By Indiewire | Indiewire Fri Mar 15 17:49:36 EDT 2013
Congratulations to Justin Simien, whose "Dear White People" has been designated the first-ever Indiewire Project of the Year!
He and another member of his filmmaking team will be heading to the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival to participate in the Filmmaker/Industry Meetings hosted by the Tribeca Film Institute.
In case you forgot, here's the pitch that helped "Dear White People" snag the prize:
Remember when Black movies didn't neccesarily star a dude in a fat suit and a wig? Or have major plot twists timed to Gospel numbers for no apparent reason?
The humble producers of DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, a satire about being a black face in a white place, long to bring those days back.
The film follows four black students at a predominately white Ivy League where a popular "African American themed" party takes place. Through their unique perspectives the film tackles race identity in "post-racial" America while weaving a universal story of forging one's unique path in the world.
To read more about the project, click here.
Typically only open to Tribeca Film Institute grantees, the Filmmaker/Industry meetings are a great place for filmmakers to be linked with sales agents, co-producers, and mentors. Here's the official description of the event:
Every year during the Tribeca Film Festival, TFI holds their Filmmaker/Industry Meetings for their newly-minted grantees. As a networking forum, the Filmmaker/Industry Meetings encourage the discovery of new projects by introducing industry participants to a carefully curated group of narrative and documentary filmmakers (as well as content creators) participating in TFI programs, including: Tribeca All Access, the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund, the TFI Documentary Fund, the TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund and the TFI New Media Fund. Over 150 people participated in the Filmmaker/Industry Meetings in 2012, and many grantees came out of the two-day event having secured broadcast deals, outreach partners and/or development deals.
