On Friday, January 29 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a special edition of the Beyond Resilience Series at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, “Creating & Commissioning Art In Times of Crisis.”
Throughout the past year, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) artists have been commissioned by institutions to perform cultural work from their position at the epicenter of interlocking systems of oppression – racial and economic inequality, police violence, and a global pandemic that disproportionately impacts communities of color.
How can BIPOC-led organizations challenge this paradigm while continuing to provide opportunities for artists of color in times of crisis? How can BIPOC artists best be supported in making socially-relevant work, even as they and their communities experience precarity? This conversation looked to past and present BIPOC artists, filmmakers, and institution builders who make bold and visionary work within and without the establishment.
The panel discussion was moderated by Marcia Smith, president of Firelight Media, and included Maori Karmael Holmes, founder of BlackStar Film Festival; F. Javier Torres-Campos, director of the Thriving Cultures program at Surdna; Frank B. Wilderson III, writer and Chancellor’s Professor and Chair of African American Studies at UC Irvine; and Coco Fusco, interdisciplinary artist and professor at Cooper Union.
Tuesday, September 29, 2020, presented at the International Documentary Association’s (IDA) Getting Real conference.
On November 17, 2020, as part of DOC NYC Live, Firelight Media presented a special edition of its Beyond Resilience Series.
"On Friday, January 29 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a special edition of the Beyond Resilience Series at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, “Creating & Commissioning Art In Times of Crisis.” Throughout the past year, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) artists have been commissioned by institutions to perform cultural work from their position at the epicenter of interlocking systems of oppression – racial and economic inequality, police violence, and a global pandemic that disproportionately impacts communities of color."
On Thursday, February 25 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a Beyond Resilience panel discussion centered around Firelight Founder Stanley Nelson’s documentary Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy, now streaming globally on Netflix.
On Thursday, March 25 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a virtual screening and livestream Q&A centering women, non-binary, and AAPI filmmakers and artists behind IN THE MAKING, Firelight Media’s documentary short film series in partnership with PBS American Masters.
On Friday, April 23 at 3pm ET, Firelight Media presented a virtual panel discussion about the awards system for documentary films.
On Thursday, May 20 at 5pm ET, Firelight Media and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) presented a special edition of the Beyond Resilience Series at CAAMFest 2021 – “More Than One Lens.”
On the eve of Juneteenth, and in honor of Black Music Month,Firelight Media hosted a Beyond Resilience event celebrating music documentaries by and about Black artists.
