Issa Rae’s new partnership with Tubi will help support young filmmakers

Issa Rae did it once he said early in her profession, she went from “dumb optimist” to pessimistic about prioritizing Black stories in Hollywood. One thing is, nevertheless, that multitasking will not rest on its laurels. Rae is laying the groundwork for quite a lot of projects to get the green light, and her latest partnership is an ideal example of using power for good.

Color Creative, Rae and co-founder of the production, management and production company Talithy Watkins, recently teamed up with Tubi, a streaming platform that has seen a major surge in popularity largely driven by Black viewers and filmmakers. As HuffPost editor Phil Lewis notes in his newsletter“Tubi is not just a streaming service for fans to use — it has become a place for independent Black filmmakers to showcase their art.”

Rae agrees. She began her profession by utilizing the social media platform (YouTube) to inform her stories long before Hollywood studios got here knocking on her door. Now it’s helping to speed up the careers of filmmakers who wish to do the identical. Color Creative and Tubi recently announced the launch of Stubios, a fan-powered studio for emerging filmmakers and their fans.

Tubi’s Stubios is a program for creators that enables their fans to have a say in what’s being created. It goals to support emerging filmmakers and creators from non-traditional backgrounds in creating larger-scale film projects with the help and guidance of the ColorCreative team. The application window officially opened this month, where candidates can submit applications directly from their phones. Much like viewers, Tubi’s goal at Stubios is to satisfy potential filmmakers where they already are.

“They have done a great job of recognizing their audience, cultivating it, and now investing in it tenfold,” Rae tells ESSENCE. “Not only are they investing in the audience, but they are investing in the creators to create long-term work for that audience and, in a sense, put it in their hands to determine whether the work created by this program is worthy enough to Continue. And that’s what I like about it, because it fosters a relationship between the creator and the audience that can often be ignored. Democratization is a process and that’s how I created my own digital experience. But I really appreciate it and I think it’s incredibly cool that they actually and quite literally put their money where their mouth is when it comes to black audiences and audiences of diverse backgrounds, and that will be reflected in the creators selected.”

The program also provides funding for movies, which is a particularly vital step because filmmakers of color often struggle to acquire financing early of their careers.

“It’s hard to be spry,” Rae tells ESSENCE. “Nobody wants to make a movie {on a shoestring budget}. No one wants to revise a script and rewrite it 100 times to abandon the dream and settle for what is possible. It is extremely important to give these creators, these filmmakers, the opportunity to do what they want. And again, it’s also audience driven, so there will be opinions there that they can take into consideration. But resources matter. You can have all the talent in the world. Admittedly, and I think with audience awareness, people can see what you want to do, but being able to do what you want to do makes a difference. Overall, with ColorCreative, we want to make sure people have resources because we want to support them.”

Talitha Watkins adds: “We’re giving these creators a fast track. We give them deep industry knowledge from all the creators we work with at ColorCreative, thanks to which we are able to co-create these productions. We intend to tap into our client base to provide them with mentorship and guidance on script development and directing, as well as other things they need to move into this new world of long-form content. In a way, it’s like guardrails on a highway. I think I know that as Black creators we are ready for this. We tell stories all our lives. It just seemed like a really amazing way for us to be able to be involved in the game through financial support, mentorship, and community.”