# Relationships Matter: Bronzelens Film Festival developing the next generation of filmmakers.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 10 Oct 2024, 30 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/e60f6026-490d-419a-afcd-b1f1016314f3/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Kathleen Bertrand. Founder of the BronzeLens Film Festival, one of the nation's premier film festivals dedicated to showcasing filmmakers and storytellers of color. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, BronzeLens has spent more than 15 years creating opportunities for diverse voices in film, television, documentaries, animation, music videos, and digital media. The discussion explores the origins of BronzeLens, Atlanta's role in the film industry, filmmaking opportunities, networking, social justice storytelling, and how vision, relationships, and persistence transformed an idea into a globally recognized cultural institution. Purpose of the Interview The purpose of the interview was to: • Highlight the impact of the BronzeLens Film Festival. • Discuss opportunities for filmmakers of color. • Explain how the festival was created. • Showcase Atlanta's emergence as a film production hub. • Promote the 15th Annual BronzeLens Film Festival. • Encourage aspiring creators to tell their stories. • Demonstrate the power of relationships and community building. About BronzeLens Film Festival BronzeLens Film Festival was founded to ensure that creators of color have access to: • Visibility • Industry connections • Networking opportunities • Educational resources • Film exhibition platforms The festival serves filmmakers from: • Atlanta • The Southeast • Across the United States • Around the world Its mission is to help storytellers gain opportunities in an industry where access has historically been limited. Why BronzeLens Was Created Kathleen explained that the idea originated while she was a senior executive at the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. The catalyst came from then-CEO William Pate, who asked an important question: "Why doesn't Atlanta have something like Sundance for the African American community?" At the time: • Georgia's film industry was rapidly expanding. • Major productions were increasingly choosing Atlanta. • Tyler Perry Studios was growing. • Opportunities were emerging for filmmakers. However, there was no major platform dedicated to connecting filmmakers of color with those opportunities. Kathleen took that challenge seriously. Building the Vision After receiving the challenge, Kathleen spent months: • Researching film festivals. • Studying successful models. • Meeting with local filmmakers. • Identifying gaps in the market. She sought advice from respected Atlanta professionals including: Cheryl Gripper Former executive at 11Alive and community leader. Deirdre McDonald Emmy Award-winning producer and educator who became BronzeLens' Artistic Director. Together they built the foundation for what would become BronzeLens. The Importance of Atlanta BronzeLens is deeply connected to Atlanta's identity. According to Kathleen: Atlanta is now one of America's leading centers for: • Film production • Television production • Creative talent • Entertainment entrepreneurship The festival was designed to ensure that people of color participated in that growth. Key Point: BronzeLens exists to help diverse storytellers claim a place in Atlanta's booming entertainment economy. How the Name BronzeLens Was Created One fascinating story from the interview involved the festival's name. The original proposed name was: Bronze Jubilee Film Festival After presenting the concept to executives from Turner…

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. I am Rashan McDonald, the host
[0:08] Speaker 1: of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
[0:11] Speaker 1: stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
[0:16] Speaker 1: Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
[0:19] Speaker 1: talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
[0:22] Speaker 1: their companies, and speak with nod profits who are making
[0:25] Speaker 1: a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
[0:28] Speaker 1: listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
[0:31] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hi, I'm Rashan MacDonald. I host
[0:37] Speaker 1: the weekly Money Making Conversation Masterclass show. The interviews and
[0:41] Speaker 1: information that business show provides off for everyone. Like I
[0:44] Speaker 1: tell you all the time, it's time to start reading
[0:47] Speaker 1: other people's success stories and start living your own. My
[0:50] Speaker 1: guest is a visionary. She's the founder of the Bronze
[0:53] Speaker 1: Lands Film Festival, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the last
[0:56] Speaker 1: fifteen years, Bronze Lands has promoted the work of independent
[0:59] Speaker 1: filmmakers of color from Atlanta, the Southeast region, the nation,
[1:03] Speaker 1: and the world. This film festival vised networking opportunities that
[1:07] Speaker 1: would develop the next generation of filmmakers. Now let's hear
[1:11] Speaker 1: the founder. Please welcome to the Money Making Conversation Masterclass,
[1:15] Speaker 1: Kathleen Bertrand how you doing, my friend, I'm.
[1:18] Speaker 2: Wonderful so delighted to talk to you anytime.
[1:22] Speaker 1: Well, first of all, what is my brief story and
[1:27] Speaker 1: the intro I mentioned what the Bronze Lens Film Festival represent.
