Tribeca 2021: The Queen Collective Short Films | On Day 9 of the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, actor-performer Queen Latifah and her Flavor Unit Productions brought The Queen Collective to the festival for the 3rd year. In an afternoon screening at Hudson River Park, Procter & Gamble in partnership with Tribeca Studios, presented a collection of 4 short film documentaries about Black life as part of the Widen the Screen initiative. Widen the Screen aims to even the playing field for Black female creatives. It is a content creation, talent development, and partnership platform that celebrates creativity behind the screen in an effort to portray a more realistic and dimensional view of Black life on screen.
The initiative provides much needed financial and professional support to the chosen filmmakers. They are given support from Tribeca and Flavor Unit Productions with crew and equipment, as well as advice, and expertise.
All of the filmmakers, however, expressed that the emotional support and constant reassurance they received from Tribeca and Flavor Unit mentors was far more valuable than any dollar amount they could have ever received. They all felt as if they left this experience knowing that, “They’ve Got This” and were fully prepared to kick ass as career filmmakers.
The 4 next generation and up-and-coming Black woman directors were selected by Queen Latifah (who was unable to attend this year’s festival in person) and awarded by representatives of P&G and Tribeca Studios. They were chosen because of their directorial talent as well as the diverse subject matter they chose to highlight.
Congratulations to the 4 Queen Collective films chosen this year! See list and film images below:
Game Changer, directed and produced by WNBA basketball player Tina Charles and produced by Veronique Bernard. The documentary follows Tanya DePass, a lifelong Chicagoan and avid African-American video gamer, who is tired of not being respected or recognized as a serious gamer simply because she is a woman of color. She is determined to make the gaming industry more inclusive for everyone, including people like herself.
Change the Name, directed and produced by Cai Thomas and produced by Donald Conley. Led by their fearless teacher who is hell-bent on teaching her students what it means to stand up for what you believe is right, the documentary chronicles student activists from Chicago’s Village Leadership Academy as they campaign tirelessly to change the name of a nearby park in their North Lawndale neighborhood. Douglas Park is named after a slaveholder. The students would like the park renamed Douglass Park (with two S’s) after abolitionist Frederick Douglass and his wife, abolitionist, Anna Murray Douglass.
Black Birth, directed by Haimy Assefa, and produced by Dominque Turner. With the knowledge that Black women are 2 to 6 times more likely to die from complications of pregnancy than white women, three black expectant mothers, including the director, chronicle their experiences while navigating the joys, fears, realities and complexities of Black pregnancy and motherhood in America.
A Song of Grace, directed by Arielle Knight, produced by Jamil McGinnis and Jessica Ann Peavy. A Song of Grace tells a poetic story of a black mother raising a talented young artist. As a small child, the first time Grace was placed in front of a piano, she played it masterfully without any training. Now at 11 years old, Grace is an exceptional young pianist. She is a child prodigy. Believing in her daughter’s talent, her mother is preparing Grace for a life as an award winning pianist, even if it means she must sacrifice.
The Queen Collective series of short films premiered on BETHer on June 19. Catch it On Demand or on Hulu.
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