THE 3RD ANNUAL

BFS AWARDS

TUESDAY, NOV 12th, 2024 - 7 To 10 PM

AT THE MANHATTAN NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK IN NYC | 509 W. 38th STreet

We warmly invite you to a night celebrating Black filmmakers and industry professionals whose work continues to broaden and enrich our cultural landscape.

SPIRITS BY 1953 TEQUILA | Lite Bites | CreATIVE COCKTAIL ATTIRE

This special evening is an essential fundraiser for Black Film Space which significantly impacts our mission to provide programs and opportunities for the creatives of today and tomorrow. Your participation directly supports our programs, which provide affordable workshops, mentorship opportunities, grants, and other resources that empower Black filmmakers to thrive in an industry where they are often underrepresented. Join us for an unforgettable night of recognition and community, and help us continue to create pathways for Black creatives in film and media.

As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Black Film Space depends on the generosity of our members, local institutions, corporate supporters, and partnerships to maintain and grow our diverse range of programs. Your support is crucial for our mission to reimagine leadership, employment and entrepreneurship in visual storytelling. Black Film Space is dedicated to enhancing the careers of Black filmmakers through skill enhancing and community building programming.

View previous BFS Award winners here.

HONOREES

DARCY HEUSEL | Trailblazer award

Darcy Heusel is NEON's Senior Vice President of Audience Engagement and Impact. NEON, has quickly risen to success, since launching in 2017 by defying industry expectations and pushing boundaries in the realm of independent cinema.
NEON's commitment to artistic excellence and its ability to push boundaries within the film industry has been recognized with a remarkable 32 Academy Award® nominations, including for critically acclaimed titles such as Parasite, Anatomy of a Fall, Triangle of Sadness, Worst Person In the World, Flee, Spencer, I, Tonya, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Honeyland, The Quiet Girl and many more.
Over the past decade, Darcy has played a pivotal role in bridging the gap between film distribution and audience engagement for independent films.

AYANA BARAKA | Visionary Award

Ayana Baraka is an Emmy-winning Black female Producer and Director of Photography based in New York. She is a voting member for the TV Academy and holds membership in both the IATSE Local 600 and IBEW as a Director of Photography. She is one of only six Black female DPs in the Local 600.
With films premiering in back-to-back years at the Tribeca Film Festival, Ayana most recently served as the DP of ESPN’s docuseries, IN THE ARENA: SERENA WILLIAMS, which chronicles the career and life of Serena Williams. The series premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. Ayana was also the DP of UNCHARTED, a vérité music documentary spotlighting Alicia Keys' “She Is the Music'' camp, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
Ayana also DP’d BEHIND THE CURTAIN: ECLIPSED, starring Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira, which documented the ‘herstoric’ Broadway production of “Eclipsed.”

Cylla Senii| DAY ONE AWARD

Cylla Senii is an accomplished PGA producer, writer, director, and actress with over 10 years of production and development experience in broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms.
Her first digital series SITUATIONSHIPS made its debut on BET, Amazon Prime, and Tubi and is in development for television with Monami Entertainment. Cylla has also created and directed a travel series, BOUGIE & ABROAD, airing on BLAVITY TV. Currently, she is writing, producing, and starring in a new TV ONE true crime series, CELEBRITY CRIME FILES, and has worked in development and production at the likes of Swirl Films, A&E, Nickelodeon, BET, Disney and more.

Olivia Peace | UP Next (Narrative) award

Presented by The Gotham

Olivia Peace is a student Academy Award Winning director interested in exploring ecofeminism, honest messy queer relationships, and spiritual technologies. The experiences that they have had in the city of Detroit where they were born, Chicago where they came of age, and Los Angeles where they reside now have made them a rigorous admirer of life. They now create work intended to inspire awe and wonder.

Olivia’s work has been championed by The Academy, Sundance, TIFF, Outfest, GLAAD, and Adobe to name a few. Their debut feature, TAHARA, was acquired by Film Movement and Mubi and is a New York Times Critic’s Pick. Their upcoming feature film, In Case of Apocalypse, is a creation myth set in the city of Detroit produced by Killer Films.

