Last week, the Black Women Film Network (BWFN) hosted its annual Black Women Film Summit, featuring the popular “Untold Stories Awards Luncheon” where actress/singer Tisha Campbell-Martin (ABC’s “Dr. Ken”), actress/singer Naturi Naughton(“POWER”), ESSENCE editor-at-large Mikki Taylor and film director and producer Fran Burst were honored at the Intercontinental Buckhead.
TV and radio personality Ebony Steele (“Coffee with America”) hosted the affair with music provided by DJ Salah Ananse. Scholarships were awarded to aspiring filmmakers Anita Salley and Martha Carswell. Additional luncheon attendees included comedian/writer Myra J, actress Charmin Lee and media personality Spirit.
The Summit that day also included the “Reel Sista Talk” and “Marketing Your Film to Hollywood” panel discussions featuring Haj Chenzira Pinnock, Mikki Taylor, Shante Bacon and Saptosa Foster.
On Saturday, the Summit hosted a number of seminars and panels including a Kids Acting Workshop, a Comedy Class led by Myra J, a “Screenwriting 101” workshop and “The YBF: Young, Black & Filming” panel.
Additionally, authors James E. Chandler, Sr., Amber Saunders, Saunya M. Williams, Ph.D, and BWFN founder Sheryl Gripper showcased their titles at the Book Festival, while various black women filmmakers from around the country debuted their film shorts during the competitive Film Festival. At the end of the day, the winning films were announced:
Best of Festival
Masquerade
Meleisha Edwards, Writer/Producer
Best of Festival (Student Category)
Suga Water
Nakia Stephens, Writer/Producer
Audience Participation Award
Ms. Glo
Angela Edmond, Writer/Director
Special thanks to sponsors BET, VH1, Final Draft and the Georgia Production Partnership.
For more info, visitwww.blackwomenfilmsummit.org. Follow the Summit on Twitter at @BWFN and Instagram at @blackwomenfilm and use hashtag #BWFN2016.