COVER STORY and brought recognition to 18 very important African American Olympic athletes from 1936, who ultimately changed sports. All of the athletes had passed away by the time the film was made in 2016, but we worked with the White House to bring the families there and have them recognized by President Obama and Vice President Biden. Then we screened the film for the families at the National Portrait Gallery. It was so touching to watch them see footage for the first time ever of their parents competing in Nazi Germany. We were all crying.” She took on adapting the book Coffee Will Make You Black . Now, she will direct her script with Octavia Spencer and Tate Taylor as producers and Gabrielle Union as the star of her debut feature film. “I want to make a positive impact and push the boundaries of what is expected,” says Draper. “I have to demonstrate creative leadership. It’s being able to look at things critically and solve problems while at the same time build a story.” Whether she’s working on a documentary, a short film, or a feature, Draper looks for stories that pack a powerful punch. Her upcoming project, which she wrote, directs, and deploys an all-female production crew is Season of the Witches . The feature film is slated to film in Savannah and Puerto Rico this summer. Explaining why she’s so passionate about working with female talent and crew, she says, “To create change you have to take an active role in it and assist people in identifying the tremendously talented people right here in Georgia.” Rooted in Purpose: Mikki Taylor When presented with the opportunity by director Deborah Riley Draper to join an all-women production team of Georgia-based film industry professionals on the forthcoming psychological thriller Season of the Witches , Mikki Taylor jumped at the chance, signing on as an executive producer and creative director. “I have made my life’s work storytelling,” Taylor says, who as Essence Magazine ’s beauty and cover director for three decades and now as its editor-at-large has influenced generations of women of color. “This film explores the amazing complexities of womanhood, and it spoke to that strong suit in me and a desire to help shape the look of the film and its casting.” The movie’s message is centered on three young female doctoral students, who go to Puerto Rico and “find that their entire life trajectories change due to consequences of a crime not of their making. It is a parable of choices and how they either lead us to our higher selves or throw us off course,” says Taylor, who is also a voting member of the Screen Actors Guild and first worked with Draper on her ground-breaking documentary Versailles ‘73: American Runway Revolution. Taylor can envision Season of the Witches being screened on college campuses across the country “to foster discussions about life navigation skills among our young people. It’s a story that must be told for a broader purpose.”
‘If the best is possible, then good is not enough.’ As I walk in the dreams of my elders, my goal is to be proof of that.” Driving Connection: Kate Atwood As the 23-year-old founder of Kate’s Club, a nonprofit to help grieving children deal with the loss of a loved one, Kate Atwood discovered that “Storytelling is the most powerful currency to create impact and create influence. It’s an important part of community and business growth.” After devoting her first several years to her legacy project built on her personal story, Atwood shifted her focus to promoting Atlanta to the next generation — first as executive director of ChooseATL at the Metro Atlanta Chamber and now as the President of THEA. The nation’s first regionally focused streaming network, THEA was spun out from an initiative she led at the Metro Atlanta Chamber and is now in a partnership with the Areu Bros. Studios. “When you look at storytelling and connection, there is no more powerful industry than film and TV,” says the creator, entrepreneur, and community leader. “It’s a pivotal moment to change the game for content creators, especially for those here in Georgia. Having had success with Kate’s Club through telling my own story, I am confident we can be a catalyst for telling and amplifying more stories.” Although Atwood sees herself as being a newcomer in this arena, she speaks from personal experience: “The common thread for me has always been to innovate around a cause or community with the intention of raising the community up. When I came here two decades ago, I learned quickly how much Atlanta helps ambitious, young people, new to an industry, to try to make a change. “Atlanta has a history of being an epicenter for creative talent. Now THEA is positioned to further accelerate that position within the industry by improving the discoverability of our talent with a streaming platform that uniquely highlights content creators and talent. It’s the first local viewing experience in the new streaming era.” Proximity matters for the viewer. THEA provides an on-demand catalogue sourced by local filmmakers, so that viewers “have content licensed specifically for our region,” explains Atwood. “Millennials and Gen Xers want content that speaks directly to them. THEA reflects what matters to the region in terms of values and diversity. It builds a local content viewing experience. Nobody else has taken such a comprehensive and bold take on how you build this out.” The demand for original content is at an all-time high. Atwood sees THEA as a star vehicle for local talent and creators. “For so long we’ve heard content is king,” she says. “If that’s true, then content creators are the gods and deserve opportunities to move up the ladder. That’s what streaming technology allows us to do. The independent pathways for today’s content creators are unprecedented. THEA wants to be the platform that gives them that collective boost -- not only to have the opportunity to gain fans and viewership, but the opportunity to monetize and be closer to being discovered by the top of the industry. That nexus is what’s very exciting for us at THEA.”
The film, slated to be shot in Savannah and Puerto Rico, will underwrite students at Savannah State for internships in film making and stimulate the production community in Puerto Rico. “I believe in infotainment,” says Taylor, who has appeared on The View, The Steve Harvey Show, TODAY, The Early Show, NBC Nightly News , EXTRA , E! Entertainment Television , and such networks as CNN, OWN, CBS, BET, and many more. “We no longer have the luxury of entertainment. We must blaze a trail for the next generation. The world that they are inheriting is very different. While they have more opportunities, they have more challenges. The question is how do we hold up the mirror and give them the best vision of all? On my watch I want to see that they are able to lead and create with strategic intention, and this calls for demonstrating what that looks like.” Although the face of filmmaking is changing, Taylor still sees one of the biggest challenges as “getting our stories told. There are daunting odds against us in filmmaking in terms of raising capital. But women and sisters are doing it by linking arms and aims in support of each other.” If she could magically make changes in the industry, Taylor has a wish list: see more female directors; a shift in where people place value in funding and what stories get told; and the recognition of more humanitarians. It’s an era of change with the #MeToo and other movements at the forefront. “You can’t challenge what you won’t confront. Movements give us courage, uplift us, and move us forward. They remind us to not live a life that’s less than, and they give us a leader-shift opportunity to have our say.” Taylor continues to be at the head of expanding the concept of what defines beauty. “I dreamt a world where the beauty of women of all shades, shapes, and sizes would be celebrated and our culture would be affirmed,” she says. “I really look forward to working with Deborah on a number of projects to take American storytelling to new levels. I thrive on having a say in how our story is portrayed. Every day I get another opportunity to sink my heels into that which is meaningful. For me, the story has to be rooted in purpose, as I came of age with an edict of, directly to them. THEA ref lects what matters to the region in terms of values and diversity. It builds a local content viewing experience. Millennials and Gen Xers want content that speaks
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