FOR IMMEDIATE RELESE
Marie-Adélina de la Ferrière
Public Relations Specialist, equalpride
marie-adelina@equalpride.com
LOS ANGELES - Today Outfest and indie development and production studio, TRAVERSE32, announced the Creative Hope Initiative. The new incubator program, funded by IPG Mediabrands, provides five sizable production grants to historically under-represented LGBTQIA+ filmmakers for the creation of short documentaries highlighting local queer stories in towns across America. In addition to the grants, the program also includes mentorship for each director with a world-class documentarian from inception to picture lock, in addition to advisors and speakers.
This year’s program – “Queer Cuts: New Hope'' – will feature the LGBTQIA+ haven of New Hope, Pennsylvania in each of the five films. The culmination of the program will be a screening of these films at the historic Bucks County Playhouse on November 4, 2023.
"Now more than ever we need to showcase and elevate LGBTQIA+ voices, as well as celebrate the communities that embrace everyone equally” said Outfest’s Acting Executive Director Zackery Alexzander Stephens. “We are thrilled to support innovative, compassionate filmmakers eager to direct liberatory documentary stories in service amplifying the rich LGBTQIA+ history of New Hope, Pennsylvania.
“The Creative Hope Initiative gives the opportunity for fresh voices in filmmaking to further refine their artistic skills,” said Brendan Gaul, Chief Content Officer of IPG Mediabrands. “It’s the genuine relationships with these burgeoning creatives -- and the ability to connect them to our brand clients -- that drives our most powerful content work at IPG Mediabrands,” he said.
The filmmakers that were selected include Hansen Bursic (he/him), Joy Davenport (she/her), Natalie Jasmine Harris (she/they), Kase Peña (she/her) and Kristal Sotomayor (they/she). Participating industry mentors include Oscar winning director, Ben Proudfoot (Queen of Basketball) (Bursic); former Emmy winner, Daresha Kyi (Harris); previous two-time Emmy nominee, Deborah S. Esquenazi (Sotomayor); past Emmy nominee Sally Rubin (Davenport), and Webby honoree Ro Haber (Peña). As well, Creative Hope Documentary Intensive advisors consist of previous two-time Emmy winner, Christine Vachon, Jameka Autry, Shanti Avirgan, Anja Block, Brydie O’Connor, and Daniela Quiroz.
New Hope residents, Daniel Brooks and Sara Scully of ScullyOne Productions, will serve as producer and executive producer of all five films, respectively. Brooks is found of New Hope Celebrates, a 501c3 non-profit he designed to highlight and preserve the town’s rich LGBTQIA+ history while stimulating the retail, hospitality, and professional community through marketing opportunities, educational activities and cultural events. Under NHC's umbrella is New Hope Celebrates History, which preserves the town’s rich past. Brooks and Scully collaborated with TRAVERSE32 to conceive of the New Hope series and overall program and provided key producing support to the filmmakers as well as content licensing.
LGBTQIA+ cultural media giant, equalpride, will join forces with “Queer Cuts: New Hope” as exclusive media partner. As part of the new partnership, the media company will make all five shorts available online for free between November 6th and 7th beginning at 6pm ET/3pm PT on both its Advocate Channel and Advocate Channel App. Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device, including Apple Store, Google Play, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Google TV.
"Championing the authentic voices of the LGBTQIA+ community, the 'Creative Hope Initiative' is a testament to the power of collaborative storytelling,” said Mark Berryhill, CEO of equalpride. “As we amplify the rich narratives from New Hope, we're not just showcasing films; we're building bridges and fostering understanding.
Those interested in attending the November 4th “Queer Cuts: New Hope” screening event, may purchase tickets here. A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales from the day will benefit New Hope Celebrates.
To learn more about the filmmakers, mentors and advisors, please visit the OutFest website or see Outfest.Org/Queercuts.
About Outfest
Founded by UCLA students in 1982, Outfest is the world's leading organization that promotes equality by creating, sharing and protecting Queer and Trans stories on the screen. For forty-one years, Outfest has showcased thousands of films from around the world, educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers, and preserved more than 40,000 LGBTQ+ films and videos. Outfest programs include The Outfest Screenwriting Lab, which has mentored and helped launch the careers of nearly 150 screenwriters, and The Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, which, in partnership with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, is the only film archive in the world exclusively dedicated to preserving LGBTQ+ images, among others.
About TRAVERSE32
TRAVERSE32 is an independent development and production studio which successfully bridges the gap between the entertainment and advertising industries. Our innovative approach collaboratively partners with leading filmmakers and creators in the development, production, and distribution of mainstream film and television content, fostering connections with audiences in meaningfully powerful ways. TRAVERSE32’s unique positioning includes the development of narrative and documentary projects from up-and-coming filmmakers and has resulted in notable releases of films directed by Academy and Emmy-winning directors, historic entertainment industry wins, and extraordinary monetization opportunities for brands and creators alike. Backed by Mediabrands, which manages approximately $40 billion in marketing investment globally on behalf of clients across 130 countries, TRAVERSE32 holds deep relationships and the ability to create unique entertainment opportunities with and on behalf of its partners.
About Equalpride
Equalpride is the leading certified LGBTQ+ owned & operated media, digital, social, TV, print and entertainment company in the country. Our mission is to provide content of inspiration, hope, community, equality and love through our platforms that reach a vast majority of the American LGBTQ+ audience every month and increasingly women and people of color, which make up 50% and 25% of our monthly audience, respectively. We are a diverse community of storytellers, innovators, and influencers who believe in giving a voice to all people! Our portfolio includes some of the world’s most prestigious LGBTQ+ brands: Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Plus, PRIDE.COM, and the all-new Advocate Channel.