[1:32] Speaker 1: What is the mission of the Bronze Lens Film Festival
[1:35] Speaker 1: based in Atlanta, Georgia.
[1:37] Speaker 2: We have always wanted to be this platform for connecting
[1:43] Speaker 2: filmmakers of color. We wanted that to happen in this
[1:48] Speaker 2: place called Atlanta, Georgia because at the time that we started,
[1:54] Speaker 2: Georgia was really rising on the scene as a major
[1:59] Speaker 2: production site in competition with New York and Hollywood. And
[2:06] Speaker 2: now it just depends on which month of the year
[2:10] Speaker 2: one of them. One of those three is either number
[2:13] Speaker 2: one or number two, either Georgia, New York or California
[2:17] Speaker 2: in film and television production. Our reason for being starting
[2:23] Speaker 2: this platform is to make sure that people that looks
[2:26] Speaker 2: like me were included in whatever the process might be.
[2:32] Speaker 2: Is this new to Atlanta? If it is, how do
[2:35] Speaker 2: I get in? How can I become a part of it?
[2:38] Speaker 2: As if I'm a creator, how do I get my
[2:41] Speaker 2: work shown, or maybe I don't know that I want
[2:44] Speaker 2: to be a creator, but I have a great story.
[2:47] Speaker 2: What are the tools that I need to tell my
[2:49] Speaker 2: story or to tell the stories that I have been
[2:52] Speaker 2: thinking about. So with all of those things, Bronze Lens
[2:56] Speaker 2: wanted to be that pivot point for people to say, Hey,
[3:02] Speaker 2: me too, I can do this kind of work, or
[3:04] Speaker 2: I'm interested in this kind of work and why not Atlanta.
[3:09] Speaker 1: The event starts August twenty first and runs through August
[3:12] Speaker 1: twenty fifth. Can the everyday layman attend these these greetings?
[3:18] Speaker 2: Absolutely? We have prices and attractions and interest for everyone.
[3:29] Speaker 2: The film prices are the general cost of a film
[3:32] Speaker 2: fifteen dollars, but if you come and you want to
[3:36] Speaker 2: see a group of short films, you may see five
[3:40] Speaker 2: or six films at one time, one after the other,
[3:44] Speaker 2: for that same fifteen dollars. So the website breaks it
[3:49] Speaker 2: down with the different blocks that we have. But the
[3:53] Speaker 2: average person would really enjoy finding out the various stories
[3:59] Speaker 2: that we have have to tell, and you find yourself
[4:02] Speaker 2: in these stories. In addition to that, every year we
[4:06] Speaker 2: have programming that is open at no charge, and this
[4:11] Speaker 2: happens on Sunday, the twenty fifth, because we have our
[4:15] Speaker 2: Cinema and Social Justice Sunday screenings. We always pick at
[4:22] Speaker 2: least two films that really reflect our journey or our
[4:27] Speaker 2: struggle when it comes to social justice, and nothing really
[4:32] Speaker 2: tells those stories better than seeing them on film, seeing
[4:36] Speaker 2: them on a big screen, and so we do that
[4:39] Speaker 2: every year since we've started. We make Cinema and Social
[4:42] Speaker 2: Justice Sunday open to the public.
[4:45] Speaker 1: Then you have the Cinema and Social Justice Sunday, which,
[4:49] Speaker 1: like you said, all those will be screened at to
[4:51] Speaker 1: Tara Atlanta Theater. But it's part of your DNA. Why
[4:56] Speaker 1: is it so important for Bronze Land Bronze Lenz Film
[5:01] Speaker 1: Festival to feature these type of independent and sometimes commercial productions.
[5:08] Speaker 2: Yes, Bronze Lens Film Festival has from its beginning recognized
[5:14] Speaker 2: the fact that we are Atlanta born and intricate, and
[5:21] Speaker 2: all woven into the Atlanta DNA is the story of
[5:26] Speaker 2: civil rights and the civil rights movement. Atlanta has often
[5:29] Speaker 2: been called the cradle of civil rights, and so how
[5:33] Speaker 2: better to stamp our identity and how better to make
[5:41] Speaker 2: something unique that is particular to Atlanta than a day
[5:48] Speaker 2: that honors those films that uplift, that talk about that
[5:54] Speaker 2: educate around the area of social justice and human rights.
[5:59] Speaker 2: We had to me it was like a no brainer.
