• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Film Festivals

The New Film Festival On The Block

As the ESSENCE Festival of Culture makes its in-person return this week, it’s adding an exciting new element for emerging filmmakers.
The New Film Festival On The Block
By Jordan Ligons · Updated June 26, 2022

Sidra Smith is on a mission to find the next Ryan Coogler or Ava DuVernay—a.k.a. the next Black storyteller. And through the creation of the inaugural ESSENCE Film Festival, she’s set to do just that. “This is another dope thing that ESSENCE is bringing to Black culture,” says Smith, executive producer, Essence Studios. “We’re excited to continue to serve Black women deeply.” 

The vision for Essence Studios, when it was launched in 2020, was to build a streaming platform packed with original programming to support emerging artists on a global scale. But just as the team got to work on creating this robust digital hub, COVID-19 hit.   

Join your favorite names in music, fashion, business, beauty, politics and more at the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture! Click HERE to get your tickets now!

However, there was a silver lining. Smith and her crew were able to transform the events that were supposed to happen in person into virtual offerings that could live on the platform. First up was a Wellness House chat, with experts conversing about everything from meal prep to mental health.  

The New Film Festival On The Block

The success of that event set off a domino effect of booming content on the platform. Show Me Your Walk: HBCU Edition, a commencement celebration, was launched next, followed by the women-led Entrepreneur Summit: Bossed-Up Edition and the male-focused Dear Black Men. Then the studio was tasked with bottling the intoxicating energy of the ESSENCE Festival of Culture Presented by Coca-Cola (EFOC) into a virtual event, which it did successfully for two years.  

This summer, EFOC is back in person for the first time since 2019—and with a new element: a film festival giving Black creators the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of the community for whom their art was created. 

“The joy for me is all of these emerging filmmakers who are going to be able to say they premiered their movie at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans,” Smith says. “That’s the audience for the stories that we’re trying to tell.” 

Another exciting aspect for Smith is the opportunity to educate festivalgoers about the ways in which Black people can contribute behind the scenes. “A lot of people of color aren’t seen in costume design, catering, craft services, cinematography and transportation,” she says, “We’re using a large part of the film festival to inspire people of color to go after some of those jobs.”  

After the film festival’s coming-out party in the Big Easy, the goal is for it to exist annually outside of EFOC. Smith adds that she also wants the event to become a destination for distributors to buy content from our community.  

“Essence Studios is here for emerging storytellers,” she says. “We want to nurture and support creators of color. Our goal is to support people who would never otherwise have an opportunity to really be seen.”  

TOPICS:  essence festival 2022 new orleans

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now