Filmmakers Residency / Incubator Final Recap
It’s a wrap folks! Our first-ever Filmmakers Residency / Incubator with White Feather Farm Foundation has now come to a close. During the month of May, we hosted four filmmakers from underrepresented communities working on films centered around social justice themes at White Feather’s new residential property in Woodstock, New York. Each resident worked on developing their individual projects with the guidance of our accomplished group of mentors from all corners of the film industry.
Maba shows off his talents in the residency house kitchen.
Dinner guests were treated to a delectable selection of meats and roast vegetables before the screening.
The final week began with a special screening of resident Maba Ba’s film NAFI’S FATHER, preceded by a delicious home-cooked Senegalese dinner prepared by Maba himself. NAFI’S FATHER is told from the perspective of a sickly imam and his family as they confront the Islamic extremists infiltrating their rural community. The film screened at the Locarno Film Festival where it won two Golden Leopards and was the Senegalese selection for the 2021 Oscars.
On Tuesday following a group meeting with the residency’s Artistic Director Alex Smith and a visit to the farm, the filmmakers attended a guest mentor session with Oscar-nominated documentarian Rick Rowley. Rick spoke about his work in general and his recent film KINGDOM OF SILENCE, which provides an in-depth look into Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s life, work and murder. The next day, program mentor Mira Nair met with the residents over Zoom to discuss the making of some of her films, including THE NAMESAKE and the international hit MONSOON WEDDING.
(left to right) Meira Blaustein, Eunice Lau, Set Hernandez Rongkilyo, Sabine Hoffman, Brooke Pepion Swaney, Maba Ba and Alex Smith.
The residents gather for one final celebration.
The residents topped off the week with a Thursday morning group interview on NPR’s affiliate WAMC with Joe Donahue of THE ROUNDTABLE where they spoke about their experiences in the program and the projects they worked on during their tenure. Later that evening, the teams at White Feather and the Woodstock Film Festival came together to host a closing reception at the farm for the residency's staff and filmmakers.
Taking in the fresh spring air, the program concluded with a spritz of champagne and a toast to an educational experience like no other. Here’s to many more!