PRESS RELEASES
BPM AWARDS $410k TO CREATIVES AT PITCHBLACK 2021
FIVE PRODUCING TEAMS AWARDED THE HIGHEST TOTAL EVER DISTRIBUTED AT PITCHBLACK
APRIL 12, 2021
Black Public Media (BPM) awarded its highest-ever total funding to five teams competing at its PitchBLACK Forum, an interactive pitching competition before public television and commercial distributors and funders. The creatives received $410,000 in funding for their productions at the PitchBLACK Awards on Friday, closing out the fourth edition of BPM’s intensive 360 Incubator+ fellowship, a holistic professional development program designed to help bring quality Black content to market. The event was hosted by BPM Executive Director Leslie Fields-Cruz and keynoted by noted producer Colin “Topper” Carew.
MIT AND BPM CHOOSE SECOND FELLOW
ARTIST-FILMMAKER FABIANO MIXO TO JOIN MIT OPENDOCLAB
MARCH 8, 2021
Black Public Media (BPM) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have chosen artist and filmmaker Fabiano Mixo as the second recipient of their MIT & Black Public Media Fellowship, hosted by MIT Open Documentary Lab and sponsored by MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST). Filmmaker Carla LynDale Bishop was the inaugural recipient of the fellowship last October. Although all three organizations had assumed they would only be able to support one fellowship this academic
year, they were able to not only extend Carla’s fellowship into Spring Semester, but also offer a second fellowship to Mixo. Each fellow joins MIT OpenDocLab, receives $7,500 from MIT CAST, and receives production support from BPM to help them create a pitch package for their project.
AFROPOP
SEASON 13 COMING APRIL 5
MARCH 3, 2021
AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, the acclaimed documentary series showcasing contemporary stories from all corners of the African Diaspora, returns for season 13 this April with five new episodes. This year, AfroPoP journeys to Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba with films highlighting the men and women shaping the cultural innovations and social movements that drive our world forward. In addition to airing the first run premieres of the new season, this year WORLD Channel joins BPM as co-executive producer of the series. Distributed and co-presented by American Public Television (APT), AfroPoP season 13 debuts on WORLD Channel and worldchannel.org on Monday, April 5, at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).
FUNDING INCREASE
BPM RECEIVES $500,000 FUNDING INCREASE FROM CPB
FEB 22, 2021
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced that Black Public Media (BPM) will receive a $500,000 funding increase starting this fiscal year. The funding, which brings CPB annual support to more than $1,850,000 for FY2021, will help the organization in its mission to fund, produce, distribute and exhibit works in media that convey the depth and breadth of the global Black community to the broadest audience possible.
PITCHBLACK
PRODUCERS VIE FOR UP TO $150,000 AT THE PITCHBLACK FORUM APRIL 7 AND 8
FEB 25, 2021
Ten producing teams will vie for up to $150,000 in project funding at the Black Public Media (BPM) PitchBLACK Forum, an interactive pitching competition to public television and commercial distributors and funders. The high-stakes event culminates the fourth edition of BPM’s intensive 360 Incubator+ fellowship, a holistic professional development program designed to identify and pipeline quality Black content. The virtual PitchBLACK Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 7, and Thursday, April 8, and will be hosted by award-winning veteran producer Sandy Rattley, who serves as the creative consultant for the incubator. This year’s event also includes a new BPMplus Showcase (April 9), featuring emerging tech film and art projects by Black creative technologists. Winners of the PitchBLACK Forum will be announced at the PitchBLACK Awards on Friday, April 9, at 7 p.m., a virtual ceremony where documentary filmmaker Marco Williams will receive the BPM Trailblazer Award.
FIELDS-CRUZ HONORED
BPM'S LESLIE FIELDS-CRUZ NAMED TO CRAIN'S NOTABLE BLACK LEADERS AND EXECUTIVES FOR 2021
FEB 15, 2021
AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, the acclaimed documentary series showcasing contemporary stories from all corners of the African Diaspora, returns for season 13 this April with five new episodes. This year, AfroPoP journeys to Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Ethiopia, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba with films highlighting the men and women shaping the cultural innovations and social movements that drive our world forward. In addition to airing the first run premieres of the new season, this year WORLD Channel joins BPM as co-executive producer of the series. Distributed and co-presented by American Public Television (APT), AfroPoP season 13 debuts on WORLD Channel and worldchannel.org on Monday, April 5, at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).
BPM LAUNCHES EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND
BPM ANNOUNCES TECH FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT
DEC. 3, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring to light many of the inequities of the modern world, the precipice upon which many independent artists often live has been thrown into sharp relief. Black Public Media (BPM), a nonprofit with a 40-year record of supporting artists who create and produce media content about the Black experience, has launched the BPM Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) to provide financial assistance to Black creatives and media makers facing crises brought on by unforeseen emergencies. To kick off the new initiative, BPM is devoting its year-end
campaign drive to raising $20,000 for the fund to help support artists in need.
BPM-MIT FELLOWSHIP
BPM ANNOUNCS TECH FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT
OCT 8, 2020
Carla LynDale Bishop has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the MIT & Black Public Media Fellowship, hosted by MIT Open Documentary Lab and sponsored by
MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology. Part of BPMplus — the Black Public Media (BPM) initiative focused on eliminating barriers for Black makers to help increase their participation in the world of emerging technology — the semester-long fellowship marks the first collaboration between the three partners. BPM is a Harlem-based nonprofit dedicated to creating content about the global, Black experience.
PAST RELEASES
BPM ANNOUNCES FELLOWSHIP EXTENSION
MIT-BPMplus FELLOWSHIP APPS ACCEPTED THROUGH AUG 22
AUG 20, 2020
Black Public Media (BPM), the Harlem-based nonprofit media organization dedicated to creating and producing media content about the Black experience, has announced a deadline extension for the 2020 MIT OpenDocLab and BPMplus Fellowship. Applications for the fellowship will now be accepted until 11 p.m. ET on Sunday. A collaboration between BPM, the MIT Open Documentary Lab (ODL), and MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST), the 2020 MIT OpenDocLab and BPMplus Fellowship is a new endeavor designed to support Black creatives working in emerging media such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and other tech by helping one Black storyteller expand their emerging tech storytelling skills by developing an original nonfiction idea, researching the idea, or making significant strides in an existing nonfiction production.