Tribeca Teaches® Teaching Artist Produces 'March on Washington Film Festival' Winner

Last month celebrated its fourth year with a group of powerful films by student and emerging filmmakers about the events and heroes of the Civil Rights Era. The festival aims to inspire in audiences a renewed passion for civil rights activism. This year 79 films were submitted in response to March on Washington Film Festival’s question, “What’s your civil right?”. The scope of film subjects ranged from racial tension in Florida to solitary confinement to being black and gay in a barbershop.

We are thrilled to share that one of our Tribeca Teaches® teaching artists, Frank Hooker, produced one of the 2016 Emerging Filmmaker Grand Jury Winners at the festival, NOTHING HAPPENED. It’s a short film, directed by Ted Schneider, about a black artist who, after being stopped and frisked struggles to determine the place for his experience within the larger social context of racial profiling.

It’s no accident that Frank, CEO of multi-media company HarlemWood Entertainment, is a producer on a film that so directly addresses a vital issue of our time. As a filmmaker who focuses on themes of social injustice and identity, in addition to being an educator, he looks to help his students realize that film can be a powerful outlet to share their own narrative.

Frank Hooker- Tribeca Film Institute Teaching Artist from Frank Hooker on Vimeo.

Our Tribeca Teaches program offers opportunities for students and teachers all across New York City to explore filmmaking through theory and practice. Classroom teachers are paired with teaching artists to design and implement filmmaking curricula. The training provided in this program lays the groundwork for students to become emerging filmmakers and go on to share their vision with the world.

Hooker’s film NOTHING HAPPENED recently screened at the White House for the March on Washington Film Festival awards ceremony. Director Ted Schneider, Producer Walter Puryear, Director of Photography Jeremy Weaver, and star of the film Tony Parent were in attendance.

For more information on The March on Washington Film Festival please visit their website.