Being Seen Winning Recognition for Young Filmmakers

investment in their professional development, noting the program’s practice of taking headshots of the Fellows and setting up interviews about their art. He also points to his cohort’s collaborative nature: “Yeah it’s a competition, but a lot of us ended up helping each other and advising [on each other’s projects].”

Offor’s own generous spirit caught the attention of GFS, and after he left the program, he was asked to join the company as a consultant, with a particular focus on running the Fellowship. He joined in the second year, which coincided with the award’s new partnership with Endeavor Content (now FIFTH SEASON). With their support, alongside GFS, Offor made the curriculum more filmmakercentric, tapping into Endeavor’s wide network. “We wanted the sessions to reflect the filmmaking process,” he explains.

“By the time those four weeks are over, you’re ready to shoot your project.” The Fellowship also aims to prepare the participants for the future, with presentations by agents and representatives. Chow cites a ta lk with writer and director Rashaad Ernesto Green as a highlight. “I remember that conversation being so affirming. He’s a multi-hyphenate too, a writer and

To watch all the films by the 2023 Fellows of the Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award, in partnership with Ghetto Film School and FIFTH SEASON, and discover the winners, go to: frieze.com/ DB-Frieze-LA-FilmAward director who works in both film and TV,” she says. “When you’re able to hear about other people’s career trajectories, you start to see the possibilities for yourself as well.” After running other GFS programs with brands like Neutrogena and Netflix, Offor is taking time to focus on his own projects. “It has been great helping filmmakers. But ultimately I need to make movies. That’s what my goal is.”

Diante Singley, a Fellow from the third year of the program, came across the award through a friend who had participated in the second year. Working as a creative executive by day, he says the Fellowship allowed him the space to “get back to basics.” It also afforded him the chance to build new connections with his peers and colleagues. “You meet these phenomenal people who you aspire to be, and you see what got them to where they are.” Although Singley went into it with modest expectations, his impressionistic film Greyhound (2022), which follows a young Black man’s encounters with his community and loved ones before leaving for college, ended up winning the coveted prize. “It felt very beautiful to be in a room and have people look at you like a filmmaker.” Since winning, it’s been heartening to have people reach out to him as a creative, rather than an executive, Singley says.

Chow’s life has also shifted since the Fellowship. Her film, Sorry for the Inconvenience (2021), a stirring ode to Chinatown, centers on a teen helping her parents run their seafood restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic. After it won the inaugural Audience Award, which is voted for by general viewers alongside the jury-decided Award, Chow decided to keep up the momentum, releasing the short film on platforms like Omeleto and NoBudge. That led to the piece being chosen for NBCUniversal’s “Scene in Color Film Series”, sponsored by Ta rget. She is now at work on an original pilot script for NBCUniversal. “Even though the Fellowship was in 2020 and early 2021, opportunities keep coming from this short film. It’s been a really exciting process.”