[6:02] Speaker 2: We have to do this. This is what Atlanta is
[6:04] Speaker 2: about because we do have people that walk among us legends,
[6:11] Speaker 2: so to speak, the late Congressman John Lewis, Martin Luther
[6:15] Speaker 2: King Junior, of course, the late Joseph Lowery, c T. Vivian,
[6:20] Speaker 2: and still among us Andrew Young and Zernona Clayton. In fact,
[6:25] Speaker 2: last year, Bronze Lens began the Andrew J. Young Cinema
[6:31] Speaker 2: and Social Justice Award, and that is going to one
[6:36] Speaker 2: of those films. I can't say, but we wanted to
[6:40] Speaker 2: do something that honored Andrew Young. Did you know that
[6:44] Speaker 2: he was a filmmaker, a documentarian. Yes, he has won
[6:49] Speaker 2: Emmys for films that he has created, and so what
[6:54] Speaker 2: better way to honor Andy than to have an award
[6:58] Speaker 2: that really recognizes his skill and talent as a documentarian
[7:03] Speaker 2: but also recognizes the vast work that he has done
[7:08] Speaker 2: in this area of human rights. And so that's what
[7:11] Speaker 2: that Sunday means to us and why it's a significant
[7:14] Speaker 2: part of our programming. Sunday Evening when we're at the
[7:19] Speaker 2: Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College. We'll get
[7:24] Speaker 2: a chance to award all of the top filmmakers in
[7:28] Speaker 2: the various categories of films that we have. So not
[7:32] Speaker 2: only will someone receive that Andrew J. Young Award, but
[7:37] Speaker 2: we will also honor the best Short Documentary, the Best Documentary,
[7:41] Speaker 2: the short film, the feature film, the web series, the
[7:45] Speaker 2: dance video, the music video, Best Actor, Best Actress. All
[7:50] Speaker 2: of those are awards that will come that night at
[7:54] Speaker 2: the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center.
[7:56] Speaker 1: Right. You know, it's really important that when you hear
[7:59] Speaker 1: something like this, because everybody has a bright idea. Kathleen, Okay, everybody,
[8:04] Speaker 1: I want to do this. I have dream. How did
[8:07] Speaker 1: you take this idea and made in a reality? The
[8:10] Speaker 1: Bronze Lands Film Festival and we've come back, We're going
[8:13] Speaker 1: to really get into detail a lot of the celebrity
[8:16] Speaker 1: names who are associated with a lot of the projects
[8:19] Speaker 1: that are being produced and presented. But how did this
[8:21] Speaker 1: idea come to you and then how did you eventually execute.
[8:25] Speaker 3: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[8:29] Speaker 3: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[8:41] Speaker 3: Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashan McDonald money Making Conversations. Masterclass
[8:46] Speaker 3: continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
[8:51] Speaker 3: Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[8:56] Speaker 2: The idea came to me from the CEO at the
[9:02] Speaker 2: Atlanta Convention in Visitors Bureau, where I was vice president,
[9:08] Speaker 2: maybe I was senior vice president at that time. I
[9:12] Speaker 2: had a long career with the Convention in Visitors Bureau,
[9:16] Speaker 2: and my area was diversity marketing, making sure that people
[9:21] Speaker 2: outside of Atlanta knew all of the greatness that this
[9:24] Speaker 2: city had and why this city could handle their meeting
[9:28] Speaker 2: or their conference or anything like their tour or anything
[9:32] Speaker 2: like that. So diversity marketing was my area. The new
[9:36] Speaker 2: person in charge was a gentleman by the name of
[9:38] Speaker 2: William Pate. He had just started in the role, and
[9:43] Speaker 2: he had a meeting and encouraged me to come to
[9:46] Speaker 2: a meeting in his office and he asked me why
[9:48] Speaker 2: didn't Atlanta have something like a Sun Dance for the
[9:54] Speaker 2: African American community. He says, When I go out to
[10:00] Speaker 2: I noticed that everybody's talking about Sun Dancer. Everybody's talking
[10:05] Speaker 2: about what they're doing or where they're going and you
[10:07] Speaker 2: see people on the streets, and he says, why doesn't
[10:10] Speaker 2: Atlanta have something like that? Because his fallback was, you know,
[10:14] Speaker 2: after all, we have Tyler Perry Studios here and it
[10:18] Speaker 2: just seems like, you know, this community should have more.
