Jash’d Belcher is a filmmaker, event producer and a partner at HBCU Power. Belcher has released several feature films, including one that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Belcher also helped curate the HBCU Power Film & TV Festival, which is a gathering of original storytellers and audience searching for new voices and unique perspectives. The festival is open to all creatives and will feature HBCU competitions for students and alumni. The festival will also celebrate 10 years of the Morehouse Cinema, Television & Emerging Media Studies led by Stephanie Dunn. The festival will be held from Aug. 25 to Aug. 27.
Belcher spoke with rolling out about the HBCU Power Film & TV Festival and what to expect.
How did this festival start?
It all started when I first went to the Sundance Film Festival roughly about six years ago with our first film, A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. It was the first film festival that I attended, and there weren’t many people that look like us there.
It was such a great experience, but I would love to have more people that look like us experiencing something like that. Then I thought about how so much talent has come from HBCUs and how we need to have a festival celebrating our talent, our trade, and our creative genius. That’s where it came from. I began doing research going to film festivals, and in January when my second film To Live and Die and Live premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, I got a lot of traction and a lot of interest from … people. We were finally outside of the pandemic and [I] felt like this was the right time to bring it all together.
What should students and young professionals look forward to at the festival?
They should be expecting to learn from some great minds and some great people. What’s going to set this film festival aside from others is we do have some panels, but most of our conversations we’re trying to gear it more toward a [format like] “Inside the Actors Studio” where it’s more of a one-on-one interview, where you can dig deep into some of these great people who are talented in Hollywood and hear their stories, their genesis, where they started, how they got to where they are, what their daily life is about now, and what are their keys to success. Be prepared to learn and absorb the information that you’re going to be blessed with.
