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Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab

A photo on set of the 2022 BlackStar Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab. It shows the cast in the middle of scene, a young boy is holding a guitar. The director kneels beside him, presumably providing direction. There is a crew member in the foreground with a camera.

A year-long fellowship with BlackStar for Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmakers in Philadelphia.

BlackStar is proud to present the 2025 Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab, an opportunity designed to uplift emerging and mid-career artists in the Greater Philadelphia area. BlackStar’s Filmmaker Lab will support four projects by Black, Brown and Indigenous filmmakers with mentorship, funding and critical feedback over the course of a year-long program. BlackStar will provide $50,000 in production funds and act as an executive producer on each short film created during the Lab. Lab films will later premiere at the BlackStar Film Festival in 2025.

Selected directors will receive mentorship throughout the fellowship including feedback on works-in-progress, advice on working with crew and career guidance from a working director. The fellowship supports short narrative, experimental or hybrid projects.

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The Voyager, Walé Oyéjidé

As an epidemic of Possessions sweeps an Italian town, an immigrant woman who speaks with the dead must choose between finding comfort among the living, or chasing a past lost at sea.

Walé Oyéjidé is a Nigerian-American filmmaker and designer who dispels bias with beauty. His narrative feature debut “BRAVO, BURKINA!” premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. His documentary “AFTER MIGRATION: CALABRIA” streamed on Criterion Channel. His fashion designs appeared prominently in Marvel’s “BLACK PANTHER” and have been exhibited in museums around the globe. He employs fashion design as a vehicle to celebrate the perspectives of marginalized populations. Oyéjidé is a Fellow of: Sundance Feature Film, TED, Open Society Foundations, Google Image Equity. He is also a National Geographic Explorer.

La Sirenita, Kristal Sotomayor

Marisol, a stunning Trans Latina mermaid, lounges in solitude on her golden, pearl-encrusted perch until one fateful day when a greedy conquistador invades her world, revealing the harsh realities of colonial brutality and environmental destruction.

Kristal Sotomayor is a Peruvian American acclaimed director, producer, journalist and curator based in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Named one of “10 Latinx Filmmakers You Should Know About” by HipLatina, they have received distinctions such as the 2023 DOC NYC Documentary New Leader Honor and Rockwood Documentary Leadership Fellowship (formerly known as the JustFilms Fellowship). Kristal’s short Latinx immigrant rights documentary “Expanding Sanctuary” has screened across the country including at BlackStar Film Festival and St. Louis International Film Festival. Their short experimental documentary “Don’t Cry For Me All You Drag Queens” has screened across the globe including at DocLands Film Festival and GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival in Dublin, Ireland. They are in-development on a number of short and feature-length directorial projects through their company Sotomayor Productions. They are producing the feature documentaries “Untitled Celina Project” directed by Ruolin Luyo and “Untitled Immigrant Mothers Documentary” directed by Gabriela Watson-Burket. Kristal’s work has been supported by the Outfest Creative Hope Fellowship, If/Then & CIFF North Shorts Residency, MDOCS Storytellers’ Institute Visiting Fellowship, DCTV Docu Work-In-Progress Lab, and NeXtDoc Fellowship. They have curated acclaimed programming across the country at SFFILM, Frameline, True/False Film Fest, and the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival. They are the Editor-in-Chief of the cinéSPEAK Journal and serve as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.

Adamstown, Andrew Bilindabagabo

In a small factory town, a series of murders trigger a manhunt for a mysterious recent immigrant.

Andrew Bilindabagabo is a Rwandan-born filmmaker and educator. He is the co-founder of INGOMA Films. His work aims to make the specific global and the global specific, using art to highlight the worthy and uplift the marginalized. Andrew graduated from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, and has taught filmmaking at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and Lancaster Bible College. He has directed and produced narrative, commercial, and documentary films around the world. His work has appeared in Time, Forbes, ABC, New Times, and more.

