Black girl film power on display at Charlotte showcase

COURTESY BLACK GIRLS FILM CAMP

The Black Girls Film Premiere Weekend is June 9-10 in Charlotte.

Lights, camera, action!

The Black Girls Film Premiere Weekend is June 9-10.

The showcase will feature events and workshops that focus on representation and for families and aspiring filmmakers of all ages in Queen City.

Black Girls Film Camp is a nonprofit that was founded in 2021 by Jimmeka Anderson and Sierra Davis to provide a platform for Black girls to showcase their talents and learn more about becoming a director, producer, and screenwriter.

“I wanted to create a space for Black girls to create content that represented them holistically and really capture the Black girl experiences,” Anderson said. “It was also a space for them to be their most authentic selves to be a space of liberation, for healing, for creativity, for expression, and ways in which they may not feel comfortable to do in other spaces.”

Each year hundreds of girls ages 13-18 around the United States apply for the 12-week camp.

Ten were selected this year, including one from Charlotte and were provided a mini-production team by BGFC, which consists of a creative director and editor.
Hannah Merriweather, who lives in Harrisburg, will debut her film “How Did You Get Here?” at the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City on June 10. Following the premiere, the film will be screened at the Bentonville Film Festival, Essence Film Festival and Mill Valley Film Festival.

“I remember I was getting my nails done whenever I got the call and I didn't know who it was,” Merriweather said.  “And then I got the text and I threw my phone and the girl doing my nails she was like ‘what’s wrong?’ I was like I got in! I got in! I'm like jumping around and everyone's looking at me. I'm sitting there crying in the nail shop.”

Marley Noel, a 2022 BGFC alum and freshman at North Carolina A&T State University, shared her experience of how the camp helped her.  

“I went in with just a love for screenwriting and just you know, wanting to see the different parts but just dip my toes in everything,” she said. “I came out with a love for all different parts like right now. I feel like I’d be really good working in development, and they really show you all parts of it. It's just so exciting.”

During the camp, the participants along with a parent or guardian and their mini production team were flown out to Los Angeles for an all-expenses paid trip for the weekend retreat with the University of Southern California Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. The aspiring filmmakers heard from USC professors and speakers in the film industry. Award-winning director Ava DuVernay of “Queen Sugar” and “A Wrinkle In Time” hosted an ice cream social at her ARRAY compound in L.A.  

Each week the participants will hear from guest speakers who are all Black women in the film industry. The lineup of speakers include:

• Academy Award winner Karen Toliver (“Hair Love”)   

• Award winning Screenwriter and Director Gina Prince-Blythewood (“The Woman King,” “Love & Basketball”)

• Award-winning actress, producer, director Salli Richardson Whitfield (“Queen Sugar,” “Luke Cage”)  

• Emmy-nominated actress, writer, producer Yvette Nicole Brown (“Community,” “Dreamgirls”)

• Producer Meg DeLoatch (“The Neighborhood”)

• Erica Shelton Kodish (“CSI: NY,” “The Equalizer”)

Merriweather, who aspires to become a film director, credits the camp with inspiring her for a career in cinema.

 
“Black Girls Film Camp has just made me realize that it's possible,” she said. “Before, I just felt like the doors were so close. I was like how do I get into this industry? And now that I've directed my own film, I'm so excited to direct my next short film. Black Girls Film Camp has put the steps in place so that I can just excel.”

The camp will end in Charlotte at the Black Girls Film Premiere Weekend with actress Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd (“Power Book II: Ghost”” and veteran casting director Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd (“Sparkle” and “Fruitvale Station.”)

On June 9, a screening of the film “Miss Juneteenth” will take place at Independent Picture House followed by an evening meet and greet with dinner included at Dilworth Grille.  

Saturday workshops will take place at Brooklyn Grace Church ImaginOn in Uptown. The weekend will conclude with Saturday evening with the annual Screening and Awards Showcase at the Dubois Center.  

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