[10:21] Speaker 2: So I took his words. His words were, why don't
[10:24] Speaker 2: you see what you can do with that? That was
[10:27] Speaker 2: my direction that morning, and so I spent that was
[10:32] Speaker 2: two thousand and eight, And so I spent the early
[10:36] Speaker 2: part of two thousand and nine doing research, really looking
[10:39] Speaker 2: into what were film festivals in other places for people
[10:44] Speaker 2: of color, specifically what did they do, who came, why
[10:48] Speaker 2: did they come? And then I began to talk to
[10:52] Speaker 2: the community here because there were some small film festivals
[10:57] Speaker 2: but nothing really that it didn't press, didn't get airtime,
[11:03] Speaker 2: no advertising, just if you knew you knew kind of events.
[11:08] Speaker 2: And I wanted to do something bigger. So I started
[11:12] Speaker 2: talking to those people. And then I called on a
[11:15] Speaker 2: friend that I had known that you had a chance
[11:18] Speaker 2: to meet from my days at Spelman College, Cheryl Gripper,
[11:22] Speaker 2: who at that time was with the eleven o'live television
[11:27] Speaker 2: as vice president of Community Affairs. And Cheryl then and
[11:31] Speaker 2: she was also had a master's in film, and she
[11:36] Speaker 2: called on a good friend of hers who worked with her,
[11:40] Speaker 2: and that friend was Dedre McDonald who is our current
[11:45] Speaker 2: and was then artistic director. And Dedre is an Emmy
[11:50] Speaker 2: Award winning producer. But not only that, she was an
[11:54] Speaker 2: instructor in the area of film production at Clark Atlanta University.
[12:00] Speaker 2: And so, with those ladies giving input expanding the vision,
[12:07] Speaker 2: Bronze Lens began and had our first presentation in two
[12:13] Speaker 2: thousand and nine. Now this is where friends of friends
[12:17] Speaker 2: are important. Remember I'm at the Convention and Visitors Bureau,
[12:21] Speaker 2: and the Convention and Visitors Bureau had a board of directors.
[12:24] Speaker 2: One of the persons on the board of directors was
[12:27] Speaker 2: with Turner Network, and she took a liking to me,
[12:32] Speaker 2: as people would say, and gave me the opportunity to
[12:36] Speaker 2: make a presentation about Bronze Lens to the Turner family.
[12:41] Speaker 2: So at that time that included Turner Network, Television, Turner Classics,
[12:48] Speaker 2: the Cartoon Network, the Super Channel, TBS, all of that.
[12:55] Speaker 2: All of those people were actually in the room when
[12:58] Speaker 2: we see at CNN. Of course, when we made our
[13:01] Speaker 2: first presentation and they gave us their feedback, they thought
[13:06] Speaker 2: it was a good idea for Atlanta, and then the
[13:11] Speaker 2: feedback after the meeting was that they didn't like the name.
[13:16] Speaker 2: The name that we presented was the Bronze Jubilee Film Festival,
[13:22] Speaker 2: and that was really based on an event that Cheryl
[13:25] Speaker 2: had produced in some years previous that was an awards
[13:29] Speaker 2: show honoring great people in the community. But the people
[13:34] Speaker 2: at Turner just didn't like that name for this event.
[13:39] Speaker 2: And so my contact there at Turner said, well, I
[13:43] Speaker 2: know a naming company. I had never heard of a
[13:47] Speaker 2: naming company before. We shine okay, like people get paid
[13:51] Speaker 2: to name things, Yes, they do, and she knew a
[13:55] Speaker 2: naming company. So she said, let me have them talk
[13:58] Speaker 2: to you. Let's see if we can come up with
[14:01] Speaker 2: just a better name. And so I sat down with
[14:04] Speaker 2: the naming company. Cheryl sat down with them as well,
[14:08] Speaker 2: and we just gave that broad vision of what we
[14:10] Speaker 2: thought Bronze Lens, well, what we thought the film festival
[14:14] Speaker 2: could look like, and about it was Bronze Jubilee, also
[14:20] Speaker 2: known as looking for another name. So they came back
[14:25] Speaker 2: about four about four six weeks later, and the name
[14:30] Speaker 2: was Bronze Lens. They actually had about six names on
[14:34] Speaker 2: a page but I can tell you when I saw
[14:37] Speaker 2: Bronze Lens, I don't remember seeing anything else on the
[14:41] Speaker 2: page because just nothing struck me like that. The coloration
[14:48] Speaker 2: of it, so to speak, gave us a broad reach
[14:52] Speaker 2: to bronze people, people of color, across the diet, around
[14:56] Speaker 2: the world, and then the lens just talked about everything
[15:00] Speaker 2: we did, both in front of and behind the lens.
