
Back to All News
Film Independent and Netflix Put Black Directors in the SpotlightLisa Hasko
Director of Artist Development, Film Independent
Rachel Samuels
Manager, Netflix Film Club
Play Video
Play Video
Social Impact
22 February 2021
United States
Last year, Netflix Film Club launched as a YouTube channel offering behind-the-scenes videos, celebrity interviews and more, for cinephiles new and old. As the channel's community grew, so did its ambition to highlight underrepresented voices.
So we're excited about a new partnership between Film Independent and the Netflix Film Club. Together we were able to develop a program to fund short films from five promising independent Black filmmakers that are premiering on Netflix Film Club.
This grew out of the partnership Netflix and Film Independent have had for years. Through it, Film Independent introduced Netflix to Project Involve, which supports filmmakers from diverse backgrounds through mentorships, workshops, short film creation, and networking events. In July of 2020, 45 nominated fellows from Film Independent's Artist Development Labs and Project Involve program were invited to submit pitches for the Netflix Film Club under the banner of Vision 2020. Our goal was to inspire and empower filmmakers to tell their stories amidst a pandemic and social unrest. Five were selected to make their shorts, each receiving a $10,000 grant.
After months of writing, directing and editing, the films begin rolling out today, starting with Black Prom by Nijla Mu'min - with a new short premiering every day this week. All five will be available to watch on both Netflix Film Club and Strong Black Lead to help mark Black History Month. Among them: a biopic about Black aviatrix Bessie Coleman, a documentary on a mother's journey with her son getting Covid in prison, a horror story about a family's move to the suburbs, a drama following a Black teenager's unconventional prom night, and a documentary hybrid examining the complicated relationship between artist and muse.
We invite you to check them all out and discuss these with your fellow film fans.
Find out more on the five filmmakers below and click here for stills from the five shorts.
Sheldon Candis ( Queen Bess )
Baltimore native Sheldon Candis is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Candis' feature directorial debut LUV was an official selection in the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Competition. Candis directed the feature length documentary Baltimore Boys for the ESPN Films banner, and Who Will Survive America for the Sundance Now Doc Club original series Take 5: Justice in America. Recently, Candis wrapped production on When the Lights are the Brightest, the next chapter of the video game series NBA 2K.
Jarrett Lee Conaway ( My Brother Jesus )
Jarrett Lee Conaway holds an MFA in Film Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. His feature directing debut, the teen comedy Mono, was released on Netflix in 2016. Conaway directed the horror comedy web series Bite Me, which earned three Streamy Award nominations and was viewed over 35 million times.
Ellie Foumbi ( Home )
Originally from Cameroon, Ellie Foumbi holds an MFA from Columbia University's School of the Arts in Directing. Foumbi made her TV directorial debut on BET's Tales. She was a finalist of the 2019/2020 Venice Biennale Cinema College with her first feature, Our Father, the Devil, which will be presented at the 78th Venice International Film Festival and will participate in IFP's 2020 project Forum.
Nijla Mu'min ( Black Prom )
Nijla Mumin is an Easy Bay Area native and a 2013 graduate of CalArts MFA Film Directing and Creative Writing programs. Her debut feature film, Jinn, won the Special Jury Recognition Award for Screenwriting at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival. She has directed episodes of Queen Sugar and Insecure, and recently wrote for the upcoming series Swagger. She is currently developing her second feature film, Mosswood Park.
Frederick Thornton ( Injustice System )
Frederick Thornton is a Spirit Award nominated and Gotham Award-winning Black filmmaker. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Thornton is a graduate of Chapman University, where he completed a BA in Psychology. His latest produced feature, Go Back To China, premiered at SXSW in 2019. He is currently in pre-production on his narrative directorial debut short film, October Mourning.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
18/09/2025
L3Harris's advanced large solid rocket motor eSR-73 is hot fire tested at the company's Camden, Arkansas site....
18/09/2025
August, the last month of the summer vacation, brought stability to the amount of time spent in front of the TV screen. The data shows that Polish viewers watch...
18/09/2025
WASHINGTON The controversy over ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel, continues to heat up, with FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez blasting ABCs decision to ...
18/09/2025
FOR-A America named Jo Aun as Senior Manager of Product Management and Engineering, reporting directly to Satoshi Kanemura, President and COO. In this new posit...
18/09/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals and an IDC Innovator 2025 for Media & Entertainment*, toda...
18/09/2025
ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in video content discovery and persaonalization, today announced that Dish TV India, the leading content distribution company,...
18/09/2025
DirecTV continues to expand its women's sports offerings by adding Sports Fanatics' and Whoopi Goldberg's Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) All Wo...
18/09/2025
WASHINGTON NextGen TV viewers are beginning to see what high dynamic range (HDR) brings to their football enjoyment with the launch of the sport's fall seas...
18/09/2025
WASHINGTON After issuing audit letters seeking Equal Employment Opportunity data from a randomly selected group of TV and radio stations in August, the Federal ...
18/09/2025
NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery and Nielsen have signed a new, long-term, multi-year deal that covers measurement for all Warner Bros. Discovery platforms acros...
