The Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center (BHERC), in partnership with the Creative Coalition of Color (CCC), have created an opportunity for entertainment professionals in film, marketing, entertainment advertising, and public relations communities to join a virtual panel to provide inside knowledge about diverse careers in the entertainment industry for youth. The panel is part of the 12th Annual Youth Diversity Film Festival (YDFF) and takes place Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 2:00 PM PST/5:00 EST online at www.BHERC.TV.
The Creative Coalition of Color plays a vital role in shaping diversity in the entertainment industry. They are a Black-led, minority-majority coalition in the film, marketing, and entertainment advertising communities whose mission is to find, attract, hire, and support minority talent in our industry.
The CCC aims to complete its mission through an approach that includes outreach and awareness-building about the entertainment industry, connecting underrepresented and diverse candidates with education and mentorships. Dedicated to building a long-lasting and impactful movement, the CCC continues to create new pathways and opportunities for success that have too long been unavailable in our industry for people of color.
Participants in the panel include:
LAURI BROWN, Creative Executive in marketing at Universal Pictures. She’s led the creative campaigns for various films, including “Queen and Slim,” “News of the World,” and the Academy Award-winning, “Green Book.” In her prior role as an agency creative director, Brown led trailer and TV campaigns for films such as “Inception,” “Sully,” “Dunkirk,” and “The Hobbit.”
Her work has won many Clio and Key Art awards, including Best In Show for her work on “The Dark Night.” Lauri is also a proud member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has helped promote and recognize the work of emerging young filmmakers through her participation on the Student Academy Awards Executive Committee.
JACKSON GEORGE SVP, Creative Advertising at Disney, has worked in entertainment advertising for over 20 years. He managed the creative campaigns for some of the most iconic entertainment properties of the past two decades, theatrical and streaming, on Disney+. George has been on Ad Age’s 40 Under 40 list and has won many Key Art, Golden Trailer, Promax & Clio awards. He is a voting member of the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
At Disney, Jackson has guided the creative campaigns for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi,” and “The Rise of Skywalker,” “Encanto,” “Soul,” “Luca,” “Raya,” and “The Last Dragon,” “Frozen 2,” “Incredibles 2,” “Toy Story,” “Maleficent,” “OZ: The Great and Powerful,” “Cinderella,” “Rogue One,” and “The Mandalorian,” Seasons 1 and 2.
Currently, he is responsible for the creative advertising strategy and execution for all Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Walt Disney Animation Studios projects across theatrical and streaming and creative strategy and management of the Avatar franchise.
PETER GIANNASCOLI, President of Global Creative Marketing at Paramount Pictures, oversees all creative marketing efforts for the studio. Originally from New Jersey, Peter is a graduate of Princeton and NYU and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
KAZADI KATAMBWA Sr. Creative Director of Amazon Studios, is an award-winning creative director with over 15 years of theatrical marketing experience in small and blockbuster campaigns. Titles include “Wonder Woman,” “Mad Max,” and “The Dark Knight.”
TIZ SIMPSON, Creative Director at Buddha Jones, started with eight years at New Wave Entertainment, six years at Intralink, and six years at Acme. Tiz began to and would stay late to learn the AVID and cut video. Two years later, she won the “bake-off” that made her an Assistant Editor, and the rest was history. In 2000, Tiz officially started her editorial path, which led to working on campaigns such as “The DaVinci Code,” “The Dark Knight,” “Labor Day,” “Phantom Thread,” “On The Basis of Sex”, and many more. By the time she came to Buddha in 2017, producing had become her main focus. As a creative director, Tiz looks forward to every creative challenge and loves collaborating with editors and building partnerships in the industry.
BHERC’s core mission is to recognize and support youth’s unique talents and voices by providing and promoting this visual platform. Traditionally, brought to the community annually as a live event, the YDFF continues in streaming format and includes 24-hour access to the films and prime industry panels led by top entertainment professionals. The BHERC YDFF is one of the longest-running youth film festivals to focus on diversity. YDFF filmmakers share short narratives, animation, and docu-short films from various topics related to what youth are experiencing, surpassing the definition of a festival by providing guidance and life-changing experiences that go beyond filmmaking throughout the year
The panel is FREE to the public. Register online now at www.bherc.tv. Admission for the online festival: Festival Pass $25.00/Adults, $15.00/Youth; Day Pass $10.00/Adult, $5.00/Youth. Please Note that all films and programs screen online at www.BHERC.TV.
For information about the BHERC YDFF festival, please contact Billie J. Green, Director, BHERC Youth Diversity Film Festival at email: [email protected] or by phone: (323) 732-6275. For information on all the festival offers, visit our website at www.bherc.tv. For additional details about BHERC and all of its programs, visit www.bherc.org.
