Tribeca Talks Ep. 1: Cut To Black – A Challenge To the Film Industry

Tribeca has launched the limited series Tribeca Talks @ Home: Race and the Industry, hosted by Loren Hammonds.

The first episode, “Cut to Black: A Challenge to the Establishment” was filmed with Warrington Hudlin (Vice Chairman, Museum of the Moving Image) & Phillip Youmans (Director, Burning Cane).

The episode begins with panelist origin stories, Warrington kicking it off with what brought him from Yale to his first feature film House Party (1990). He offers profound insight, as early on one of the main challenges was knowing that people wanted to see black films, but distributors weren’t interested in the projects.

“In the history of black resistance, there’s two lines,” said Hudlin. “There’s the protest line, and the self-reliance line. I’m personally drawn to self-reliance.” This led him to create a black distribution cooperative.

Philip Youmans’s first project Burning Cane (2019) was conceived while he was still in high school at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. The head of the Media Arts department there encouraged Youman to make the film into a feature. It went on to win the Founders Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival, making him the youngest director to have ever received it.

These moderated discussions provide a first-hand perspective of what it’s like to navigate Hollywood as black filmmakers. It’s a masterclass for creatives offering valuable insight as to why certain obstacles are in place, and how one can empower themselves to be seen and heard.  — Koku Tona

Watch episode one below!