Crystal Kayiza | UP Next (DOC) award

Presented by The Gotham

Crystal Kayiza was raised in Oklahoma and is now a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” she is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, Film Independent Amplifier Fellowship, Sundance Ignite Fellowship and Creative Culture Woman Filmmaker Fellowship. Her most recent film, Rest Stop, was awarded the Jury Prize for Best US Short Film at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Rest Stop was the winner of the 2020 Tribeca Through Her Lens grant and premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Crystal is also the recipient of the 2022 Documentary Development Initiative grant in partnership with HBO Documentary Films and The Gotham. Her short, See You Next Time, was an official selection of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and released by The New Yorker. Her film, Edgecombe, was an official selection of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by POV. She is currently working on her first feature film, which received the 2021 Creative Capital Award.

Hope Farley | Advocate award

Hope Farley is Founder, COO and Executive Producer of Adolescent Content, a creative agency that empowers diverse young voices in media arts. Alongside Ramaa Mosley, she established the company in 2013 to create equitable opportunities in the advertising field. Farley began over 20 years ago working at Radical Media, a powerhouse production company.

In the years before founding Adolescent, Farley worked at major commercial production companies and advertising agencies and produced hundreds of commercials and web content. A champion of diversity and inclusion, Farley also developed and produced a multicultural hair care line called Mixtina, which her children inspired.

Farley's leadership has led to the creation of numerous high-profile campaigns and projects. One particularly notable success is the 'Life's Good' campaign for LG. This series of short films, produced during the pandemic, not only highlighted the creativity and resilience of Gen Z influencers but also garnered millions of online impressions and international press coverage. The campaign's authentic message was recognized with an A Shorty Award, further solidifying Farley's reputation as a successful industry leader.

Farley's expertise and unique perspectives have been featured in several industry publications and interviews. Her discussions often revolve around the impact of Gen Z on the advertising landscape, the importance of authentic storytelling, and strategies for brands to connect meaningfully with BIPOC communities. Her recent Op-Ed, 'Moving past performative diversity, 'published in Campaign Live, is a testament to her thought leadership and commitment to driving meaningful change in the industry.
Hope Farley continues to shape a more inclusive and dynamic future for the advertising industry through her work. Farley oversees all Adolescent Content accounts, talent, production, HR, and operations.

Farley sits on the board of 300 for 300, a Louisville based non profit which works to empower young black girls through the arts, writing and speaking. She also continues to give back through her mentorship of young women interested in entrepreneurship and the advertising industry.

BFS x CLIVERD PROOF OF CONCEPT SHORT FILM GRANT WINNER

Last year, we proudly awarded $10,000 to Marielle Ingram as the recipient of our Black Film Space x cliveRd. Proof of Concept Short Film Grant.

This grant empowers Black filmmakers to bring their creative visions to life.

We’re thrilled to continue this initiative and will announce the winner of this year’s 10K grant live at our 3rd annual BFS Awards.

Don’t miss the chance to witness who will earn this incredible opportunity to develop their short film project!

Learn more about cliveRd.

HOST COMMITTEE

Ayana Baraka is an Emmy-winning Black female Director of Photography and Producer based in New York. She is a voting member for the TV Academy and holds membership in both the IATSE Local 600 and IBEW as a Director of Photography. She is one of only six Black female DPs in the Local 600.
With films premiering in back-to-back years at the Tribeca Film Festival, Ayana most recently served as the DP of ESPN’s docuseries, IN THE ARENA: SERENA WILLIAMS, which chronicles the career and life of Serena Williams. The series premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. Ayana was also the DP of UNCHARTED, a vérité music documentary spotlighting Alicia Keys' “She Is the Music'' camp, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
Ayana also DP’d BEHIND THE CURTAIN: ECLIPSED, starring Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira, which documented the ‘herstoric’ Broadway production of “Eclipsed.” Ayana served as both Executive Producer and DP on the short film, MY ASIAN, for which she won the New York regional Emmy for Public Service Announcement and was nominated for the New York regional Photographer Emmy.
Her work as a contributing cinematographer can also be seen in the Emmy-nominated doc THE HUNTING GROUND; the Emmy-nominated film, UNITED SKATES; and AFTERSHOCK, which premiered at Sundance in 2022.
Ayana was named a ‘person on the rise’ in Hollywood by director-producer Mel Jones. She is the recipient of the Innovative Storyteller Award from Nashville Film Festival; the Culture Catalyst Award from the Digital Diversity Network; and the Best Cinematography Award from the Victoria, TX Independent Film Festival.

