We Are Our Vision
We see a world where storytelling and media-making is accessible as a means to achieve our collective goal - living and loving in harmony, sustainable growth and transformation. We can create the worlds we can imagine. Let's tell more expansive stories.
MISSION: Make Growth & Transformation the norm for the best in the business.
PRACTICE: Filmmaking as growth practice, as spiritual/energy practice.
Towards this end Black Feminist Film School exists to increase access to the multi-discinplinary art forms involved in filmmaking and mediamaking for BIPOC, LGBTQIA people. Why? Because Black Feminist Film School (bffs) exists to grow access to film production among those underrepresented in filmmaking and to amplify Black women’s and Black feminist filmmaking traditions and legacies. Why? At the end of our why, Black Feminist Film School draws from Black Feminist legacies to engage filmmaking as a tool for freedom and expanded awareness - liberation, transcendence, the ultimate unity. Join us as we practice together!
Join our May Intensive
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Contribute skills, time, money and or materials (one time or ongoing).
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THE PHASES OF FILMMAKING & THE ROLES IN FILMMAKING
The major purpose of this site is to invite you who have a sense of what we are doing to experience the Black Feminist Film School approach to filmmaking through our interactive practice space, challenges, online classes and workshops. For those that do not already have a sense of our approach, we intend this space to introduce you to Black feminist filmmaking.
In this practice space our multiple perspectives and levels of experience/eldership are a benefit to us all. From introductory content to advanced content we explore the 5 primary areas of filmmaking:
1) Development (Scriptwriting),
2) Pre-Production,
3) Production,
4) Post-Production and
5) Distribution (Screening, Streaming, Publishing).
We also practce virtual production intensives where we do a production entirely within Black feminist context (in our remote locations).
ARCHIVED BLOG
If you want to engage our origin stories visit our archived blog at blackfeministfilmschool.wordpress.com .
PURPOSE
More Expansive Stories
We use media to tell more expansive stories.
MISSION
Normalize Growth & Trans*formation
We make Growth & Transformation the norm for the best in the business. We make Black feminist and BIPOC Trans* leadership the norm.
OUR APPROACH to th PHASES of FILMMAKING
(Memberships with perks + challengesin the Works for Ongoing Collective Practice)
DEVELOPMENT
In this phase of the filmmaking process we have an idea or draft of a script and intend to develop it into an excellent script that can be made into a film. This comprehensive immersion into the bffs methodology deepens practice.
PRE-PRODUCTION
We use the script as a roadmap to collectively journey into storytelling. The introduction AND deep dive for those interested in engaging the Black Feminist Film School methodology for film Pre-production is crucial ceremony prep.
PRODUCTION
In Production the team uses the script and production plan to (re)create the story world and record the scenes of the film. This content is useful but no replacement for being on location. We make films in every class. Start here. Join us on set.
POST-PRODUCTION
In post-production the team transforms the footage and audio into a cohesive story. Here, through introductory and more in-depth study we share tools for (re)constructing story, crafting characters and action dynamically …finessing all of the audio & video elements that come together to make a complete community accountable film.
SOUND & SCORE
The Sound Design and Score represent the sonic and vibrational world of the film which must be considered from the beginning to the end of the filmmaking process. Though this is not one of the five main stages, it is such a complex area that we feature it prominently. In addition to aural meaning making, we explore music licensing & composition.
DISTRIBUTION & SCREENING
In this phase we share the film. Not every film is for the festivals and the big theaters. Some of our creative work is medicine for us or a particular community. We introduce standard and non-traditional methods of distribution and hosting screenings, plus how to leverage your particular level of experience to make more work.
Want to support this approach?
Contribute time, money, materials and more (one time or ongoing).
More on Resource Raising HereRCWMS, EIN 59-1766535
Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the NC State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 919-807-2214 or 888-830-4989 for NC Residents. The license is not an endorsement by the state.
Join our May Intensive
Night One:
Character Development as Ancestral Remembrance
Film is a visual storytelling medium and at BFFS we approach it as visionaries. Whether you are a screenwriter or just working to envision a liberated future, this writing exercise brings tangibility and energy to our (given or chosen) ancestral relationships. It brings creative structure to what may currently only be a film or story idea. Bring an open heart or a character you have in mind and we will flesh out their motivation and resilience together.
Night Two:
After Toni Cade Bambara: Education of a (Community Accountable) Storyteller
In celebration of the new TCB School of Organizing Film and Toni Cade Bambara's legacy as a Black Feminist Filmmaker, this workshop dives deep into one of BFFS's sacred texts "Education of a Storyteller" by Toni Cade Bambara. Come to this workshop ready to write, revise, rethink and play with other community accountable storytellers.
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