Indeed, Lena Waithe, and Hillman Grad Productions Extend Rising Voices Partnership; Indeed Commits $3 Million to BIPOC Filmmaker Initiative

Indeed, the world’s number one job site, announced it will be extending its partnership with Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and actor Lena Waithe and her company Hillman Grad Productions to further invest in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) filmmakers. Indeed is investing $3 million, tripling its initial investment from Rising Voices Season One, by adding a second season and a filmmaker residency program to expand on its commitment to telling diverse stories around the meaning of work and providing opportunities for marginalized talent.

“Continuing this partnership with Lena Waithe and Hillman Grad will expand the creation of sustainable job opportunities for talented underrepresented creatives”

“We are thrilled to be bringing back the Rising Voices program with our partners at Indeed,” said Waithe and Hillman Grad President, Rishi Rajani. “This year’s brilliant films and filmmakers proved that there are so many stories out there to tell and so many artists ready to tell them. Creating these opportunities for underrepresented voices and kickstarting their careers is fundamental to our mission here at Hillman Grad. We are grateful to Indeed for their trust in us as we continue to grow this initiative. 100k per film. 10 films. Year 2 applications are open now!”

HR Technology News: Workpay Partners With Kwara to Offer Streamlined HR & Payroll Services to SACCOs in Kenya

“The incredible work of the filmmakers in Season 1 of Rising Voices demonstrated our belief that talent is universal but opportunity is not. The proof is in the amazing achievements of the filmmakers since their premiere at the Tribeca Festival,” said Indeed CEO Chris Hyams. “I am ecstatic to expand our partnership with Lena Waithe and Hillman Grad Productions to our new production and development lab for three of the filmmakers we discovered last year, and to help another class of filmmakers be seen, heard, and financed. I am excited to see how the new voices and perspectives will showcase the meaning of work to the millions of people who rely on Indeed to find their next job.”

This increased investment by Indeed will include two programs:

• Rising Voices Season 2: Indeed and Hillman Grad Productions are reprising their creative call to filmmakers to share stories around the meaning of work and how connecting all people to opportunity leads to better lives. This creative call kicks off today, with 10 filmmakers being selected by early February 2022. Each filmmaker will be given a production budget of $100,000, for a total of $1 million, to create a short film (under 15 minutes). Their films will debut at the Tribeca Festival in 2022. In addition, the selected filmmakers will be mentored by a variety of filmmakers including Lena Waithe, will be awarded a $10,000 writing fee and will have access to a production line crew.
• Production and Development Lab: Indeed and Hillman Grad have launched a new Production and Development Lab (“The Lab”), a 12 month non-exclusive residency program featuring three of the Rising Voices 1 filmmakers: Chinese-American filmmaker Johnson Cheng, Haitian filmmaker Stacy Pascal Gaspard and Dominican- born filmmaker Gabriela Ortega. Modeled after Indeed’s incubator program, which funds new product ideas internally, Hillman Grad will work with the filmmakers to develop ideas and create content for Indeed. A $2 million production budget from Indeed has been allocated to The Lab, and Hillman Grad will provide production support. Each filmmaker is awarded $100,000 for their role as filmmaker in residence.

“Continuing this partnership with Lena Waithe and Hillman Grad will expand the creation of sustainable job opportunities for talented underrepresented creatives,” said LaFawn Davis, SVP at Indeed. “We are excited to also provide mentorship throughout this process to further enhance the experience for the filmmakers and help prepare them for a career in the film industry.”

HR Technology News: Ceridian Acquires Adam HCM to Extend Global Leadership

Rising Voices originally launched in February of 2021 and was highly successful with over 800 filmmakers applying for the opportunity to be a part of the program and more than 650 jobs created throughout the process. The finalists’ films debuted at the Tribeca Festival this past June. Other achievements from the first season’s finalists include:

• Johnson Cheng’s Rising Voices film “Only the Moon Stands Still” recently won the Audience Award – Short Film at AFI FEST, where it was also named an AFI FEST Programmer Pick.
• David Fortune is in development for a docu-series and a follow up to his Rising Voices short film “Shoebox”
• Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield’s Rising Voices film “Flames” won two awards: First Runner Up for Best Local Short Film and a win for Excellence in Cinematography at the Out On Film Festival in Atlanta.
• Boma Iluma, Director of the Rising Voices film “Comfort”, has been selected as a Young Guns 19 Finalist, and he is directing part of an upcoming feature “The Seven Faces of Jane”
• Kantú Lentz’s Rising Voices film “Coche Bomba” was screened at the Austin Film Festival, and she is preparing to make her TV directing debut on NBC’s “Chicago Fire.”
• Gabriela Ortega was accepted into the Sundance Art of Practice fellowship and is turning her Rising Voices film “Huella” into a feature film
• Elisee Junior St. Preux’s film “Aurinko in Adagio” from Rising Voices screened at the Urbanworld Film Festival
• Shelly Yo’s Rising Voices film “Soft Sounds of Peeling Fruit” screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. She is also taking part in the Writing in Unreal program as part of Tribeca Film and Epic Games with her feature film, ‘Smoking Tigers’.

HR Technology News: Monster.com in Association With Microsoft Launches ‘Velocity’: Virtual Career Fair for Microsoft Certified Cloud Professionals