theGrio Launches Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship Celebrating Black History Month; Adrian Burrell Is Inaugural Recipient

In honor of Black History Month, the Allen Media Group platform theGrio is launching its inaugural Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship — an annual initiative aimed at providing a platform for Black filmmakers to share their compelling narratives with a global audience. This fellowship offers a distribution award and also includes a finishing stipend for a distinguished project centered on the Black experience.

TheGrio’s Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship is an opportunity for Black creatives to showcase their unique stories on a global stage. The fellowship, designed to empower Black filmmakers, provides resources, mentorship and exposure for their creative endeavors.  Open to short films, documentaries, or narrative features, the fellowship aims to uncover and amplify Black stories that deserve to be seen.

The first recipient of theGrio’s Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship is Adrian Burrell, director of the short film Now & Then. The film chronicles the reflections of sharecroppers across the Mississippi Delta, offering a exploration of their history of working on plantations during the era when cotton was king. With a total runtime of over seven minutes, Now And Then is set to be released on Feb. 26. A screener is available here.

“The launch of this fellowship is created to help make an everlasting impact in the Black filmmaking community,” said Byron Allen, founder/chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “This fellowship allows us to foster a new wave of diverse storytelling, and to demonstrate our comittment to celebrating the multi-faceted richness and diversity of the Black experience.”

“I am thrilled and deeply honored to be the first recipient of this prestigious fellowship from theGrio,” Burrell said. “It is a significant moment in my life, and I am grateful to have the support of such an important platform. I look forward to continuing my journey as a storyteller and creating works that inspire and create connections on a global scale.”