:14):
Okay to not deal with it. Okay, we don't need.

Speaker 10 (52:20):
More conversation after the break.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
I think having something accessible for our young girls is
just all the things. You know. My daughter saw information
about your camp last year and by the time she
saw it, the deadline had already passed and she was
really bummed. But she started to follow the information on

(52:55):
the camp and when the application opened up this year,
she was like, I'm not going to miss it. And
I didn't know anything about it. I didn't know anything
about it. This is Lana, right, This is Lana. Lana
has been on the podcast. By the way, yes, listen
to the podcast, people who listen to podcasts.

Speaker 4 (53:20):
And what was her video?

Speaker 6 (53:23):
Because because y'all said that the video is the pitch,
so what did Lana do?

Speaker 2 (53:28):
We're not going.

Speaker 3 (53:30):
Can't no, wait wait wait are you saying that that
a video has to be created in order to become
a part of the camp and a pitch video video?

Speaker 4 (53:43):
Okay?

Speaker 7 (53:43):
When they just talk about their film for one minute,
it's a woman at pitch Okay.

Speaker 3 (53:50):
I tell you.

Speaker 1 (53:50):
I'll tell you after we talked about the camp. We're
not talking about I just wanted to tell us one
little part about it, part of the camp. So I
didn't know anything about this, mind you. This is all
something that she followed that she was purposeful about. She
wanted to do it, and she filled out the application,
didn't even tell us until after it was done and

(54:10):
it was submitted, and she said, okay, I did this thing,
and I want y'all to wish me love because I
hope that I get to do this because this is amazing.
And she said, remember I told you about it last
year and I missed it and she did mention it
to me, but I didn't know. You know, I can
mentioned a lot of things mentioned to me, so she says.
So when I realized what it was.

Speaker 2 (54:33):
I was like, oh, I really hope she makes this.

Speaker 1 (54:36):
And so when she got accepted, it was like pandemonium
in my mind interview.

Speaker 4 (54:44):
Oh my god, she's amazing. Like, let's just go and
put it out there. Lana, is it okay?

Speaker 2 (54:50):
That is?

Speaker 5 (54:53):
I'm gonna need to text Allana.

Speaker 4 (54:55):
I can't.

Speaker 5 (54:55):
I got questions.

Speaker 2 (54:56):
Well, Lana's film in a nutshell.

Speaker 1 (55:00):
In a nutshell, Lana's film is well started out as
a take on the Breakfast Club, and she wanted to
do a take on the breakfast club that was all
black girls. But then it also she wanted to kind
of she started. I said, you know what, when she
started talking to me about it, I said, you know,
it just reminded me of twelve Angry Men. And I
said it all takes place in that same room thing.

Speaker 2 (55:22):
And I said, oh yeah, and she said, I know,
I don't call it.

Speaker 4 (55:27):
Call it.

Speaker 1 (55:28):
And so her film is called four Angry Black Girls,
I mean five.

Speaker 2 (55:32):
Sorry five.

Speaker 4 (55:35):
She said.

Speaker 5 (55:40):
That also sounds like a play.

Speaker 2 (55:42):
It could be.

Speaker 1 (55:43):
But the thing is that I was just again, she
has been very adamant about doing this herself.

Speaker 2 (55:49):
She's very independent.

Speaker 1 (55:51):
She is extremely grateful for this opportunity.

Speaker 7 (55:56):
Like her level of maturity to go on another level,
like you know, we hauled.

Speaker 4 (56:03):
The girls accountable and we pulled it, you know. You know,
so sometimes a couple of weeks ago.

Speaker 3 (56:08):
We had yeah.

Speaker 7 (56:12):
Lina, just yes, and her response because you know, we
give them a schedule. These girls, them and their parents,
they sign agreement because there's so much money being invested
in them. So they have like a memorandum of understanding
that they got to sign because they're getting free technology
beats to a sponsor.

Speaker 4 (56:27):
They are getting like repairs of beat headphones.

Speaker 7 (56:30):
Like they nice flooded with thousands of dollars of supplies resources,
and they're playing for flights. They're flying to LA We're
flying them to Charlotte for their premiere. So it's like,
you know, there's this commitment. Sessions are required, Saturday sessions
are required.

Speaker 4 (56:45):
You got to be on Zoom for three It's a
three hour commitment.

Speaker 7 (56:49):
So there they're having to decide now shoot time to
shoot their films and some of them trying to get
one of them Saturdays off. You signed your agreement, right,
Solna was working some things out.

Speaker 4 (56:59):
We knew she was having we knew it, but other
girls were reaching out to us.

Speaker 7 (57:02):
She's not the same issues, but still and we were like,
we got to be consistent across the board.

Speaker 4 (57:07):
We're weaklings. We say a weekly.

Speaker 1 (57:13):
See no stop it. I want y'all to stop stop
stop stop it. No listen, I've and one hundred percent
that is that is exactly that it has to be
across the board. Lana had disaster after disaster, which I
as a mother it hurt me. But as a creative

(57:33):
I said, My husband and I both said to each other,
this is going to be so good for her.

