“OMG. So impressed with these prolific filmmakers.”…”These works are so powerful – young minds speaking to us in ways that are so relevant and inspiring!”…”fantastic moving and thoughtful work.” These are just a few, from over 100 comments, that praised the new Amplify student film initiative produced by liquid blackness and the faculty and staff of the School of Film, Media & Theatre.
Amplify is a curated screening and conversation series that serves as a platform to showcase students’ creative output in response to recent social injustices that have ignited demands for change. The program engages in meaningful and thoughtful dialogue about the intersection of moving images and racial justice. As students/practitioners of film & media, these future visionaries have a powerful creative voice that can incite positive change.
The inaugural virtual event, Amplify One, launched in July with a screening of three film shorts by student filmmakers Kia Pooler “Black Mirror, Josh Cleveland “Echoes from a Broken Puzzle” and Amir Mubarak, “Ode to Medea.” The students took part in a panel conversation that was guest-moderated by Sade Lythcott, CEO of The National Black Theatre Institute of Action Arts in Harlem USA.
Recent Black Lives Matter protests and sociopolitical unrest served as the catalyst that propelled Amplify forward. The school responded to its student voices, resulting in a meaningful engaging program that sought to foster artistic and critical dialogue while showcasing emerging radical cinematic aesthetics that advocate, protest, reflect, heal, empower, affirm, uplift and cultivate community.
The Amplify project is led by film faculty members (listed alphabetically) Susan-Sojourna Collier, Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz, Dr. Jade Petermon and Dr. Alessandra Raengo, with support from staff members Matt Rowles and Karin Smoot.
Next up in the series is Amplify Two which is in development and slated for August 20th. For updates and schedules, please follow Amplify on liquid blackness or on Facebook where the series is archived.
Update 8/17/2020:
Amplify Two is scheduled for Thursday, August 20 at 7 p.m. with films by Zameh Omonuwa, Donovan Stanley and Taylor Dudley. This edition will be moderated by Film and Visual Culture Scholar, Michele Prettyman of Fordham University and with special guest, Melinda Weekes of Beautiful Ventures. Streaming live on https://www.facebook.com/liquidblackness/