[15:04] Speaker 2: That was exactly who we were. So that's where the
[15:08] Speaker 2: name came from in that process. And our first festival
[15:12] Speaker 2: was twenty ten. We had twenty three films. Will Packer
[15:19] Speaker 2: came by, Rob Hardy made us a video that we
[15:24] Speaker 2: put on our website. We got a welcome message from
[15:27] Speaker 2: the Mayor of Atlanta, Cassim Reid, and that's how we
[15:32] Speaker 2: launched Bron's Lens under the guys of the Atlanta Convention
[15:38] Speaker 2: and Visitors Bureau. It really was the incubator for what
[15:42] Speaker 2: we were doing. But the festival has always been a
[15:45] Speaker 2: separate five oh one C three organization with its own
[15:50] Speaker 2: bank accounts, et cetera, et cetera. The film that you
[15:52] Speaker 2: brought to Bron's Lens was the Steve Harvey film.
[15:58] Speaker 1: Well, you know that's from Bronze Jubilee. Now it's Bronze
[16:03] Speaker 1: Lynz Film Festival. Now some of the celebrity names associated
[16:06] Speaker 1: with some of the production as producers Jamie Fox, Jamie Lee, Curtis, Yes,
[16:14] Speaker 1: Morris Chestnut, civil rights attorney Ben Krump, each producer of
[16:19] Speaker 1: a film called How to Sue the Klan That is
[16:22] Speaker 1: so typical of attorney being Crump, very good friend of mine. Now,
[16:27] Speaker 1: how do these films get selected and how they will submitted?
[16:31] Speaker 1: Because you know you want the big names associated with
[16:33] Speaker 1: that's what brings the media that week, gets people excited
[16:36] Speaker 1: about seeing the projects. When you see and hear about
[16:38] Speaker 1: the Jamie Fox film A Ben Krump, a Jamie Lee Curtis,
[16:42] Speaker 1: Debora Riley Draper, Morris Chestnut. But how do they get submitted?
[16:48] Speaker 2: Well, we have a submissions process that opens each year
[16:52] Speaker 2: in October. We broadcast that both through our social media
[16:58] Speaker 2: as well as with a newsletter that we send out
[17:00] Speaker 2: to filmmakers both current and previous, in anybody else that's
[17:04] Speaker 2: interested in what we do. And there is a film
[17:09] Speaker 2: portal that most film festivals use call film Freeway, and
[17:15] Speaker 2: so that is how a filmmaker would submit their film
[17:18] Speaker 2: to Bronze Lens. We put our link in our communication
[17:23] Speaker 2: and a filmmaker would submit their film through the portal
[17:27] Speaker 2: and they start in October and we receive films all
[17:31] Speaker 2: the way up through April. Over the course of this
[17:35] Speaker 2: six month period, those films are being judged and screened
[17:41] Speaker 2: so that we know what has a chance of being
[17:44] Speaker 2: in the film festival. You know, as you screen through
[17:48] Speaker 2: and in the process of viewing the films, that's when
[17:52] Speaker 2: you get the backstory of who's part of the crew,
[17:57] Speaker 2: and so many of the names. In fact, all of
[17:59] Speaker 2: the names, with the exception of just a couple that
[18:02] Speaker 2: you mentioned, were a surprise to us as we went
[18:06] Speaker 2: through the films and you go through the entire crew
[18:09] Speaker 2: and you go, oh my god. You know, you're just
[18:12] Speaker 2: looking at a name. It's just like, well, Mars Chestnut, right,
[18:15] Speaker 2: and he had come to Bronze Lens years ago when
[18:19] Speaker 2: they did the Malcolm Malcolm Little movie Best Man Holiday
[18:28] Speaker 2: brought that to Bron'ze Lens as a closing film, and
[18:32] Speaker 2: so to see that he's producer on a film, or
[18:36] Speaker 2: to see the name of Jamie Lee Curtis, or to
[18:39] Speaker 2: see the name of Ben Crump, and Ben Crump is
[18:41] Speaker 2: actually associated with two films that we have. And what
[18:46] Speaker 2: that says, though, what that says is there are people
[18:50] Speaker 2: that are out there that don't mind putting their time,
[18:56] Speaker 2: energy or dollars behind these credible stories that need to
[19:02] Speaker 2: be told. That's really what it's said.