18/09/2025
NEW YORK As part of its ongoing efforts to develop better measurement solutions, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) announced the launch of t...
18/09/2025
IRVING, Texas Following threats from the Federal Communications Commission and the announcement that the nations largest station group, Nexstar Media Group, wou...
18/09/2025
Individual phones could be tracked back to specific residential addresses
Sm...
18/09/2025
GeForce NOW is packing a monstrous punch this week. Dying Light: The Beast, the latest adrenaline fueled chapter in Techland's parkour meets survival horror...
18/09/2025
September 18 2025, 04:20 (PDT) Dolby Atmos arrives in Maruti Suzuki Victoris, e...
17/09/2025
Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 2 - Manufacturers Offer Extensive Online Learni...
17/09/2025
Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - A1 Shortage Remains a Major-League Challeng...
17/09/2025
It was the ultimate convergence of pop culture and literary prestige: Last night, Dua Lipa brought her Service95 Book Club podcast to the stage for a special li...
17/09/2025
During August, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico showed an increase of 0.4% compared to the previous month, accounting for 25% of TV viewing.
Discl...
17/09/2025
CYPRESS, Calif. FOR-A America has named Jo Aun as senior manager of product engineering, a new role responsible for guiding the planning, development and rollou...
17/09/2025
PlayBox Neo, in partnership with CIS Group, a leading provider of media and broadcast technology solutions, has successfully deployed PlayBox Neo's Dual Cha...
17/09/2025
In a relationship that mirrors societal advances in sustainability, Brightline Lighting and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Headquarters have en...
17/09/2025
Clear-Com is proud to support the world-class productions of Alley Theatre, one of the oldest and largest nonprofit resident theatres in the United States. With...
17/09/2025
Arch Platform Technologies (www.archpt.io), a pioneer in automated, scalable cloud infrastructure for high-performance workflows, today announced a Strategic Co...
17/09/2025
Over 300 selected decision-makers from start-ups, corporates, and VC funds worldwide will gather for the third edition of the event, united by a single goal: to...
17/09/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, is excited to announce that its flagship Vantage platform and its next-generation AI capabilities re...
17/09/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions that profitably connect the right content to the right audience, proudly announces its three Best of Show...
17/09/2025
In a move to further establish a firm foothold across South East Asia, PlayBox Neo, the well-respected name in broadcast playout and channel branding, has appoi...
17/09/2025
Wisycom, a global leader in advanced wireless audio solutions, announced two major wireless solutions at IBC 2025 (Stand 8.D30). This includes the Portable RF-o...
17/09/2025
Six Berklee Alumni Win Emmy Awards The recipients were recognized for their contributions to acclaimed programs Severance, The Studio, The Penguin, SNL50: The...
17/09/2025
Applications Open for Berklee in Santo Domingo The weeklong contemporary music program will run January 5-10, 2026.
By
Colette Greenstein
September 17, 2025
...
17/09/2025
Ukrainian Students Find Creative Consonance' at Berklee Valencia Through ELIA's UAx Platform, six students from Kyiv joined Berklee Valencia for a week...
17/09/2025
Earlier this year Avid announced Kenna Hilburn as its new senior vice president of product. Recently Hilburn was promoted to Avids new Chief Product Officer, su...
17/09/2025
Transatlantic collaboration combines experience and agility to drive innovation in network design and delivery
Luxembourg, September 16, 2025 - SES, a leading ...
17/09/2025
NEW YORK Madhive has announced that the Fox Television Stations have joined its Live Sports Marketplace....
17/09/2025
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Sony Electronics has announced that it is partnering with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University to provide state-of-the-art equipment, hands...
17/09/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has announced that the first smart projector using its Roku TV operating system, the Aurzen Roku TV Smart Projector D1R Cube, is now avail...
17/09/2025
LinkedIn Updates Terms of Service Published on Sep 17, 2025 Categories: Company News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook
T...
17/09/2025
Today's creators are equal parts entertainer, producer and gamer, juggling game commentary, scene changes, replay clips, chat moderation and technical troub...
17/09/2025
Wednesday 17 September 2025
UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...
17/09/2025
Jo Returns to FOR-A as Senior Manager of Product Management and Engineering...
17/09/2025
For the Moon Safari anniversary tour, AIR opened the doors to their backstage. Just a few hours before the Paris concert, DPA met with two key figures of the te...
17/09/2025
Auditions will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway
The County Parade returns f...
16/09/2025
SVG All-Stars: Leigh Michaud, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe UConn grad rose from ESPN's mailroom to become one of its most valuable ops leadersBy Bran...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Friday's Latest From Halls 1-4, Outdoor Exhibits in Amst...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Saturday's Latest From Halls 5-7 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Friday, September 12, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Sunday's Latest From Halls 8-10 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Saturday, September 13, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and...
16/09/2025
Live From IBC 2025: Monday's Latest From Halls 11-14 in Amsterdam By SVG Staff
Sunday, September 14, 2025 - 17:00
Print This Story
The SVG Europe and ...