Concord Originals, the production arm of Concord, the world’s leading independent music company and licensor of stage productions, has today announced a partnership with NewFest, one of the country’s leading LGBTQ+ film and media organizations, to launch Sound & Scene: NewFest x Concord QTBIPOC Short Film Initiative, the next round of the one-of-a-kind short film financing and intellectual property licensing initiative to support up-and-coming LGBTQIA+ filmmakers of color.
In addition to providing financing of $20,000 per short film and production support, Concord Originals will also enable the winning filmmakers to incorporate one of six iconic songs from its vast well of IP into their films: Phil Collins, “Against All Odds”; Joan Sebastian, “Secreto de Amor”; Billie Holiday, “God Bless The Child”; Radical Face, “Welcome Home, Son”; Allison Russell, “All of the Women”; and MUNA, “Home By Now.”
This summer, eligible filmmakers will pitch their original short films incorporating the Concord-licensed IP to a panel of judges including Charles Hopkins, Director of Development & Production at Concord Originals, and a NewFest staff member. The pitch session will be held virtually to ensure the initiative is accessible to QTBIPOC filmmakers throughout the country. The winning filmmakers will be announced in August and will produce their short films with the support of Concord Originals and NewFest, as well as select mentors identified by NewFest, ahead of being showcased at NewFest Pride, one of the organization’s flagship festivals, in 2025. The showcase will include a filmmaker Q&A and screenings of the films. Concord Originals and NewFest are looking for new and inventive ways to create unique, music-driven, narrative short films.
“Following the successful launch of this initiative that saw three filmmakers produce an incredible and eclectic mix of music-driven shorts, I’m so excited that Concord is extending and expanding our support of the QTBIPOC community,” said Hopkins. “In a time of industry-wide transition, it’s more vital than ever for companies like ours to create opportunity, and NewFest is the perfect partner to identify and elevate the world’s best queer and trans filmmakers of color.”
“NewFest firmly believes that the only way to combat pipeline issues in our industry is to put resources directly into the hands of the most marginalized members of our community,” said NewFest Executive Director David Hatkoff. “Concord Originals is putting their money where their mouth is, and we are so excited to work with them to bring this incredible opportunity to QTBIPOC filmmakers, and to share the music-driven films the selected artists make with NewFest audiences.”
The partnership comes as part of Concord’s Impact Investment Initiative – a $10M fund to deploy capital into projects and companies that serve or are led by members of underrepresented and marginalized communities. In contrast to Concord’s general philanthropic efforts, the intent of the impact investing fund is to provide support and investment to projects that have commercial potential if led by folks from communities that historically have not had access to those resources. Concord’s Impact Investment Committee has endorsed this Initiative in the six-figure range. Hopkins ideated this Initiative and will oversee it for Concord with Nick D’Angiolillo, Concord’s VP of Non-traditional Licensing & Sales, alongside Executive Director David Hatkoff, Initiative Manager Martine McDonald, and the larger team at NewFest.
Concord Originals launched the successful initiative two years ago, culminating with three shorts premiering at the 2023 Outfest Film Festival – all utilizing iconic songs from Concord’s vast library: Skate, a romantic drama inspired by the disco hit “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” by Sylvester and written and directed by Zoë Hodge; Avivar, a family drama inspired by the song “Tres Días de Carnaval” from Latin music icons Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco, starring Jonathan De La Torre, who also wrote the film along with writer/director Miles Lopez; and Artificial, a sci-fi romance featuring “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel and written and directed by Chanelle Tyson.
Concord Originals is the production arm of the music giant, developing and producing stories anchored by Concord’s artists, music and theatrical works. Upcoming and current projects include “Stax: Soulsville, USA,” a multi-part docuseries about the legendary Stax Records for HBO from executive producer Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made in America) and director Jamila Wignot (Ailey), which screened at SXSW; a documentary feature with White Horse Pictures, Shari & Lamb Chop directed by Lisa D’Apolito (Love, Gilda); Alison Ellwood’s documentary feature Let The Canary Sing, chronicling musical icon Cyndi Lauper, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival for Paramount+; Ilya Chaiken’s music doc Pretty Ugly: The Story of the Lunachicks from RBG’s Julie Cohen and Betsy West; and the star-studded My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert, broadcast on PBS and Sky Arts.
QTBIPOC filmmakers are invited to visit https://newfest.org/sound-and-scene/ to learn more and submit their interest between June 5 - July 5, 2024. Eligible candidates may attend a virtual Sound & Scene: NewFest x Concord QTBIPOC Short Film Initiative preview session and learn more about how to prepare their written application for consideration in the pitch competition.
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