[19:04] Speaker 1: The other the two movies you're saying like How to
[19:06] Speaker 1: Suit the Klan and the other one is The Water Boys.
[19:09] Speaker 1: That's where civil rights attorney being Crumpet is tied to.
[19:12] Speaker 1: So let's let's let people know some important days here,
[19:16] Speaker 1: like April twenty first, I'm excuse me, August twenty first
[19:20] Speaker 1: through the twenty fifth. That's where you'll be doing the
[19:23] Speaker 1: selections and the daily screenings and all panels in the workshops.
[19:26] Speaker 1: That's the twenty first, and that's going to be the
[19:28] Speaker 1: twer Atlanta Theater, correct Historic correct tarer Okay, And then
[19:33] Speaker 1: on Saturday twenty fourth, Bronze Lynn's inaugural Filmmakers Ball. Tell
[19:38] Speaker 1: me about that.
[19:40] Speaker 2: Yes, we used to have the Women Superstars event on
[19:44] Speaker 2: that Saturday part of the festival, and we appealed that
[19:48] Speaker 2: off to a different time of the year so that
[19:51] Speaker 2: we can celebrate all of these amazing women and just
[19:55] Speaker 2: do that. And so I wanted, yes, that's right, that's right.
[20:01] Speaker 2: So I wanted to do something on that Saturday, and
[20:07] Speaker 2: I started thinking about a ball. Now this is me,
[20:10] Speaker 2: of course I have these young team members, and so
[20:15] Speaker 2: it got skewed into a sneaker ball, which is great
[20:18] Speaker 2: because people get excited about that. But the primary thing
[20:22] Speaker 2: was this is year fifteen, and we wanted to do
[20:25] Speaker 2: something in celebration of ourselves that yes, we made it,
[20:29] Speaker 2: but we also wanted to celebrate our amazing filmmakers, both
[20:34] Speaker 2: those from this year and those from previous years. And
[20:38] Speaker 2: so we have extended an invitation to all the filmmakers
[20:42] Speaker 2: from whom we had contact information to come out and
[20:46] Speaker 2: join us in this celebration. It's the Sneaker Ball at
[20:50] Speaker 2: City Hall, and we are excited that the Mayor's Office
[20:55] Speaker 2: of Film, Entertainment and Nightlife is hosting us to be
[20:59] Speaker 2: at City Hall on the evening of August twenty fourth.
[21:03] Speaker 1: When you start talking, when you start talking about the
[21:05] Speaker 1: secrets to success, you know, being able to pull this off.
[21:08] Speaker 1: You mentioned in early relationships being tied to the visitors bureau,
[21:14] Speaker 1: sitting down and somebody recommends goes to a naming company.
[21:19] Speaker 1: What is the secrets of your success? Of being the
[21:21] Speaker 1: sustain itself for fifteen years and also to come with
[21:25] Speaker 1: significant participants as producers Jamie Fox, Ben Crump, Jamie Lee Curtis,
[21:31] Speaker 1: Marris Chestnut. What's the secrets?
[21:34] Speaker 2: Well, I can't take credit for the Jamie Lee, Curtis, etc.
[21:38] Speaker 2: S of those names, because, as I said to you,
[21:43] Speaker 2: those names as part of the crew were a surprise
[21:47] Speaker 2: to us. But the fact that the filmmakers thought enough
[21:50] Speaker 2: of us to submit their film to us says everything.
[21:54] Speaker 2: And so I'll give you a couple of things. Number One,
[21:57] Speaker 2: Bronze Lens is an Academy Award qualifying film festival for
[22:02] Speaker 2: the short film. We've been awarded that since twenty sixteen.
[22:07] Speaker 2: That means that the kind of film that submits as
[22:11] Speaker 2: a short film a short narrative, the film that wins
[22:16] Speaker 2: in that category gets to submit their film to the
[22:20] Speaker 2: Academy Awards for consideration for next year's awards. It's huge,
[22:26] Speaker 2: It really is huge, and so that's one reason that
[22:30] Speaker 2: filmmakers look at us. Another reason that filmmakers look at us,
[22:34] Speaker 2: and I would say this is part of our key
[22:37] Speaker 2: to success is we treat everyone well so well. The
[22:44] Speaker 2: hospitality component of Bronze Lens is something that comes from
[22:48] Speaker 2: me naturally, from my years thirty two years in hospitality industry.
