AT&T, in partnership with Tribeca Festival, has unveiled the finalists and jury for its Untold Stories film competition. The winner will receive $1 million to take their pitch from an idea to a full-length feature film that will premiere at next year’s Tribeca Festival. Untold Stories seeks to provide funding and mentorship to underrepresented filmmakers to produce their films.
The finalists include Carmen Corral and Gabriela Garcia Medina’s “For Your Own Good,” Lilian T. Mehrel’s “Honeyjoon,” Adrian Cardenas’ “In an Orderly Fashion,” Kanani Koster’s “Shoots” and Desdemona Chiang and Julia Morizawa’s “Something About the Tide.”
Finalists will pitch their story ideas on June 7 in New York City to a panel of jurors including actors Yvette Nicole Brown, Daveed Diggs, Cynthia Erivo, Tanya Saracho, 2022 Untold Stories winner So Young Shelly Yo and AT&T chief marketing and growth officer Kellyn Smith Kenny. The panel will be moderated by journalist and host Brooke Baldwin.
Last year’s Untold Stories winner “Color Book,” directed and written by David Fortune, will make its world premiere June 8 at the Village East Cinema by Angelika. The film will also will be entered in Tribeca’s Viewpoints selection, which will screen in competition at this year’s festival.
A black and white film set in Atlanta, “Color Book” follows a devoted father who is learning to raise his son with down syndrome as a single parent after the passing of his wife. While adjusting to their new reality, the two embark on a journey through Metro Atlanta to attend their first baseball game.
Additionally, AT&T and ATTN: will also premiere their new documentary, “Route to Connection,” with Emmy-award winning filmmaker Eve Van Dyke at the AT&T Untold Stories Lounge June 7. The documentary will spotlight how tens of millions of lives are impacted by the digital divide through the story of three Amarillo, Texas, residents.
“AT&T created Untold Stories to connect underrepresented filmmakers and storytellers to greater possibilities, and it’s working,” said Kenny in a statement. “Our esteemed group of past winners have not only produced several critically acclaimed films and reached millions of people, but their stories have inspired audiences and connected communities all over the world. Year after year, the Untold Stories program proves that connecting talented filmmakers with mentorship and resources really can change everything.”
Source Agencies
