A new documentary short film series following the lives and journeys of emerging BIPOC cultural artists has been launched this month, created by American Masters and Firelight Media.
The series is currently available to stream on pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS Video App, with episodes premiering on the American Masters YouTube channel on Wednesdays.
Featuring eight cinematic and character-driven shorts by emerging BIPOC filmmakers, most of whom graduated from Firelight Media’s Documentary Lab, In the Making explores the artistic process of up-and-coming creatives through non-fiction storytelling.
Bunky Echo-Hawk: The Resistance
The shorts are as follows:
Damon Davis: Apologue for the Darkest Gods – Filmmaker Elissa Blount Moorhead provides a look into the art of award-winning, post-disciplinary artist Damon Davis, the St. Louis native whose work spans illustration, painting, printmaking, music, film and public art that explores the African American experience.
Bunky Echo-Hawk: The Resistance – Filmmaker Ben-Alex Dupris explores how the reality and resistance of Native Americans inspires the work of Pawnee artist Bunky Echo-Hawk, igniting discussions about environmentalism and Native American rights, among other topics.
Anik Khan: Street Level – Filmmakers Sofian Khan and Joseph Patel explore the music of Anik Khan, the Bangladesh-born, Queens, New York-raised hip-hop artist whose music sketches the immigrant experience with rare poetic flare, incisive depth and a whole masala of influences at his fingertips.
Amyra León: Strange Grace – Filmmaker Malika Zouhali-Worrall provides a portrait of Amyra León, the musician, poet, author and activist who channels deeply personal experiences of pain and healing into raw, majestic, and often cathartic performances that celebrate love, Blackness and womanhood.
Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio: This is the Way We Rise – Filmmaker Ciara Lacy documents Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, a Kanaka Maoli wahine poet, activist and academic, and her continued work towards justice for Hawaii’s native population.
Maia Cruz Palileo: Becoming the Moon – Filmmaker Ligaiya Romero explores the life and work of Maia Cruz Palileo, the multi-disciplinary, Brooklyn-based artist who examines themes of migration and the permeable concept of home in her works, inspired by the oral history of her family’s arrival in the United States from the Philippines.
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah: The New Chief – Filmmakers Amitabh Joshi and Erik Spink spotlight Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, the Grammy-nominated, modern jazz musician from New Orleans who defies the expectations of jazz while challenging how music is taught in universities nationwide.
Vincent Valdez: The Beginning is Near – Filmmaker Ray Santisteban highlights Vincent Valdez, the San Antonio, Texas-born artist who emphasizes themes of social justice, memory and ignored or under-examined historical narratives in his work.
In the Making will be available for streaming on all station-branded PBS platforms, including pbs.org and the PBS Video app, which is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast. The series will also be available to stream in the U.S. and Canada on Topic’s streaming service via Topic.com, as well as Topic channels on Apple iOS, AppleTV, Android, Amazon Fire TV and Roku, in addition to Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, and Roku Premium Channels.