[22:53] Speaker 2: But knowing how to treat people and make them feel
[22:57] Speaker 2: welcome and when they get here, having a quality an
[23:01] Speaker 2: excellent experience for them. That's what Bron's Lens is known for.
[23:05] Speaker 2: And if you go back and read the experiences or
[23:08] Speaker 2: the reviews that the filmmakers write, they always mentioned how
[23:13] Speaker 2: well they were treated. I have a quick story I'd
[23:16] Speaker 2: love to tell if I could. There was a young
[23:18] Speaker 2: man that came to Bronze Lens from California a student film.
[23:23] Speaker 2: He brought a student film. He was looking for the
[23:27] Speaker 2: room where his film was going to be screened, and
[23:29] Speaker 2: he passed the registration desk. One of the gentlemen at
[23:33] Speaker 2: the registration desk came out from behind the desk and said, son,
[23:37] Speaker 2: I'll show you where the room is, but here, let
[23:40] Speaker 2: me help you. The young man was having trouble putting
[23:42] Speaker 2: his tie on. He wanted to have a tie and
[23:46] Speaker 2: jacket before he walked in the room to say I'm
[23:48] Speaker 2: the filmmaker. And so one of our gentlemen came around
[23:53] Speaker 2: and made sure that that young man looked presentable to
[23:57] Speaker 2: go to the next screen go to his screening, and
[23:59] Speaker 2: I came along right at that time, and I walked
[24:02] Speaker 2: him to his screening, and he was just so overwhelmed
[24:07] Speaker 2: with the kindness because that's not what he expected. And
[24:10] Speaker 2: after it was over, the fact that everyone came up
[24:13] Speaker 2: to him and talked to him about how great his
[24:15] Speaker 2: film was and that people recognized him throughout the weekend,
[24:19] Speaker 2: that was important to him. But we tried to treat
[24:23] Speaker 2: each of our filmmakers the very same way. We have
[24:27] Speaker 2: a huge group of volunteers. Last week we did an
[24:31] Speaker 2: orientation for over one hundred people that want to volunteer
[24:36] Speaker 2: for Bronze Lens this year because they've heard about what
[24:40] Speaker 2: a great experience it was. And so many of our
[24:43] Speaker 2: volunteers go on to make connections because some of them
[24:46] Speaker 2: are filmmakers or budding filmmakers themselves, and so that becomes
[24:51] Speaker 2: a great experience. So having a great volunteer team is
[24:55] Speaker 2: part of success. And then I would say the final
[24:58] Speaker 2: piece is always all always relationships, relationships knowing people, knowing
[25:05] Speaker 2: people that know people. But it's just not a connection.
[25:09] Speaker 2: I never really used that word, because if we're doing
[25:13] Speaker 2: business together, I want you to know me. I want
[25:15] Speaker 2: you to know about my integrity, about the integrity of
[25:19] Speaker 2: my organization. I want you to know about my Atlantic
[25:21] Speaker 2: history and the things that we've done, so that you
[25:24] Speaker 2: know who you're doing business with. And so that's why
[25:28] Speaker 2: people that have done work with us don't mind referring
[25:32] Speaker 2: us on to other people that could possibly collaborate with us,
[25:36] Speaker 2: because they know we have that kind of reputation of
[25:40] Speaker 2: really sitting down and trying to build those relationships.
[25:44] Speaker 1: Awesome. Now, the last day, which is Sunday, August twenty fifth,
[25:48] Speaker 1: we've already talked about Sneak of Ball. We talked about
[25:51] Speaker 1: twenty first to the twenty fifth. You can see the
[25:53] Speaker 1: screens at the Tara Atlanta Theater, but on the campus
[25:56] Speaker 1: of more House campus at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center.
[26:00] Speaker 1: You're going to have the Cinema and Social Justice Sunday.
[26:04] Speaker 1: You said from Jump that's always been a major role
[26:07] Speaker 1: that Bronze Land has played. This is not an inauur role,
[26:10] Speaker 1: this is something this is part of your DNA. Why
[26:12] Speaker 1: is it so important?
[26:14] Speaker 2: Well, seem and Social Justice Sunday. Those screenings will take
[26:18] Speaker 2: place also at the Tara, and then we'll move to
[26:22] Speaker 2: the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center for the Bronze Lens Awards,
[26:26] Speaker 2: But let me speak on Cinnemon Social Justice Sunday. This
[26:29] Speaker 2: is Atlanta. This is Atlanta, that place that was known
[26:34] Speaker 2: before film as the cradle of the civil rights movement,
[26:37] Speaker 2: the home of doctor Martin, Luther King Junior, the home
[26:40] Speaker 2: of John Lewis, the home of Joseph Lowry, c T.