Chana is a cultural entrepreneur who has long been obsessed with storytelling and marketing that instigates a more equitable society. She has funneled this commitment into her work in beauty, retail, film, and publishing - all of which has centered on multicultural and inclusive audiences. Chana self-funded a subscription box company that featured books, lifestyle products and experiences curated by iconic Black women.
This experience led to her role as founder/CEO at GEENIE, a culture-first beauty platform for undiscovered creators. For nearly a decade before GEENIE, Chana led digital marketing campaigns for Emmy award-winning and Oscar-nominated documentaries for film festivals, broadcast, and theatrical release; clients included PBS, Netflix, Discovery, Firelight Media, and various independent production companies. Beyond her film marketing experience, Chana is an Executive Producer on the hybrid narrative-documentary project, "I Love Bed-Stuy" (in production). Chana is also the author of the bestselling children’s book "An ABC of Equality"(with illustrations by Paulina Morgan), which introduces complicated concepts like equality, identity, and social justice.
Chana is a thought leader at the corner of culture, community, and commerce; her work has been featured in Yahoo! Finance, Nasdaq, BET, Black Enterprise, Bustle, Coveteur, Essence, Vogue, and more. And she has participated in panels and fireside chats at CES, NRF’s Big Show, SXSW, The Female Quotient, Social Media Week, The Junior League (Seattle), plus dozens of elementary schools and libraries across the United States. Originally from Boston’s Black cultural center—Roxbury, Chana graduated from the University of Virginia and now calls Brooklyn, NY home.
Chana is active in the city’s arts, social impact, and business communities; she's on the Board of Black Film Space (a non-profit supporting the careers of Black filmmakers); the Advisory Board of TheLi.st (a for-profit community of high impact women and non-binary folks across media, technology, and entrepreneurship); and she serves as a Career Advisor via Women NYC (a program of NYC Economic Development Corporation).

With over 15 years in television, Tiffanie Young is a production expert who devises production schedules and structures, writes budgets that receive network approval, and excels at building and fostering production teams that creatively and effectively produce outstanding programming. She has produced series, pilots and development projects in various genres including docu-soap, true crime, home renovation, style makeover, competition, culinary, clip shows, and more.

Tiffanie oversees projects domestically and internationally, on location and in studio, with staff and crew ranging from 10 to 100+ people. She communicates and meets with network execs, reviews releases and contracts with legal prior to and throughout production, sets up payroll and insurance, creates cash flows and monitors network payment milestones, maintains detailed cost reports, liaises with talent agents and managers, and negotiates graphics and other vendor agreements.

Strategizing success is a constant process, not just for a large-scale media company, but for the individual freelancer as well. Tiffanie recognized this early on in her career and began coaching clients on how to navigate their careers. Now, she offers her guidance to college seniors seeking to enter the industry.

Some of Tiffanie's production credits are Beat Bobby Flay, BBQ Brawl: Flay V Symon, Flipping Exes, The Flay List, Love At First Swipe, Rachael Ray's Kids Cook Off, and What Not to Wear. She has produced projects for Food Network, TLC, Bravo, HGTV, Lifetime, and several others.

Creatively, Tiffanie is the writer and producer of “It Is Finished,” a play first performed in 2012 and the screenwriter of “Back In The Game,” a feature-length script. She is passionate about developing programming that enhances family, faith, and social values.