Speaker 2 (57:39):
To have gone through all of the challenges. This child
had been in tears.

Speaker 1 (57:43):
She hadn't been in my lap, she didn't making phone
calls going through all of these different challenges. And so
if so, by the time it got to like the
fourth thing, I said, look y'all, listen this, y'all the
my child about to break down over here, she'd have
changed the ship. Like photos. These people don't dropped out
on the child. Now y'all talk about she got to

(58:04):
be on camp on Saturday, and that's the only day
that she can shoot this dad on Phil And now
I was like, and so we kind of you know,
we're trying to work it out, and Lana basically said no.

Speaker 2 (58:15):
I said what I was. I committed to this.

Speaker 1 (58:17):
I said I was going to be there on Saturday
and being on there on Saturday, and we're gonna fix it.

Speaker 2 (58:21):
We're gonna work it out.

Speaker 1 (58:22):
And in that moment, I was so proud of my
child because she has been clear from the moment this started.
I am going to do one hundred percent my best
based on what is in front of me.

Speaker 2 (58:35):
I'm going to show up. I'm going to do all
that is required.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
So I was so again, thank you guys for giving
her this opportunity.

Speaker 2 (58:43):
But the bigger thank you is just thank you.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
For being in these girls' lives period, for creating this thing,
for giving life to this because as like from as
a parent, as a creative, it has opened me up,
like how can I be there for young girls when
they're trying to be vocalists or performance like it has

(59:07):
opened up a.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
Thing in my mind. So, yeah, I tell you this.

Speaker 7 (59:12):
Some of these girls, I'm not even gonna hold some
of these girls are more professional than some of the adult women.

Speaker 4 (59:16):
And let's just be where we had not one problem
with any team director we went to l A. Okay,
we took these girls now on problem but as we
have many adults, we had to tap on the show.
How many does you said? Let me just make this
real quick. I mean, not one problem with these girls.
When I tell you, they show up and give them

(59:39):
the best selves.

Speaker 7 (59:40):
Oh my gosh, Like we have been so so floored,
so impressed, Like for real, I'm about to look.

Speaker 6 (59:46):
You got a new organization. You need to be a
part of Jesus. And that's right, okay.

Speaker 3 (59:59):
In l Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and throw Stacey
Muhammad in the mix too.

Speaker 7 (01:00:09):
Speak listens already started building up for next year, like
a lot of black women in the industry have already
reached out.

Speaker 2 (01:00:14):
Yeah, and from Black Star First Film Festival.

Speaker 1 (01:00:23):
Yes, yeah, we are family.

Speaker 3 (01:00:29):
There is a dream, or even the idea of a dream.
If there is a hope, if there is intention and
and dedication to something that you want to do, the
opportunities really are there. Maybe not a lot, maybe not
a lot at this moment, but there are some, and

(01:00:49):
you have to really believe in yourself and go out
and look for these things.

Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
You may have to take a job that.

Speaker 3 (01:00:54):
You feel is beneath you. You may have to do that.
Most people that really advance grow from the mud. Thank
you so much for listening to J dot l thepodcast.
Thank you so much, ladies. We're so proud of you.
Is a wonderful thing that you're doing for the spirit

(01:01:17):
of these young girls and exciting them and letting them
know that these things.

Speaker 2 (01:01:21):
Are absolutely possible. Bless y'all. Bless you, bless y'all, Thank you,
thank you.

Speaker 5 (01:01:29):
How do you eat an elephant?

Speaker 8 (01:01:31):
One by time?

Speaker 11 (01:01:35):
Hey, listeners, is Amber the producer here. If there are
any aspiring black girl filmmakers in your community.

Speaker 10 (01:01:43):
Keep listening.

Speaker 11 (01:01:44):
To learn more about the camp and how to apply,
visit www dot Blackgirlsfilm caamp dot com. Applications for the
next year's cohort open in the fall. You can also
watch all of the past cohorts films on the website
as well. And a little update since the award ceremony
has happened, Lana's film won Best Costume and the Red

(01:02:08):
Carpet Award.

Speaker 4 (01:02:09):
We are forever proud.

Speaker 11 (01:02:10):
Of her and we'll forever stand Lana on this show.
We're also never surprised by her accomplishments. For more of
Lana the Great. Check out our episode from earlier this season,
Young John, and I'll drop all the links for Black
Girl Film Camp in the show notes.

Speaker 1 (01:02:31):
Yeah yeah, yeah.

Speaker 8 (01:02:39):
Hi.

Speaker 3 (01:02:40):
If you have comments on something he said in this
episode called eight six six, Hey Jill, if you want
to add to this conversation, that's eight six six four.

Speaker 5 (01:02:50):
Three nine five four five five.

Speaker 3 (01:02:52):
Don't forget to tell us your name and the episode
you're referring to. You might just hear your message on
a future episode.

Speaker 11 (01:03:00):
Thank you for listening to Jill Scott Presents Jay dot ilthpodcast.

Speaker 3 (01:03:08):
Jay dot il is a production of iHeartRadio. For more
podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
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