Black Public Media (BPM), a national nonprofit championing Black content creators, announced Tuesday that its PitchBLACK Forum will award over $2 million in funding for film and immersive projects this year. The forum, recognized as the largest pitch competition in the United States for independent filmmakers and creative technologists focused on Black narratives, will convene in Harlem April 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The culmination of the event will be the PitchBLACK Awards May 1 at 7 p.m., where production and distribution awards will be announced. The evening will also feature the presentation of the prestigious BPM Trailblazer Award to Lillian E. Benson, ACE (American Cinema Editors), a celebrated figure known for her Emmy-nominated work on groundbreaking projects such as Eyes on the Prize II, Showtime’s Soul Food, NBC’s Chicago Med, and OWN’s Greenleaf.
Sponsored by industry giants Netflix and PBS, the PitchBLACK Forum will provide a platform for talented creatives to pitch their innovative projects before a distinguished audience of public media representatives, commercial television network executives, distributors, and funders nationwide.
Since its launch in 2015, BPM has channeled over $1.8 million to support 23 compelling film and immersive projects through the PitchBLACK competition. This year marks a significant milestone as the forum moves to The Apollo Stages at the Victoria in Harlem, the vibrant New York City neighborhood that serves as BPM’s base. With BPM anticipating awarding more than $225,000 in funding to projects this year alone, the organization is poised to break the $2 million mark in total funding awarded through the PitchBLACK program since its inception.
“We are happy to host PitchBLACK in the creative and cultural mecca of Harlem this year,” said Leslie Fields-Cruz, executive director of BPM. “PitchBLACK always offers a wonderful array of projects presenting unique mixes of entertainment, ingenuity and craftsmanship. We look forward to what this year’s creatives have in store for audiences.”
Advertising futurist Tameka Kee will return to moderate the PitchBLACK Forum for this year’s event. The film segment, scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon, will feature pitches for documentary projects from teams including Sidney Fussell and Jennifer Holness, Karen Hayes, Arlieta Hall and Brittany Alsot, Chelsi Bullard and Jacqueline Olive, and Caron Creighton. The immersive project competitors – Anatola Araba, Aya, Steven Christian, Jeremy Kamal, Joel Mack, and Rasheed Peters — will take the stage from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., presenting projects that incorporate cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, 3D animation, and interactive games.
The PitchBLACK Forum winners will be announced at the May 1 awards ceremony at 7 p.m.
Hosted by comedian Jamie Roberts, the awards ceremony will include an insightful conversation with Trailblazer Award recipient Lillian E. Benson, moderated by NPR host Brittany Luse of the acclaimed podcast It’s Been a Minute.
The Nonso Christian Ugbode Fellowship winner, a prestigious award named in honor of BPM’s late director of digital initiatives and designed to support a talented under-30 creative, will also be announced during the awards ceremony. The evening will culminate in a lively after-party.
Tickets for the PitchBLACK Awards are priced at $300 and can be purchased through the Apollo Theater’s website.
Adding another dimension to celebrating Benson’s impactful career, this year’s BPM Trailblazer Film Retrospective will feature a curated collection of works edited by the esteemed honoree. These films will be available for free streaming on blackpublicmedia.org between April 28 and May 12, offering a wider audience the opportunity to experience Benson’s masterful editing. The featured films include Beyond the Steps; Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise; New World, New Forms; and The Taste of Dirt; and two pivotal parts of Eyes on the Prize II: The Promised Land (Part 10) and Keys to the Kingdom (Part 13).
PitchBLACK’s significant impact on the landscape of Black media is made possible through the generous support of key sponsors Netflix and PBS, with additional funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Acton Family Giving, Agog LLC, New York Community Trust, Rockefeller Family Fund, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Jerome Foundation, Sonder Foundation, and the New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
For those interested in learning more about the innovative projects competing in this year’s PitchBLACK Forum, detailed information can be found here. Further details about Black Public Media and its initiatives are available at blackpublicmedia.org. Highlights and updates from PitchBLACK can be followed on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok at @blackpublicmedia.
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