Meet the Winners of Hack360, Harlem’s First Filmmaker Hackathon!
On Friday, October 16, at the 2nd Annual Silicon Harlem Tech Conference, the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) announced the winners of its inaugural “Hack360” Hackathon in Harlem, produced in partnership with Silicon Harlem. The theme of this year’s Hack360 was gamification, and participants worked over two days to create a prototype for a game promoting the TV or web series they are developing. Paired with technologists selected by Silicon Harlem, each team had the freedom to design games for the web, mobile, XBox or any other gaming platform. The hackathon’s competitors were all finalists (fellows) of this past year’s inaugural NBPC 360, an incubator and fund to bring
original broadcast and web series closer to market.
Sultan Sharrief and Oren Goldenberg took home the $3,000 Grand Jury Prize with their game app, “Movie Mogul.” The app combines logic puzzles and film-based challenges to inspire teenagers to pursue success in the entertainment industry. It serves as a companion to Sharrief and Goldenberg’s TV broadcast reality series “Street Cred,” about 12 Detroit high schoolers competing for a dream internship.
Photo Credit: Lindsey Seide
Producer Damon Colquhoun, with his puzzle-style video game, “Pixie Dust: Home to Mom,” received the $1,000 Audience Prize. Based on Colquhoun’s urban fantasy web series “Pixie Dust,” about a young girl named Faye whose magical powers can quell her mother’s mental illness, the game challenges players to navigate Faye’s stressful environment and is designed to spark community conversation about mental health.
Producers Shellée Haynesworth and Garland McLaurin also received $500 each in cash prizes for their projects. Haynesworth’s interactive scavenger hunt, “Duke’s D.C.: Just Jumpin’ and Jivin’,” tours the lavish, upscale Washington, D.C., of jazz composer Duke Ellington’s youth. McLaurin’s mobile scavenger hunt, “POPS+LIFE,” brings fathers and children together through the exploration of arts, music, culture and history.
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Photo Credit: Lindsey Seide
Want to apply to be an NBPC 360 fellow? Visit the NBPC 360 page and RSVP for our skill-building webinars with public media experts! They’re excellent guides for building a strong application, and 100% FREE for registered members of our Producer Portal.
NBPC is the only non-profit that offers training, funding and distribution for projects solely about the black experience. We are seeking foundations, corporations and individuals to help our work. For more information about underwriting and contributions, please contact Donna Hardwick (donna@nbpc.tv). To donate, click here!