[26:45] Speaker 2: Vivian Zernona Clayton, Coretta Scott Corretta, Scott King. We had
[26:51] Speaker 2: legends walking among us.
[26:54] Speaker 1: Can you tell them how the website and how we
[26:56] Speaker 1: can reach out to them for tickets and more information
[26:59] Speaker 1: on the event.
[27:01] Speaker 2: Yes, Tickets and everything that you need to know about
[27:06] Speaker 2: the film festival are all at our website www dot
[27:12] Speaker 2: Bronze Lens dot com, b r O n Z E
[27:17] Speaker 2: l E n S dot com. We're on Facebook, Instagram,
[27:22] Speaker 2: TikTok x and just at Bronze Lens and you'll find
[27:28] Speaker 2: us on all of those platforms. And those platforms also
[27:31] Speaker 2: give you a lot of information about the various panels
[27:35] Speaker 2: that we'll have. There are eleven panels that we will
[27:39] Speaker 2: have panel discussions with all kinds of topics from creating
[27:44] Speaker 2: a film with your iPhone to getting your film green
[27:49] Speaker 2: lit and we have one hundred and forty films over
[27:53] Speaker 2: the course of those five days rushin and topics is
[27:57] Speaker 2: varied as women and history, relationships and men, mental health,
[28:00] Speaker 2: and comedy, and religion and spirituality. All of that information
[28:05] Speaker 2: is on that website for you to dig through and
[28:08] Speaker 2: find the things that are of interest to you. That's
[28:12] Speaker 2: Bronze Lens dot Com.
[28:15] Speaker 1: Awesome. I really appreciate you taking the time. We're gonna
[28:18] Speaker 1: get this out here. You know, I had to contact
[28:20] Speaker 1: you because I have history with this. I've sat on
[28:23] Speaker 1: panels for Kathleen. She know, come on, do you forgot
[28:27] Speaker 1: about that? Did you forgot that you do panels for?
[28:29] Speaker 1: You know?
[28:30] Speaker 2: Then I interviewed you. I'd interviewed you my first You're
[28:36] Speaker 2: my first interviewing. Thank you so much.
[28:38] Speaker 1: Thank you, and I thank you for allowing you to
[28:40] Speaker 1: me to interview you, and also welcome you into fifteen
[28:43] Speaker 1: years and fifteen more years and when you get the
[28:46] Speaker 1: fifty we're gonna interview for the fiftieth anniversary of the
[28:49] Speaker 1: Bronze Lyns Film Festival. We ain't gonna know where Kathleen, Okay,
[28:52] Speaker 1: we might be talking a little bit slower at the
[28:54] Speaker 1: fifty year adversary, but we're gonna be talking, okay, even
[28:59] Speaker 1: though you didn't know at the time, but you found
[29:01] Speaker 1: out through research Jamie Fox being Crop, Jamie Lee Curtis,
[29:06] Speaker 1: Debora Riley Draper and my man Morris Chestnut.
[29:09] Speaker 2: Yes, sir, yes, yes, you know what for us, You
[29:15] Speaker 2: had us come and do the we we didn't curate,
[29:20] Speaker 2: but you had us produce the film festival part of
[29:24] Speaker 2: the Steve Neighborhood Awards for two year.
[29:26] Speaker 1: Yes, oh, there is so many Absolutely, that was in
[29:30] Speaker 1: twenty fifteen. That was in twenty fifteen. Absolutely, two years. Absolutely, Yes, sir,
[29:34] Speaker 1: Oh my god, so awesome.
[29:35] Speaker 2: You're proud of us too, so we just don't forget
[29:38] Speaker 2: what our friends have done. Thank you, all right, thank you.
[29:41] Speaker 1: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
[29:45] Speaker 1: posted by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
[29:48] Speaker 1: on the show today and thank you listening to audience now.
[29:51] Speaker 1: If you want to listen to any episode I want
[29:53] Speaker 1: to be a guest on the show, visit Moneymaking Conversations
[29:56] Speaker 1: dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
[30:00] Speaker 1: Join us next week and remember to always leave with
[30:03] Speaker 1: your gifts. Keep winning.
[30:05] Speaker 2: Mm hmmm.

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