African|American, Chisom Raphael-Chieke

As cultures clash and insufferable parents meddle, a first generation Nigerian American and her Black southerner fiancee must decide between being true to themselves or trying to live up to their families expectation…a risk to their happily ever after.

Chisom Chieke is a Nigerian-American multimedia artist and second-generation storyteller with a lifelong passion for narrative. She writes, directs, and produces works that examine the past, present, and future of radical love, acceptance, and growth across diasporic communities.She is a 2nd Rounder for Sundance’s TV Development Track, Official Selection for the United We Heal Film Festival, OMWAN’EKHUI Film Program, and Stowe Story Labs. Chisom is a member/alumna of the SuperSpecial TRIBE Writers’ Program.

Click here to read more about the 2025 Lab Fellows.

The BlackStar Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab is presented with lead support from Black Experience on Xfinity. Additional support is provided by Independence Public Media Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation.

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A still from Tonight, We Eat Flowers. It shows the bodies of two people standing behind a vase of flowers. The woman is reaching in to grab one.

Tonight, We Eat Flowers (2022)

Dir. by Bettina Escauriza

A still from The Love Machine shows a young Black girl laying down. There is a soft red glow on her face.

The Love Machine (2022)

Dir. by Jasmine Lynea

A black-and-white still from Big Three shows a group of three Black singers a recording studio.

Big Three (2022)

Dir. by Julian Turner

A still from Ourika! shows a young Black girl laying in a bed. Her hair is long and flowing across the mattress.

Ourika! (2022)

Dir. by Xenia Matthews

A still from The Freedom to Fall Apart shows two Black men in a mansion-like setting. They are dressed in suits. One is wearing a white mask. The other, who is not wearing one, is looking up a staircase with a curious expression.

The Freedom to Fall Apart (2023)

Dir. by David Gaines Prod. by Elizah Turner

A still from All That's Left shows a Black woman dressed in a soft purple silk gown and a wine glass sitting on some kind of display.

All That's Left (2023)

Dir. by Simone Holland Prod. by Stephanie Malson

A still from An Endoscopy shows a close-up of a man with an old film camera filming the profile of a woman.

An Endoscopy (2023)

Dir. by Zardosht Afshari Prod. by Aaron Brokenbough Jr.

Eligibility

Candidates must live in the Greater Philadelphia area (this includes the following counties: Burlington County, Gloucester County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Camden County, and Montgomery County)

The Lab is not open to students currently pursuing an art or film degree, organizations, or corporations.

Candidates should identify as Black, Brown, Indigenous or as a Person of Color (BIPOC).

The Lab is open to adults at least 18 years of age.

Applicants must be available for Orientation Weekend, currently set for September 21-22, 2024.

FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions? FAQs Questions?

How will I be notified about acceptance? Will I be notified if I’m not accepted?

All applicants will be notified via email no later than July 1, 2024.
We will use the contact info you provide in your application to correspond with you. Please make sure [email protected] is cleared in your spam filter!

When and where does this take place?

The Philadelphia Filmmaker Lab will take place over the course of 12 months, beginning in fall 2024. Selected fellows will receive further details about the format closer to the start of the Lab.

Is there a cost associated with the application?

No, there is no application fee for the Lab.

I don’t live in the Philadelphia area. Can I still apply?

Eligible candidates must live in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Can I submit multiple projects?

No, you may only submit one project to the Lab.

Do I need to have a producer attached to the project in order to apply to the Lab?

No, but it is recommended that you have a producer attached to your project. We can provide support with the search of a producer, but we will not find a producer for your project.

If I am not selected for the Lab, can I receive feedback on my submission?

Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions and capacity of our staff, we are not able to offer feedback on individual applications.

Can my project go into production before attending the Lab?

Unfortunately, no. We consider the timing of your fellowship to be a crucial component for selection. The Lab is designed, in part, to bring your project from script to screen.