Tiffanie holds a Master of Arts in Producing for Film and TV, specializing in production management and entertainment law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Media and Spanish from American University in Washington, DC.
Follow Tiffanie: @Tiffanieyounglofton
Visit her website: www.tiffanieyounglofton.com

Hollann Sobers is a multidisciplinary leader and Production Executive overseeing cross-platform entertainment from conception through distribution in television, short film, documentaries, promos, and events.
Hollann rose to the position of Production Executive in her time at Viacom, where she worked on documentaries under VH1’s award-winning Rock Docs franchise and various original series, including the launches of Love & Hip Hop and Black Ink Crew. After VH1, she worked at Al Jazeera America and Sundance TV before joining Complex Networks in 2017 as the Director of Production. Hollann worked across all original programming brands while building an infrastructure to support 30-plus series per year, including some licensed by Netflix, Hulu, and Roku. Before leaving Complex, she executive produced the ComplexCon(versations) series and was Sr. Director of Integrated Development & Programming Operations, which entailed a combination of innovative content development, original programming, and operational excellence.
Most recently, Hollann served as a Production Executive at Amazon Studios overseeing their unscripted programming. In addition to being an active member of the PGA, NYWIFT, and NAMIC, she is in her second term on the Television Academy’s Board of Governors representing the Production Executive Peer Group. Currently, she serves as Vice Chair of the Diversity Committee.

Ms. Johnson has extensive experience in the areas of global philanthropy, public policy, healthcare and higher education. She has over fifteen years of experience advocating for the needs of underrepresented and raising funding globally to support society's greatest needs. Ms. Johnson is passionate about connecting corporations and individuals to social causes that matter most to them to help them accomplish their philanthropic goals.

She previously served as Senior Development Officer at Freedom House, a global non-profit that strengthens, and defends democracy worldwide through programs that support frontline activists, research, and advocacy. We are leaders in identifying threats to civil liberties and political rights, and never in our 80-year history has our work mattered more. This role leads the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities of major gifts for a portfolio of 75-100 prospects which includes individuals and corporations.

Ms. Johnson completed her Master of Science in Higher Education at Drexel University. She also received her undergraduate degree from Drexel University where she majored in International Area Studies, & minored in Africana Studies. One of her most memorable pastimes includes participating in study abroad programs. In the past, Ms. Johnson has conducted research in Ghana, Brazil, Costa Rica and continuously aspires to travel and learn about the commonalities that exist between different cultures.

Prior to working at UNCF, Ms. Johnson has extensive experience in the field of intercultural engagement, law, and government. Her most memorable job experiences include working at the United Nations in New York City, and City Council in Philadelphia, and the New York State Unified Court System in New York. She is extremely passionate about the needs of underrepresented minorities and aspires to follow a career path that connects individuals and corporations to philanthropic causes that matter.

First and foremost, Jennifer Brown is a ridiculously proud native of Chicago. (West side, stand up!)
...And secondly, an expert in media production that includes audio, print, TV, film and digital media.
For 20 years, Jennifer has been a professional for media's impactful companies like HBO, NBCUniversal, CultureBanx, MadameNoire, The Washington Post and DCP Entertainment.
With all of the productions she has helped produce over the years including HBO's "Insecure," "The Defiant Ones," and "Game of Thrones"; and DCP Entertainment's flagship podcast "Toure Show," none are more meaningful than the projects she has created with her own production company BlakOWND Productions.
Through that venture, she has been able to partner with Black-owned streamers like KweliTV and Black Oak TV to elevate Black voices with care and integrity.
She is thrilled to be a part of Black Film Space, an organization that supports and empowers media creatives of African descent, a goal she passionately shares.

Even if you can’t make it to the BFS Awards, there are still meaningful ways you can contribute to the success of Black filmmakers!

Consider gifting a BFS membership to someone who could benefit from our community, partnering with us on a grant to help fund important creative projects, or donating directly to Black Film Space.

Your support plays a crucial role in fostering talent, creating opportunities, and empowering Black filmmakers to thrive in an industry that often underrepresents them. Every contribution helps us build a stronger, more inclusive future for visual storytelling.